Olympian Vittoria Panizzon shares her “baseline” gridwork exercise, which can benefit horses at any level, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

This gridwork exercise for improving technique is a favourite of Vittoria Panizzon. It uses wide parallels to develop jumping technique and is particularly useful for training horses for eventing. It can help horses regain their jumping bascule after a cross-country session where they are likely to jump with a flatter technique.

It’s also a great gridwork exercise for improving the rider’s balance, as it requires a light seat and giving hands so that the horse has total freedom to use his back and neck fully.

How to ride this gridwork exercise to develop technique

The aim: to develop the horse’s shape over a fence and build strength, as well as rider balance.

The setup: the final grid will be a cross-pole, with a placing pole, followed by at least two parallels with ground lines, three for experienced horses. But you should build up gradually, fence by fence.

You’ll need a helper on the ground to put up poles and move wings forward.

• Jump the cross-pole a few times until the horse is jumping calmly.
• Add in the subsequent elements of the grid one at a time, with ground lines at each fence. Initially, the distances between each element should be about 7m.
• Each time the horse jumps through well, pull the wings 5–10cm forward. You can raise the fence a hole as the horse understands the exercise. This makes the distances between fences shorter, as the fences get higher and wider. The parallels shouldn’t be too high (90cm–1m is ample for most horses) but well over 1m wide for experienced horses.
• As the fences get wider, you can add a diagonal pole on top of the parallel. This encourages the horse to make a good shape but also prevents the horse misreading the fence as a bounce.
• Jump through each altered grid once or twice. Don’t hang around between each approach as you don’t want the horse to switch off.
• The number of times you do this exercise, and the height to which you raise the parallels, will depend on the horse’s experience, level and fitness.

How this gridwork exercise helps you and your horse

Vittoria explains that this is her baseline exercise, which she was taught by Sarah Bullen.

“As the parallels become bigger and wider, it helps develop the bascule and strength of the horse, as well as the rider’s balance,” she explains. “It encourages the horse to use themselves really well, getting stronger with their push from behind and making a big, round shape.

“I tend to have the groundline a little in front of the fence because I like to help them learn to make the best shape by spelling it out for them. There are times to let a horse make a mistake to sharpen up and learn, and there are times to set them up to succeed, and as this exercise gets harder I want to be encouraging them.

Vittoria emphasises that this exercise relies entirely on the rider dropping their hands so the horse has full use of his neck.

“This style is the way I was brought up to ride in Italy, with a military instructor who had us riding through grids with no hands, and would make us jump off drops cross-country with no reins,” she says.

“So I did it a lot as a child, and similarly Sarah would also make me release a lot, to give the horse plenty of freedom. Horses gain so much trust in the rider if they know they will always get the freedom they need to jump.

Vittoria offers another challenge to teach horses to look after themselves, to sort out their own technique.

“While the grid is still small, I like riders to go through with no hands, and then putting their hands over their eyes. It’s not a gimmick; it helps the rider, which helps the horse. It’s the best way to get the rider in the right place – the horses jump beautifully when the rider has their hands over their eyes!”

Learning to be well balanced to make the horse’s job easier is a major factor.

“The rider must always stay in jumping balance, in a light seat between the fences,” Vittoria explains. “This is because as the striding gets shorter and the parallels wider, the horse needs to stay round in his back, which they cannot do if you are sitting into the saddle.

“I like to come into the grid in trot, because that means you can’t just hang on to the reins and be pulled over the fence. The rider has to get the timing right to fold, and the horse has to push over the fence, so it fine-tunes both rider balance and the horse’s reactions.

“You don’t need speed to jump big, but the right technique and balance.”

Variations

The grid above can have multiple variations and tweaks to improve certain horses’ weaknesses, such as:

• An upright rather than a parallel as the final element. I build this higher than I would the parallel. This encourages the horse to really lift his shoulders because they have to combine first the stretching and pushing for the parallels, and then lift high for the upright.
• Start the grid with a bounce to make them sharper.
• Use wing poles to keep the horse straight on whichever side they drift.

About Vittoria Panizzon

Event rider Vittoria has been a stalwart of senior Italian teams since 2005. She has contested three Olympic Games, finishing 11th at London 2012 with Borough Pennyz. Having competed at numerous championships on a range of horses, including at the 2025 Europeans on DHI Jackpot, she is also currently campaigning two of Pennyz’ offspring, Borough Tuppence and Borough Threpence. Based in Redmarley D’Abitot, Gloucestershire, Vittoria is a former junior European champion who has lived in England since she was 17.

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Olympian Vittoria Panizzon shares one of her favourite polework exercises, which can benefit horses at any level, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

This simple fan pole exercise is designed for encouraging suppleness, rhythm, rideability and improving the canter. It’s often used when training horses for eventing at all levels, so three-time Olympian Vittoria Panizzon explains how this polework exercise can benefit you and your horse, as well as how to increase the difficulty.

How to set up the fan pole exercise

Lay out seven poles in a fan shape, with each pole 3m apart if taking a line through the middle of the poles (as shown below).

Depending on the level of the horse, for this training exercise you can raise various poles into fences, for example two poles to an upright, pole upright, and then two poles.

How to ride the fan of canter poles

• Approach in a balanced canter and ride over the poles/fences following the curve.
• Open the inside hand and use the inside leg to turn the horse smoothly.
• Keep your balance in both stirrups, not twisting.
• As with any gridwork exercise, you should build up very gradually. Once you start adding jumps in, the basic setup is essentially a double with poles either side, but there are plenty of variations (see below).
• Ride the exercise an equal number of times on each rein.

How the fan pole exercise helps you and your horse

Vittoria explains that canter poles are always beneficial, and particularly so in this fan exercise, which she was taught by Jay Halim.

“Having to turn while cantering over the poles or small fences can be particularly helpful for horses that rush because it’s easier to help them not to rush on a turn,” she explains, “whereas on a straight line they can charge through the whole lot.”

“As well as helping the canter rhythm, the fan can be a useful exercise for horses that are a little stiff, as it encourages flexibility, asking them to bend and lift through their middle while coordinating and jumping.”

The poles do the job for you, Vittoria explains, although you need to use your body correctly.

“When the poles are on the ground, you could be in a sitting canter, but once they are off the ground, you need to be in a light seat through the poles to avoid restricting the horse’s back.

“Keep your balance in both stirrups and avoid twisting your body, opening your inside hand with your inside leg on, rather than pulling the horse round and blocking them,” she advises.

“I try to use the poles and the way I build the grid to correct a horse rather than forcing them. You shouldn’t be pulling them round the turn, because while you might have got through the exercise, you haven’t got the result you were after as you’ve ruined the quality of the jump. If you can do this with the poles guiding the horse then you’ll keep the quality of the jump while achieving the correct line.”

Variations of the poles in a fan

To increase the difficulty and prevent anticipation, you can try the following variations.

• Add a parallel, for example, alternate cross-poles and parallels. This means the horse has to stretch and turn at the same time.
• Raise one side of some poles to help the horse stop drifting his preferred way. Raise the outside to help turn the horse who is not turning enough; if they’re cutting in and “motorbiking” round the turn, raise the inside.
• Raise consecutive poles to cavaletti height – you could do four or five bounces on a curve.

The importance of the approach and landing

Vittoria says you should be fussy about how the horse lands.

“What you do after the grid really affects the approach to future jumps,” she explains. “For example, if the horse lands and rushes off, it will rush on the approach next time. If it lands in a heap, it won’t go forward into the fence because it knows it can stop afterwards.

“They should go straight after landing, neither rushing nor falling into trot. Whatever is their default, ask them to do the opposite,” she advises. “If they tank off, bring them back to a halt. If they collapse into trot, keep them in canter.

“It’s a classic mistake to make it through the grid or over a fence and think ‘I’ve done it’, but what happens next really matters, because it affects how the horse behaves into a jump and its general rideability. It also shows the horse is between hand and leg.”

It’s important to make sure you are training the horse and not the other way round.

“This applies to anything, under saddle and on the yard. Obedience relates to rideability. This is a partnership, so it’s not about being bossy or nasty, but it’s in horses’ nature to want to understand the boundaries and what is expected. They become more relaxed, content and settled. A disobedient horse isn’t a happy horse, it’s a lost, confused and stressed horse!”

About Vittoria Pannizon

Event rider Vittoria has been a stalwart of senior Italian teams since 2005. She has contested three Olympic Games, finishing 11th at London 2012 with Borough Pennyz. Having competed at numerous championships on a range of horses, including at the 2025 Europeans on DHI Jackpot, she is also currently campaigning two of Pennyz’ offspring, Borough Tuppence and Borough Threepence.

Based in Redmarley D’Abitot, Gloucestershire, Vittoria is a former junior European champion who has lived in England since she was 17.

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Eventer Vittoria Panizzon has come full circle by competing the three eldest offspring of her much-loved London 2012 Olympic ride Borough Pennyz.

Vittoria and Lindsay Bisiker’s eight-year-old gelding Borough Threpence, by Timolin, jumped double clear to finish ninth in the BE100 at South of England on 27 September.

Vittoria and Borough Pennyz finished 11th individually at the London Olympics, and the following year were seventh at Badminton. They recorded four-star wins at Belton and Wellington and top-five places at Fontainebleau, Montbelletti and Bramham.

Pennyz has produced five offspring, three by embryo transfer, and they have now all been competed by Vittoria. The first was 10-year-old Borough Justapenny, who Vittoria rode as a young horse and is now based with Jane Holderness Roddam and ridden by Jack Ashworth, then embryo twins Borough Tuppence – who Vittoria is competing at three-star level – and Borough Threpence, who has recently joined her string.

“Threpence had a bit of a slower start but he’s very promising. He started competing with David Doel last year and I was lucky enough to have him come to me this summer,” said Vittoria. “In some ways he’s very different to his sister Tuppence, but in other ways similar, he’s a much bigger version of her.

“We’ll continue building his confidence and strength before he moves up a level. The plan is that he’s being produced to be sold, but I’d love him to stay with me. Pennyz was so special to me so it’s really great getting to ride her offspring.”

Vittoria also has a granddaughter of Pennyz; an embryo transfer filly out of Tuppence by Rock King, named Rock Florin. Rock King was owned by Vittoria’s long-term trainer Sarah Bullen.

“I wanted to mix all my Olympic horses together. I took Rock Model to Beijing and he was by Rock King. Pennyz went to London, and then Supercilious, who is a Rock King grandson on the dam side, went to Tokyo,” she said.

“Pennyz owner Sally Bullen and I were keen to keep Pennyz’ jump, but give a bit more movement. Pennyz always had a strong character, and it’s helpful to know how to work with her offspring; the girls in particular are all princesses. They all love jumping, and they’re not always big fans of flatwork – but I found particularly with Justapenny and Tuppence, if you get them jumping, it gets them on side and gets the best out of them.”

Pennyz, who is now 22, retired from competition in 2019, and lives with Sally.

“She’s very well and enjoying her retirement,” said Vittoria.

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Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon has said it is good to be back “behind happy ears” as she returns to competition after a year out.

Earlier this month H&H reported that the Italian rider’s four-year ban and fine for a missed human dope test that was not her fault had been entirely overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

On Wednesday (14 May) Vittoria and 11-year-old DHI Jackpot were seventh in section K of the Aston-le-Walls open intermediate, in what was the Italian rider’s first event since May 2024. The pair jumped double clear, adding just 4.8 cross-country time-penalties to their 31.8 dressage score.

“I’m really grateful to have been on a horse that made my first run back a real pleasure. It was great to be behind happy ears and on a horse enjoying himself, that was the nicest bit,” Vittoria told H&H.

“I’ve had the odd gap from competition before from injury, but obviously this time was a lot longer. I’m lucky I’ve been hunting so I’ve been riding cross-country to a degree, but a hedge is a little more forgiving than square tables!

“It is a bit stressful going out again because one does feel pressure, while being worried about being rusty, but I wasn’t too rusty. I didn’t go too slow but I didn’t chase him round, and we were only about a mark off the leaders of the dressage, so that was really pleasing. I was a bit worried that the weather’s been really dry, but Aston did more watering than I’ve probably ever seen.”

Vittoria only had two weeks to prepare herself for the event, but Susie Berry had given “Jack” a prep run last month at Burnham Market.

“I was very mindful of the rider I chose for Jack’s prep run and I’m really grateful to Susie, he came back feeling really good,” said Vittoria.

“I’ve been doing lots of no-stirrups over the last 10 days to get myself back into sitting trot. I’ve only really had a couple of weeks to get ready, and two weeks goes very quickly when you’re trying to fit in lots of things.”

Vittoria, who had been campaigning Jack at four-star level before her time out, is keeping her plans for the season under her hat at the moment.

“I don’t want to say my plans out loud, but there’s plenty Jack and I need to catch up with to meet our aims for the season,” she said.

“There’s still challenges to overcome and there’s a lot to rebuild, but I hope to have a couple more horses running soon. There’s also shares available in Jack if anyone would like to join his journey.”

Vittoria thanked everyone for the support she has received.

“A lot of people have been incredibly kind. As well as close friends who have been unimaginably helpful, people I don’t know that well have been amazingly generous too,” said Vittoria.

“I went along to Badminton to watch and it was special to get such lovely support from people – and at Aston. It was really heartwarming, and gave me a chance to feel a little bit of celebration, which in day-to-day life and through all the challenges you don’t always get to.”

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Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon said she is hugely relieved that her four-year ban and fine for a missed human dope test that was not her fault has been entirely overturned – but the year she has lost is one she will never get back.

H&H reported last year that the British-based Italian rider had been suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping organisation (NADO) as she was deemed to have failed to comply with the World Anti-Doping Association’s (WADA) athlete whereabouts scheme by avoiding testing. It applied to a single test rather than missing three, which is a different charge.

Vittoria was not allowed to compete – her national suspension was mirrored by the FEI – so she missed a season including the Olympics. She was also banned from any activity related to affiliated sport of any kind, so she was unable to coach riders for affiliated competition. Her career was “in tatters”, she told H&H at the time, even though she had complied with all the testing programme’s requirements, as she has for decades. She had updated her whereabouts on the system as required when she went on holiday after the eventing season had finished in 2023, but she was at a rural property where phone signal was poor, and when the NADO tester arrived at 5am, in the dark, “because of the multitude of gates and challenges accessing the property, the tester and I could not find each other according to the protocol, which allows no prior notice”.

Vittoria appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest sports court in the world, which this week annulled the ban and €3,000 fine.

Vittoria told H&H she is good at finding positives in seemingly negative situations. “But I’m struggling to find a positive from this,” she said.

“It had a really big impact. Effectively, I wasn’t allowed to do anything my business traditionally relied on; I couldn’t work with affiliated athletes or at affiliated venues, in all sports. It was a very-wide reaching effect when, in my case, nothing had been done wrong.”

In a statement, Vittoria added: “I am thrilled, relieved and so, so grateful to everyone for the support I have had from my owners, sponsors, the [Italian air force], friends, staff and the wider horse sport community, but I am also exhausted, frustrated and disheartened.”

She pointed out that she has an unblemished record for all her time as a competitor, has never smoked, does not drink and rarely takes any medication. Despite this, she was “left to find my own way through a confusing and unfriendly process”.

She pointed out that the athlete whereabouts scheme covers all sports, so does not suit riders who are often competing in a field, or riding a horse, in the middle of nowhere with no internet or phone signal. To comply with the whereabouts scheme, athletes have to keep the system updated at all times.

“Like all my fellow riders I am a big advocate for clean sport and of course I understand that the FEI and [Italian equestrian federation] FISE need to be seen to be supporting the human anti-doping campaign, as well as administering their own equine anti-doping schemes which are vital for the welfare of our horses, but surely our governing bodies should feel able to give their human athletes support on how to navigate the whereabouts scheme,” she said.

“The federations should also offer advice on navigating the appeals process or even how to find a lawyer. Doing so wouldn’t mean they are being biased in favour of the athlete, it would just reflect the duty of care they owe that athlete particularly, as this CAS decision shows, because not all judgements are correct and reputations, careers and livelihoods are at stake.

“I have had to fight to clear my name, by myself, every day since January 2024. I sincerely hope that the FEI will now review the suitability of the whereabouts scheme for equestrian athletes or at least provide much-enhanced guidance to those on the scheme because currently the FEI is setting its human athletes up to fail and leaving them with no support when they are deemed to fall foul of the process.”

Legal costs

Vittoria had to bear her legal costs of about £70,000, with no support from any organisation. She said her CAS appeal would not have been heard had she not paid, in advance, her own costs – and those of the prosecution. She will get her fine back, and should recoup the court costs of about £20,000 but cannot claim back what she had to pay lawyers.

“I have had to borrow from my family and without their support I would not have been able to clear my name,” she said. “It can’t be justice that I would still be banned if I hadn’t been able to find the money.”

Vittoria said she is hugely grateful to her mother, who “encouraged me to keep fighting when I was just exhausted, and would have given up, even though that wasn’t the right thing to do”. She also thanked the people from all walks of life who supported her; close connections and many others, including the Italian air force, who stood by her throughout, and Susie Berry who has been competing Vittoria’s top horse DHI Jackpot, and been “incredibly understanding”.

“Thank you to my mother for having taught me to be resilient, particularly when my father died when I was a child, or it would have been much harder to cope,” she said.

The only thing that may be positive, she said, is that perhaps her experience may help make some changes that could help others in future.

She added: “Pleased as I am to be able to take part in the sport that I love with my head held high, at the end of the day I have lost a whole year of my competition life and I will never be able to get that time back.”

H&H put Vittoria’s concerns about the system and its implications for riders to the NADO, FISE and the FEI. The FEI did not comment, referring the request to the International Testing Agency (ITA). An ITA spokesperson said it could not comment on Vittoria’s case and directed the query to the NADO. The NADO did not respond.

The ITA spokesperson pointed out that the whereabouts system is set by WADA.

“Nevertheless, we absolutely acknowledge the importance of clean sport education for athletes to know their rights and responsibilities,” she said. “The ITA is leading an anti-doping education program for FEI athletes, including on-site booths and presentations, webinars and athlete-facing campaigns. Athletes can at any time contact the ITA when they have questions regarding clean sport, and we offer relevant resources on our dedicated athlete hub, including information and guidance on whereabouts and a dedicated FAQ.”

Vittoria said to her knowledge, no support system for athletes was in place at the time of her case.

A spokesperson for the Italian federation told H&H: “FISE expresses its satisfaction with the favorable outcome of the CAS decision, which has definitively recognised the position of Vittoria Panizzon. From the outset, we placed our trust in the integrity of the judicial process, and we firmly believe that this decision restores the sporting dignity owed to an athlete who continues to have much to contribute at a competitive level.”

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British-based five-star eventer Vittoria Panizzon is appealing a four-year suspension for a missed out-of-competition human anti-dope test, stating that her career is “in tatters” through no fault of her own.

Italian rider Vittoria has been suspended from all competition by Italy’s national anti-doping organisation (NADO) for being deemed to have failed to comply with the World Anti-Doping Association’s (WADA) “athlete’s whereabouts” scheme by avoiding testing. Under the programme, athletes who are part of a registered testing pool must provide their location and availability at all times so anti-doping tests can be carried out, without notice.

WADA states that “knowing where athletes can be found for testing is crucial for ensuring effective anti-doping programs”.

In November 2023, after the eventing season had finished, Vittoria was abroad, and had recorded her whereabouts on the NADO software.

Vittoria told H&H she was at a “sprawling, rural property” that had bad phone signal – and when the NADO tester arrived at 5am, in the dark, “because of the multitude of gates and challenges accessing the property, the tester and I could not find each other according to the protocol, which allows no prior notice”.

Vittoria, a three-time Olympian, tried to explain the situation to NADO, but this was not accepted and she was suspended for four years. Under the suspension, which came into force 3 July 2024, Vittoria may not participate in any sport-related activity.

Vittoria said she is innocent and had “no intention nor any possible reason to avoid or evade testing”.

“I understand that the rules have been designed to ensure fair sport and the need to have a good system to protect sport, and I support that. But on this occasion it’s a misunderstanding. There is nothing to do with doping involved, it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances,” she told H&H.

“In 15 years I have undergone more than 60 no-notice out-of-competition tests – standard for those in the Italian registered testing pool – with negative results.”

Vittoria added that the consequences are “catastrophic”.

“I am losing the opportunity to compete in a sport that is my everything, therefore I will lose my career and whole livelihood. I have nothing to hide; I don’t drink, I have never smoked, and I don’t take any medicine unless I absolutely have to, so it’s hard to think what possible motive I could have for avoiding human testing,” she said.

Vittoria has appealed the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“I am heartbroken that for reasons totally unrelated to my horses, my career is in tatters, along with the plans for the horses and the fun and enjoyment of everyone around me,” she said.

“My owners and supporters are an incredible bunch. I am humbled by the belief they have in my integrity and overwhelmed by how amazingly understanding and supportive they have been. However I am broken by this, the financial and emotional burden is very hard to bear. I hope no other rider ever has to go through this, but I suspect they will, through no reasonable fault of their own.”

French dressage rider Morgan Barbançon Mestre was suspended by the French anti-doping agency for three months for failing to update her whereabouts online three times; this was extended to 18 months by CAS (news, 4 July).

NADO told H&H that owing to “privacy reasons” it cannot provide information on Vittoria’s case.

An FEI spokesperson told H&H FEI anti-doping rules for humans provide for an “automatic binding effect” of decisions in human doping cases by WADA code signatures, such as the Italian NADO, so Vittoria’s suspension has been mirrored by the FEI.

A spokesperson for the Italian equestrian federation told H&H the organisation “believes that court rulings must be respected and not commented on”.

“We are awaiting the final verdict and trust in the correctness of our athlete’s behaviour, confident that this correctness will also be recognised by the court that will decide on the contested matters,” they said.

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Chequers Play The Game, who picked up a European team bronze medal and won at four-star with Italian event rider Vittoria Panizzon, has been put down aged 19.

“He was the sort of gentleman you want to marry – very polite, very charming, with a sense of humour and good fun,” Vittoria told H&H. “He liked to have fun and have a buck and to play with stuff lying around, but he never let you down when it mattered.”

Known as Elvis, Chequers Play The Game belonged to Amy Lambert and her mother Patricia, with supporting involvement from Flora Hurrell and Jan and Peter Price. He started his eventing career with Amy and Sophie Allison, on whose livery yard Amy kept the horse when he was not with Vittoria, and was also ridden by New Zealand’s Jock Paget before Vittoria started competing him in 2015.

Elvis won the services’ jumping championship at the Olympia Horse Show with Amy in 2015 and after he retired from serious competition last year, finished second in a BE100open with Amy in October.

Vittoria said Elvis had to be put down after suffering from a form of arthritis over the winter, which progressed faster than expected.

“He always had six-star care – the highest level of veterinary attention and TLC – so I know Amy will have tried every route possible. He was such a happy horse and a real soldier, so when he looked less happy, it suggested he really wasn’t very comfortable and it wouldn’t have been good to let things progress and get any worse,” said Vittoria, who said she felt lucky she was able to go and say goodbye to Elvis.

“I feel for Amy as it’s the hardest decision you have to make and the hardest thing you have to go through as a horse person.”

With Vittoria, Elvis’s career highlights included second in the British intermediate championships in 2015, winning Tattersalls CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in 2017, a European team bronze in Strzegom that year, ninth at Luhmühlen CCI4* (now CCI5*) in 2018 and second place in the CCI4*-L at Burnham Market in 2020. He also won twice at two-star (now three-star).

“He came to me as a horse who was deemed unreliable above novice level, but I always believed in him,” said Vittoria.

“I clicked with him straight away. He didn’t have as much flash as some other top horses these days – he wasn’t the biggest mover or jumper in the world, but he was the best horse I’ve ever had for both dressage and cross-country. That’s what I like about eventing – it’s not about who’s got the biggest flash, but if a horse has a big heart and gives 100% to the job, that counts for more.

“He made me feel like I could do dressage. I’ve ridden some lovely horses across country, but I really loved riding him – I could see really good forward strides and I felt he brought out the best in me. I was grateful to him for that and I liked having him as a run at the beginning of the season to get me into gear.

“When he first arrived I took him hunting a couple of times and that helped us make friends really quickly. He was such a charming horse – polite and kind but with a cheeky sense of humour. If you were jumping at home he liked to have a buck after the fences, not to get you off but just because he was happy. I never quashed that as I think you should allow a happy horse to be a happy horse and they will knuckle down in the ring.”

When Chequers Play The Game came to Vittoria, he had a historical problem with left-handed corners.

“I had some extra insight from a communicator who helped me, as he wasn’t a horse I’d produced myself so I didn’t know all the history,” said Vittoria. “I was certain he wasn’t nasty or naughty or ungenerous, it was just a mental block

“I retrained him with carrots – he loves carrots so I taught him to jump corners for carrots and it solved the problem for ever. He learnt to link corners to reward. At home I’d always jump a corner before an event and have carrots ready – he’d literally turn his head round ready for a carrot. I even did it once at an event – jumped a corner, gave him a carrot and carried on.

“It was deleted from his mind as an issue and he jumped round all the trickiest courses. He made Luhmühlen five-star feel so easy – he was easy to steer, didn’t pull and was adjustable with a decent stride. I remember coming through the finish feeling like I’d popped round an intermediate, not like I’d jumped round a five-star.”

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Have you ever come away from spectating at an event with a keepsake? A competitor’s rosette thrown into the stands, perhaps? One young rider left cross-country day at the 2012 London Olympics in Greenwich Park with a special token of the day, a hat cover – but it caused Italian rider Vittoria Panizzon some problems.

“I lost my hat cover on the cross-country – there were lots of low trees that they couldn’t cut the branches off because of park rules,” reminisces Vittoria in an interview on this week’s Horse & Hound Podcast (episode 94).

Vittoria was riding as an individual, without a team, so after the trot-up on the final day, she discovered she would be one of the first riders into the ring for the first round of showjumping.

“You’re worrying about your horse’s legs and getting through trot-up and all of that. I wasn’t really thinking about my hat cover until I went to get ready to showjumping,” she says. “Suddenly I was being told that I’d be in the ring really quite soon and I realised I had no hat cover.

“We were in the middle of London, there were no shops, you can’t really borrow one from someone else because everyone else has a team hat cover, so I couldn’t just go and wear a different flag.”

Vittoria Panizzon managed to find an old spare hat cover, but it had logos on it – which are not permitted at the Olympics.

“We had to stitch it up to cover the logos and we were ready in time to go in the ring,” she says. “So we went in with my very dodgy-looking hat cover – that’s one thing I hate in the pictures, it looks so silly.”

A dodgy hat cover certainly didn’t put off Vittoria or her horse, Sally Bullen’s flamboyant home-bred grey Borough Pennyz.

“She jumped fantastically around and had the first clear of the day, so she got a huge cheer,” says Vittoria. “What I really remember is riding into the ring the second time – she got a huge cheer before she even jumped, because everyone had so enjoyed her first round.

“That felt amazing, I could never forget that. And then she jumped clear again and moved up the ladder.”

Pennyz was only a nine-year-old at the time and her dressage was green, but she added just one time-fault in the second showjumping round to her dressage score and finished the competition in 11th place.

And as for Vittoria’s hat cover, she eventually learnt where it had ended up…

“Years later, photos were shared online of me jumping around the course without my hat cover and somebody piped up on Facebook and said, ‘Oh yes, we found a hat cover, my daughter uses it for Pony Club’. I thought, ‘Well, that’s great, I’m delighted she does, but it would have been quite handy to have it for showjumping, I would have given it back to you afterwards…’”

Hear more about Vittoria’s three Olympic experiences by tuning in to episode 94 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

In our 94th weekly episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, H&H’s Pippa Roome talks to ltalian event rider Vittoria Panizzon. She talks about her experiences of riding at three different Olympics, including the challenges of getting to Tokyo last year. Pippa then catches up with the H&H news team to discuss the treatment of grooms in our industry, how the menopause affects riders and also a look into jockey weights. Finally, we’ll be hearing from bits and bitting expert Tricia Nassau-WIlliams, who talks about changes in this area over the years. We hope you’ll enjoy listening.

Episode 94 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, our popular audio service available every Thursday morning for our H&H digital subscribers, is now live.

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• View all episodes of The Horse & Hound Podcast

In our 94th weekly episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, H&H’s Pippa Roome talks to ltalian event rider Vittoria Panizzon. She talks about her experiences of riding at three different Olympics, including the challenges of getting to Tokyo last year.

Pippa then catches up with the H&H news team to discuss the treatment of grooms in our industry, how the menopause affects riders and also a look into jockey weights.

Finally, we’ll be hearing from bits and bitting expert Tricia Nassau-WIlliams, who talks about changes in this area over the years.

• We would love to hear your feedback on all our podcasts, so please do send your thoughts to pippa.roome@futurenet.com

Horse & Hound Podcast: episode 94

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Olympic event horse and European medallist Rock Model will be remembered in a new trophy awarded at the Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby Park Horse Trials (31 March-3 April).

Sarah Bullen is marking the career of her home-bred by providing the trophy, which will be given to the winner of the Investec-sponsored CCI3*-S section on Saturday of the event.

Sarah bred “Bug” by her stallion Rock King, out of a mare she bought at Ascot Sales called Little Model. She sold the 15.3hh horse to British-based Italian rider Vittoria Panizzon as a six-year-old and continued to follow his career closely over the years.

Among his achievements he was very successful at Belton – the forerunner of the new fixture at Thoresby, with both events organised by BEDE Events. The pair won the under-25 advanced there in 2005, and the advanced in 2007, and finished third in the Grantham Cup CCI4*-S in 2013. Bug was also second in an open intermediate at Oasby, another BEDE Events fixture, on his final eventing run in the autumn of 2013.

Bug died of a heart attack in 2014 while out hacking at the age of 19.

Sarah said: “It is wonderful to mark his career even so many years after his passing and thanks to this new trophy he will continue to shine a light on the fantastic career he and Vittoria had together.”

Vittoria added: “He took me round the world, competing in Hong Kong, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Italy, France and Great Britain. He was 16th and double clear at my first Olympics at Beijing in 2008, eighth and [took team] bronze at the Europeans and should have won gold – my fault, [we collected] silver – at the young rider Europeans.”

Hear more about Rock Model when Vittoria Panizzon features on the Horse & Hound Podcast next week (episode 94). 

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Riders are in agreement that Derek di Grazia has done a great job as designer for the Tokyo Olympics cross-country course and predict that it will provide a suitable challenge for the competition.

“The course is a ‘four and a half star’ and is very intense – you’re always on the climb or the camber or in the water or in a combination,” said Oliver Townend, who will be the first rider out for the British team.

“But the questions are extremely fair and it’s very horse friendly. If you took each fence individually there wouldn’t be too many problems, but when you add the heat, the terrain, the Olympic pressure and then speed on top of that, it’s going to cause a lot of trouble and it’s going to be very difficult to get the time.”

Oliver has ridden tracks put together by Derek di Grazia several times at Kentucky Three-Day Event.

He added: “Derek is a horseman, which is a very nice start to being a course-designer. I think he’s a very special course-designer, a very talented man at the job.

“For me, this is a very different track to Kentucky, but it still has the feel that he wants the horses to see where they are going. There are no tricks, which you can get quite a lot in the modern day sport with people trying to catch horses. He doesn’t want to catch the horses out. He builds very see-able questions and lets speed and terrain do the job for him.”

US rider Doug Payne echoed Oliver’s thoughts, saying that horses have “a really good shot to try and assess what’s being asked” and that Derek has done an excellent job at making the course as flowing as possible in the tight space available.

He also pointed out that in a number of places, the time difference between routes is minimal, so it’s about trying to find a smooth flowing line for your horse.

Finally, talking about the time, Doug said: “The first and last minute are tough to make up any sort of time, but I think in the middle there’s a couple of spots where you’re going to have to go forward if you want to be close to the time.”

Tokyo Olympics cross-country course: ‘Perfect for this championship’

Alex Hua Tian, who will be followed by two less experienced riders in the Chinese team, commented: “I think it’s a cleverly designed, balanced course which is perfect for this championship. The time will be really tight, which will put a lot of pressure on the traditional nations.

“I think going quickly around that track, the course is intense enough that some superstars will make a mistake in the heat of the moment. But there are enough long ways round that are not actually too time consuming, and not too tiring, for the greener nations like us to take and have a safe strategy for the team cross-country plan.”

Irish rider Sam Watson said: “I think it’s clever – you walk it and you go, that’s a very fair course, but you’ve got to remember what the format is. The team that makes the least mistakes wins medals here, and he’s given us plenty of opportunity to make mistakes.

“There are not many one-stride distances at all and very few two-stride distances, so not many fences where you can just jump in and then momentum takes you through. You’ve got to jump in and either hold your line or attack the line. You’ve got to make choices, so when you’re doing that over a lot of combinations, you could find people sometimes make the wrong decision and get into trouble.

Sam picked out fence 14abcd, the Lone Tree Moguls (above), as an example of somewhere on the Tokyo Olympics cross-country course where riders will need to know plan A and plan B, saying: “The oxer is a big fence and you could go on quite an attacking five strides or a little bit quieter on six. You just don’t know how they’re going to jump that big oxer, if they’re going to land a little bit steep. Derek has given us decisions everywhere.”

Sam also mentioned fence 23abcd, the Mount Fuji Water (pictured, top): “The last water’s got plenty jumping in it as well. You want to have a lot of horse left underneath you.”

Vittoria Panizzon, first out for the Italian team, mentioned that the warm-up is in quite a different area to the start.

She said: “The warm-up is down the bottom of the hill and then you go right up the top of the hill to set off so the horses won’t have seen what’s going on, what environment they’re in. It’s going be a bit of a surprise, I think, when you suddenly set off and you even set off uphill so all they can see when you get up there is the start.

“It perhaps wouldn’t be the biggest course many people have done, but the situation will make it far more challenging than it could look at first. As well as the warm-up, it’s very hard to get your bearings because it’s so twisty. I think the horses need have a lot of trust in the rider, because they’re not always going to be sure where they’re going, what’s happening.”

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Vittoria Panizzon’s medal-winning ride Chequers Play the Game has retired from top-level eventing aged 18.

“Elvis”, who finished ninth in the CCI5* at Luhmühlen Horse Trials in 2018 and won the CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) at Tattersalls in 2017, as well as being part of the Italian bronze medal-winning team at the 2017 Europeans, will enjoy lower-level competition with his owner, Captain Amy Lambert, and the army team.

Vittoria told H&H the KWPN gelding, who was initially evented by Amy, and then taken to three-star (now two-star) level with New Zealand’s Jock Paget, had early issues with corner fences, which she solved by using carrots.

“He’s been a really special horse, and probably my favourite to ride across country,” she said.

“He came to me with a history of issues with corners, which did recur, but it was a confidence issue, and I found a way to tackle it using carrots.”

Vittoria explained that Elvis had a “mental block” over corner fences, but “luckily, he’s quite greedy!”

“I retrained him to connect corners with carrots; every time I jumped one, I’d give him a piece of carrot,” she said. “That lasted to this day; when I jumped him at Tweseldown this spring [the pair finished fourth in the three-star], I jumped a corner at home two days before and gave him a carrot.

“He went from having that issue to coming ninth at Luhmühlen, and lots of other good results. Jock did a great job on his flatwork, and whoever else was involved with him before, so he came to me with good foundations, which I really appreciate, and he always did a good test; it’s nice to go in the ring and feel you can actually ride dressage!”

Vittoria said as well as that five-star finish, her highlight was probably the Tattersalls win — “he gave me an exceptional ride; the video came up on Facebook the other day and it gave me goosebumps to watch it” — and their second-place finish in the Burnham Market CCI4*-L last September was also special.

“He’d been injured so only came to me two weeks beforehand for the final prep; it was a big team effort including the owner to get him right but it paid off,” she said. “There aren’t many horses I could have done that on; just got on and gone round a four-star but I completely trust him across country.”

Vittoria said she always enjoyed riding Elvis in the cross-country, adding: “The thought of not doing that again is quite hard.

“I’ve enjoyed every moment of it on him in the last year or so, as he had so few runs, and every one has been precious, and appreciated to the full.”

Minor injury led to the decision to step Elvis down from the top, and Vittoria said although she will miss him, he will be enjoying “five-star care” with Amy.

Amy told H&H Elvis has been her horse of a lifetime, also representing the army with her at Olympia and Royal Windsor.

“He has the most amazing personality, has the biggest heart and is a true member of the family,” she said. “He adores his job and is utterly professional and class in all disciplines but he does also have a hugely cheeky nature. At home nothing is safe! He’s been known to dig holes, pick up sticks, pick up tyres, take gates of hinges and loves a happy buck and squeal when jumping.

“He’s always taken everything in his stride and has been nothing but a true professional. He’s a truly special horse and owes me nothing.”

Vittoria added that Elvis has always been a very kind and well-behaved horse, whose cheekiness is just that.

“He loves to play with things, and you can see real amusement in his face,” she said.

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“He does like a buck after a jump, especially if he hasn’t jumped for a while, and I always wanted to channel that humour rather than squash it so I never told him off; I felt that needed to be harvested to create a good partnership.

“Each spring when I don’t have him to start me off for the season, I feel a little sad, and he was always a smiley face to have on the yard, but it’s so great Amy will be able to enjoy him more instead, and hopefully I’ll get to sit on him again at some point; it’s always been almost a fight between us as to who gets to play with him more!”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The Olympic rider on croissants, running late and a wardrobe malfunction.

The Gloucestershire-based Italian event rider has finished in the top 20 at the Olympics twice and won team bronze at two European Eventing Championships, as well as finishing in the top 10 at Badminton.

Who was your first pony?

Blù-Blù was a small riding school pony in Italy who I rode when I was five. He was grey with a hogged mane and I adored him despite his occasional habit of ducking out of the arena under the fence, while adults ran to rescue me as I was swept off by the rails! He would wait for me outside the café while I went in to get water.

If you could have any horse in the world, which would you want?

I just hope I get to jump my 2012 Olympic ride Borough Pennyz again one day. She is in foal to Timolin this year which is exciting, but I long to get that special feeling again.

What’s your most annoying habit?

My motto is “punctuality is the virtue of boredom”. I am over-optimistic about how much I can cram in and end up running late; however, I do always turn up!

Which famous person would you invite to dinner?

For a really easy-going evening of laughter after one of our many long, stressful days – Michael McIntyre.

Do you have a dog?

I have a collie called Teddy. He does not care about boring sheep, he has horses to herd and takes his job assisting me working the horses in all weathers very seriously. To his credit, however, he is immaculately behaved hacking down roads and in the house.

What’s been your worst wardrobe malfunction?

At the London Olympics I lost my hat cover across country, and it was only 30 minutes before getting on to showjump that I realised I hadn’t sorted an alternative. With no tradestands and everyone else in their team hat covers so unable to lend one, we had to do some rather urgent stitching to alter a spare one. Years later on Facebook a lady mentioned she had picked it up with her daughter. I could have done with it for showjumping, but I am delighted she has used it for Pony Club ever since.

What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

Bought a little farm near Ledbury five years ago and took on a very steep learning curve running my own yard and land with the help and advice of many friends.

What kind of sleeper are you?

I struggle to wake up, though lockdown taught me that was mostly because I was permanently tired. I am a night owl and prefer to work late. I used to cope on little sleep because we often have to, but after a few injuries I have realised I now need healing sleep. Luckily the eventing lifestyle has taught me to be able to power nap anywhere any time to recharge.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 31 December 2020

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Many event horses wear an eventing breastplate for work, particularly when they are jumping at home or in competitions. Riders may choose to use a breastplate for a number of reasons, including most obviously to ensure the saddle does not slip back, and there are many different sorts on the market.

Five-star rider and former young rider team gold medallist Charlotte Agnew says: “I try and use as little tack as possible as a rule, starting with the bare bones and working up depending on what’s needed.

“On the whole I wouldn’t use a breastplate at home, but I would always use one to compete. There are so many random things that can and do go wrong so it feels wise to prevent a saddle slip.”

Charlotte uses a few different types of eventing breastplate. At home, she occasionally puts on an elastic breastgirth – which has a wide piece of elastic which goes round the horse’s chest, from the girth on each side, and a strap over the top of the withers – “to stop a saddle slipping back on a horse with a big front”. She will keep this on for these horses at events.

For competitions, she mostly picks a five-point breastplate, which has attachments at the D-rings, the sides of the girth and under the tummy.

“In theory a five-point breastplate seems the most practical for dispersing the pressure, and it has an easy and effective martingale attachment,” she says. “I have a couple of horses that I never use a martingale on and I have a Fairfax breastplate for them.”

The Fairfax breastplate has a yoke round the horse’s chest and attaches at the sides of the girth, with an adjustable strap over the withers.

Five-star rider Alice Pearson is another to use breastgirths, tending to pick the Shepherd’s Breast Girth from one of her sponsor’s, Treehouse Sporting Colours, but also sometimes choosing a leather breastgirth.

“I was brought up in a racing background so I’ve always been a fan of the elasticated breastgirths,” she says. “I find they have some stretch so they don’t impede the shoulder movement. I like as little on a horse as possible and these are super lightweight too, as well as acting as handy neckstrap in FEI events [for which ‘unattached neckstraps’ are not allowed].”

Ensure eventing breastplates fit correctly

Another top-level rider, Ginny Howe, says she always ensures horses have practised in the eventing breastplate they will wear in competition so they are used to how it feels and says horses can have individual preferences, such as her former four-star horse, Eires Rock.

“He was a little rocket, with a big shoulder and big jump,” she says. “He loved his jumping, but if he had a breastplate or martingale that went between his front legs he would hardly jump and if he did he would feel hollow and awkward – he just didn’t like the feeling. He was one horse that needed a martingale, but back then I just had to get on with things without one!

“I am always very conscious of the adjustment that goes between horses’ front legs as a result, as the girls who work for me will confirm – I’m paranoid it’s too tight or too loose! All too often I see these straps done overly tight when the horse is stood still, but they are worse when moving and no allowance is made for when the horse is jumping, particularly on landing or jumping down drops.

“Equally I understand that if they are too loose it can be dangerous – on a number of occasions I’ve seen a stud or shoe get caught in the strap while the horse is jumping. It is very much about finding the balance.”

Ginny adds: “I am lucky that my saddles all fit my horses extremely well, thanks to my sponsors Voltaire Design UK, so I am not dependent on a breastplate for keeping them in place. I tend to use a breastplate as an additional extra for a just-in-case moment and if horses need a martingale.”

Ginny is another to mix and match different types of breastplate, but says she particularly favours the five-point breastplate from Voltaire.

“With built-in elastic, it gives the freedom needed over the fences, is fully adjustable and you can add the martingale attachment,” she says, explaining she uses this on her five-star horse, Undalgo De Windsor.

“Young horse CHF Archie does not need a martingale so he runs in an elastic breastgirth, just in case the saddle slips,” adds Ginny. “Stallion Interlaken W prefers the V-style elastic breastplate with martingale – due to his shape his saddle can sometimes slip back so I find this really works on him.”

Ginny also has a story about how an elastic breastgirth helped keep a saddle in place when she was competing her sister’s horse Echo P at Osberton.

“The girth elastic inside the stud girth snapped as I was jumping a fence cross-country,” she explains. “I was extremely lucky as he was wearing an elastic breastgirth which kept my saddle in place – that and good balance! – we even continued galloping to the next fence before I realised what had happened.”

Article continues below…

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Olympian Vittoria Panizzon uses a hunting breastplate – which attaches to the D-rings of the saddle and at the bottom of the girth – on all her horses.

“I like a simple look and want time-efficient tack and minimal weight for the horse to carry,” she says.

Vittoria’s sponsor Pariani make many types of eventing breastplate and manufacture hers to her specific requirements, including a small elastic insert as she likes the breastplate to have “a little give”. The Italian rider is another to stress the importance of adjusting a breastplate to fit.

“I don’t like breastplates on too tight as I worry about restricting shoulder movement, but equally I am wary they never hang low between the legs as that is dangerous. So I always adjust the buckles between each horse to get the fit I want. I see far too many too tight or completely pointlessly loose, especially when teaching.

“I am looking at ways to evolve the breastplate concept and Pariani are working with me to get new ideas. I like models that don’t go between the legs, but I like to be able to clip on a martingale attachment.

“In dire emergency the bridge strap over the withers on a hunting breastplate has served as a neck strap to hang on to!”

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Find out how the final day of action panned out in the CCI4*-L at Burnham Market – and why the runner-up’s preparation was so unusual…

Izzy Taylor achieved the enviable feat of adding nothing to her leading dressage score of 23.2 and winning the only long-format four-star event in Britain in 2020, Barefoot Retreats Burnham Market’s CCI4*-L, on Monkeying Around.

She put in an almost faultless showjumping round on her own and Mark Sartori’s nine-year-old, just giving the final part of the treble combination a little rattle.

“He jumped fabulously,” said Izzy with a smile. “He felt very confident, and it was nice to be sat on such a good jumper. He’s one that you can ride positively, as opposed to feeling as though you need to protect them.”

Italy’s Vittoria Panizzon and Chequers Play The Game rose from fifth after dressage to take second place, also finishing on their dressage score of 26.9. The 17-year-old, owned by Patricia and Amy Lambert, Flora Hurrell and Peter and Jan Price, has only once before showjumped clear at a CCI4*-L – when he and Vittoria won Tattersalls in 2017. This was his first run since Oasby in March, and only his second since finishing ninth in the CCI5* at Luhmühlen in 2018.

“This was a carefully thought-out plan and he is the only horse I would trust to do this with,” said Vittoria. “It has been a huge team effort to get him here; it was a bit of a gamble and I’m completely delighted it has all paid off.”

Sarah Bullimore finished third with the “15.2hh-ish” Corouet, whom she and her husband Brett bred and whom they own in conjunction with the Kew Jumping Syndicate. The nine-year-old chestnut, by Balou Du Rouet and out of Sarah’s CCI5* mare Lilly Corinne, jumped as though he was on springs and added nothing to his dressage score of 27.2.

Nicola Wilson and Bulana completed on their dressage mark of 27.6 for fourth, but she dropped to 10th on JL Dublin, second going into showjumping, with a rail down and 0.4 of a time-fault.

Tom Jackson took fifth place on the 13-year-old Billy Congo mare Billy Cuckoo, whom he described as “a little pocket rocket”, and were another pair not to mar their dressage of 28.4 with any further penalties.

Yasmin Ingham, winner of the eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S on Banzai Du Loir, topped off a great weekend with sixth and eighth places in this class on Sandman 7 and Rehy DJ, both of whom jumped impressive showjumping clears. Sandwiched in between those two horses was Ros Canter and Pencos Crown Jewel, seventh and also clear.

In total there were 28 showjumping clears within the time from 59 starters in this phase, and a further 10 left the fences up but had a couple of time-faults. Twenty horses finished on their dressage scores.

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Event rider Vittoria has been a stalwart of senior Italian teams since 2005. She has contested two Olympic Games, finishing 11th at London 2012 with Borough Pennyz. Based in Redmarley D’Abitot, Glos, she is a former junior European champion who has lived in England since she was 17.

Training the stars

Merlots Magic benefited from this exercise as he needed to strengthen behind and develop more “push”. Chequers Play The Game was encouraged to make a better shape over a fence and I always used diagonal poles placed on top of the fence to encourage him to be rounder.

I use this exercise regularly with most of my horses, but I’ve always been cautious with Borough Pennyz (pictured). She was born with an amazing jump and if she overjumped doing an exercise like this, she would get into trouble.

This exercise — consisting ultimately of a cross-pole to three wide parallels jumped in trot — is multi-faceted. The brainchild of Sarah Bullen, it helps a horse who isn’t making a good shape over a fence to make their bascule rounder. It improves their “push” from behind, encourages the horse to sit back, “punch” and pick up. It will make those who rush back off, and teaches them how to look after themselves. The grid can also help to enhance a rider’s balance.

Tackling the issue

1. Set up a small cross-pole with a trot-pole preceding it at a 2.5m distance. Approach in trot and repeat until the horse is jumping through calmly.

2. Add in the other elements of the grid one at a time, always with a groundline 
in front. Next is an upright — 
the front part of the first parallel — placed about 7m from the cross-pole. Then the back rail, 
and so on, until there is three parallels to jump, initially with about 7m between each fence.

3. You don’t want the parallels too high (90cm-1m is ample), but they should be widened by 5-10cm each time, up to almost 2m for experienced horses. Consequently, the striding between them will shorten — to closer to 6m than the original 7m. Add in diagonal poles as the parallels widen to encourage the horse to make a rounder shape.

4. Jump through each altered grid once or twice. Don’t hang around between each approach as you don’t want the horse to switch off. To get the horse really lifting his shoulders, I sometimes change the final parallel into an upright.

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Consider this…

• Inexperienced riders tend to hang on to the horse’s mouth, but avoid doing this as the horse must be free to use their neck.
• The rider should lower his hands to move with the horse’s mouth, and stay folded and in balance, with their leg in the correct position. Don’t sit back on the saddle.
• Jumping the initial grids before widening with a light contact is the best way to check ideal rider balance.
• Ensure the horse jumps sharply over the cross-pole or you will struggle to make it through the rest.
• If the horse is finding it too easy, shorten the overall striding.

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A “kind” advanced event horse who was “coming into his own” has been put down following a field accident.

Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon paid tribute to her 14-year-old Nations Cup ride Argentinus, who joined her stable at the end of the 2015 season.

Vittoria told H&H the 16.1hh gelding, owned by the Weymss family, had “found his niche” over the last few years.

“He was a kind horse but had a very sensitive character. He was very introverted and could get easily confused and worried. When he came to me he had a history of not leaving the start box and napping in cross-country,” she said.

“He never used to hack on his own but we took things very slowly and spent a long time hacking with friends. I did a lot at British Eventing novice level for a long time and he and he gained confidence over the years.”

Vittoria said Argentinus, known as Yogi, had always been a good jumper, winning his first advanced at Aston Le Walls on 21 July.

“We had some good intermediate results last year and I took him up to advanced this year, which I didn’t expect when he first came to me,” she said.

“We were then on the Italian Nations Cup team at Waregem in September. We had some challenges but I was thrilled with his performance; he was becoming a very valuable team member.”

Yogi’s owner Lottie Wemyss also paid tribute to her “wonderful boy”.

“We are so devastated you are gone so suddenly. You have given us so much over these last 11 years,” she said. “We are so proud of all you achieved… but also just the unique character you were; there is a reason you were many people’s favourite.”

Vittoria said Yogi had some “endearing quirks” which made the gelding “unique” and an exceptional hunter.

“He was a particular character, and an exceptional gate jumper – which meant if he didn’t like his friends in the field he would jump out and come home from the furthest part of the farm. He was also very good at opening his stable door and sometimes would take himself for a little graze on the lawn. It was all done in a cute way, he was never troublesome,” she said.

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“I had some incredible times hunting. One occasion with the South Shropshire we jumped eight gates which you had to jump neatly and keenly, and I was on the right horse for the job. I absolutely loved the partnership required and gained by that experience.”

Vittoria said Yogi will be terribly missed.

“It’s such a shame when you feel like you were finally unlocking the key. We made a lot of progress through partnership and it showed the importance of that with horses. I am very glad his owners were able to follow him at events this year and see him at his best.”

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Leading Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon has paid tribute to the horse who helped launch her career.

Grommet, known as “Womby” to his friends, was put down this month aged 26 after a long and happy “free-range” retirement with Vittoria.

Vittoria was 14 years old when she bought the 15.1hh gelding as a six-year-old from the Wiegersmas and the pair were “almost unrivalled” at junior level in Italy, winning the Italian junior eventing championship title in 1999 and 2000.

Womby also gave Vittoria her first international win, at the FEI Junior European Championships at Pratoni in 2000, where they took individual gold and team bronze.

Vittoria said it was almost by chance that Womby came into her life.

“My aunt [who lives in Cornwall] was going to pick up some feed from the Wigersmas and my mother went along to see what horses were there,” Vittoria told H&H.

The horse travelled to Italy, where Vittoria was still living at the time, and the pair started their successful campaign.

“He was quite lazy to work, but loved cross-country and had a fantastic gallop — he was very bold and certainly looked after me,” said Vittoria.

She moved to England the day after her junior European victory and it was Hendrick Wiegersma who drove Womby and her other junior horse, Lord Sasha, back to the UK with the British team horses.

He retired early after developing problems with his feet and back as well as arthritis.

“For many years he lived out with the youngsters and the mares, but went downhill a few years ago,” Vittoria added.

“[It was when I was based] at Norton Grounds about three years ago I ran out of stables — I would already have him loose on the yard, and from being loose within the barn he ended up being loose completely and absolutely loved it.

“It gave him a complete new lease of life.”

She added Womby had a “whole little schedule”.

“He would come in at breakfast time, and perhaps check who hadn’t finished their breakfast, then he would go out for a graze before coming back in to watch who was being tacked up, then take himself off for another graze.

“He knew where the best grass was and was a very good lawnmower, he didn’t touch the flowers — at night I would wake up and hear him grazing outside my window.

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Vittoria added that Womby would always greet the lorry when she returned home and was also “quite a good guard dog” — trotting off to investigate any noises from the yard in the night.

“Certainly being free range gave him even more personality,” she said.

“I have lost plenty of horses through my life, but I did find losing him the hardest.

“If I think back it starts to shock me how many changes there have been [in my life] and he has been there through all of them.

“I owe him an awful lot, not just for medals and for my career, but as the best of friends and as a family member for daily company and entertainment with his antics.”

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Italian rider Vittoria Panizzon has been a name the eventing world has been very familiar with over the years. She has ridden at two Olympic Games, in 2008 and 2012 and countless European championships, but she is yet to compete at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

This year, Vittoria, who has been based in England for 17 years now, will partner the extraordinary grey mare, Borough Pennyz at the Lincolnshire four-star event.

“Because I’ve always been fortunate enough to compete at championships each year, I haven’t ever made it to Burghley,” says Vittoria. “I’ve never had more than one horse up and running at championship and four-star level at the same time up until now.”

Indeed, Vittoria rode at the Europeans in Strzegom last weekend on Chequers Play The Game, and now it’s Pennyz’s time to shine.

“We haven’t got there yet,” warns Vittoria, who is wary after last-minute injuries to Pennyz have seen her miss World and Olympic Games. “I wouldn’t be able to take a deep breath and relax until we’re leaving the start box on cross-country day at Burghley. Pennyz isn’t that old but she’s no spring chicken either,” says Vittoria of the 14-year-old, who is owned and bred by Sally Bullen. “She’s had a couple of injuries and we’ve made sure we manage her well, plus we need a bit of luck on our side.”

Vittoria has had the ride on Pennyz since she helped back the mare when she was four.

“Pennyz has always been so special,” says Vittoria. “She’s very bouncy and is exactly the same at home as to how people see her at events. You have to hack her on her own and can only do circular routes — turning around isn’t an option as she likes to go fast! Once she has decided she doesn’t want to walk any more, that’s it.”

The diminutive grey by Cevin Z is famed for her jumping prowess, and is capable of throwing some serious shapes over a fence.

“She makes you feel better at jumping as a rider,” laughs Vittoria. “But then with that comes the pressure of not messing it up as everyone expects her to jump a clear round.”

Vittoria says that a change in bit this year seems to be helping.

“We tried an eggbutt Waterford snaffle and it worked wonders at Gatcombe earlier this month and I now have better steering,” says Vittoria. “There’s a fine balance though. As Pennyz is quite small at 16hh, I have to build up speed for some of the bigger, wider cross-country fences. But it seems nowadays that after most big, wide fences, there is a turn to a narrow fence, so I have to have very good steering.”

Vittoria says that Burghley is a “daunting prospect”.

“It’s still famously probably the biggest event in the world and I haven’t done a huge number of four-stars,” confesses Vittoria. “I had a flick through the H&H Mary King course walk pictures and I hope the fences will look easier once they are dressed with flowers!”

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Vittoria says that she would like to be competitive at Burghley.

“Pennyz isn’t the biggest fan of flying changes — it entirely depends on her mood and excitement levels — but hopefully it won’t be a dressage competition anyway,” says Vittoria. “As long as I ride her well, don’t let her down, don’t embarrass myself or mess up at big white parallel rails, like I did at Badminton this year, we are perfectly capable of it.”

Don’t miss H&H’s Burghley preview issues — course walk with Mary King and interview with event director Liz Inman in this week’s issue (dated 24 August) and 16-page pull-out with form guide for every entry in the following issue (dated 31 August).

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Vittoria Panizzon and Borough Pennyz will not be able to compete at the Rio Olympics as both are injured.

Pennyz competed in the Event Rider Masters section at Barbury Castle last weekend, but two days later was confirmed to be out of action. Then the Gloucestershire-based Italian rider broke her collarbone falling with Menlo Park in the novice at Upton House on Wednesday, just moments after winning the open novice on Argentinus.

“Similar things have happened to me before and life does go on with plenty to be grateful for, but I cannot deny I longed to make Rio since I first heard of it and missing representing one’s country at the Olympics at this near stage is one of the toughest mishaps,” said Vittoria. “I’m devastated for my whole team and sponsors and especially for Pennyz, a medallist in my eyes and a very special friend.

“Ironically, adding insult to injury, I was visited at home for a dope test last night, not long after A&E painkillers. It took two hours and a lot of tea, luckily my visiting guests saw the funny side!”

Borough Pennyz, a 13-year-old grey mare by Cevin Z, was bred by her owner, Sally Bullen. She is well known for her extravagant jump and she and Vittoria have many great results together, including 11th individually at the London Olympics, seventh at Badminton 2013 and eighth at the 2013 European Championships. They were recently ninth in the ERM at Bramham and would have been serious top-10 contenders in Rio.

The Italians did not gain a team qualification for Rio, but managed to qualify to field a “composite team” of three riders through the individual rider qualification system. They recently received the good news that they would be able to enter the full four riders as a Swiss competitor had been unable to meet the minimum eligibility requirements.

The riders still on the Italian Olympic short-list are as follows. The final team will be announced on Monday.

• Stefano Brecciaroli on Apollo Van De Wendi Kurt Hoeve or Roulette B
• Luca Roman on Castlewoods Jake
• Pietro Roman on Barraduff
• Arianna Schivo on Quefira De L’Ormeau
• Giovanni Ugolotti on Oplitas

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Event riders are back home and on the mend following falls in the cross-country at Badminton Horse Trials (4-8 May).

This year’s youngest Badminton competitor Emily King had an unfortunate fall at the second to last fence, the second element of the Rolex Crossing, following a strong round with Brookleigh.

The 20-year-old was understandably disappointed, but neither she nor “Brook” was injured.

“Such a shame,” said Emily following her round. “Brook and I were having such a super round, but he just tired towards the end which resulted in a fall.

“Luckily both him and I are fine. I feel so honoured and lucky to have experienced Badminton, it truly is the greatest event on earth and I just can’t wait to compete there again.”

Badminton final scores

Fellow British rider Jeanette Brakewell had a heavy fall at the first element of the Rolex Crossing with Lets Dance.

Jeanette was momentarily stuck underneath her horse, but was sitting up and talking before being taken to Southmead hospital for observation.

She suffered broken ribs but is now back home recovering.

“Jeanette and Lets Dance are both fine after their fall at the penultimate fence on Badminton’s cross country course,” said a spokesman for the rider.

“Both are a bit battered and sore, and Jeanette has broken a few ribs — but she’ll be back in the saddle before you know it.”

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Australian Chris Burton fell at the first element of the Shogun Hollow.

“A little bit sore and sorry this morning,” said Chris the day after the fall. “Nobilis is absolutely fine after our little tumble. He was giving me a great ride and just made a mistake at an unforgiving fence.”

Italian Vittoria Panizzon was unseated at the second Jack Wills Garden Rails when Borough Pennyz went underneath the fence.

“After a fantastic start to our round, Pennyz did a novel ‘over and under’ a large parallel when a bad stride put us in it,” said Vittoria.

“I dismounted while she extricated herself and I think the Pariani saddle took the brunt of it all as we are both thankfully absolutely fine. I have nothing more than whiplash and a very white annoyed pony.”

Vicarage Vee falls

Jodie Amos, Lucy Jackson, Tom Crisp, Michael Owen and Boyd Martin all fell at the notoriously challenging Vicarage Vee (pictured above).

“Fig (Figaro van Het Broekxhof) made the first 21 fences of a very influential cross-country course feel pretty effortless, showing off all his scope before we sadly came unstuck at the testing Vicarage Vee,” said Jodie.

“Hindsight is a great thing and had we been drawn later in the day, given all the problems it caused we probably would of taken the long route, but on the positive side what an exciting horse.”

Tom and Coolys Luxury were uninjured in their tumble.

“Cooly giving me a cracking ride up to that point, just a fraction off at the Vicarage Vee. Such a shame,” said Tom. “Fit for another day though.”

Meanwhile Lucy said she and her horse, Bosun, were “both fine” following the fall, while Boyd said he was “kicking himself”.

“We were on a half-stride, and he’d have had to either take off long to one of the most intimidating fences in the world, or do what I did: I gave him a pull and tried to add a chip, and we came crashing down,” he said.

“Luckily Crackers (Cracker Jack) and I are unscathed and we’ll live to fight another day.”

Michael also said he and Bradeley Law were not hurt in the fall.

Meanwhile, Pippa Funnell has returned home following her fall at Withingon Manor Horse Trials (1 May).

Pippa fell at fence 16 on an advanced course.

She was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire but returned home on the Wednesday (4 May).

Pippa’s ride Sandman 7 was treated by vets and walking sound.

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There's no doubt that eventing at a high level involves a hefty dose of hard graft. But when top riders are wishing there were more hours in the day, what do they do to make the most out of their time?

1. Be realistic

When you’re working against the clock, don’t waste time on the things that, in the short term, don’t matter. “I’m not one for scraping every speck of mud off when I ride at home. I’d rather every horse has done enough hill work than gone out clean,” says Vittoria Panizzon. “They are going in the field afterwards anyway. Time is as tight as finances, so they live out at night. It keeps the workload down.”

2. Utilise social media

Owners, sponsors, friends… There is a long list of people with which to keep in touch, so make the most of social media. “My husband takes pictures regularly and we put them on Facebook so that owners can keep up-to-date with what their horses are doing,” says Essex-based Victoria Bax. “I make a point of phoning owners every month, too, but Facebook is a great way to keep them in the loop on a daily basis.”

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3. Choose the right staff

Working with horses is hard graft, and employing people who can cope is sometimes easier said than done. “I’ve been fortunate with my weekday lady, but weekend staff has been an issue,” admits Victoria. “It’s often young people wanting pocket money, but they don’t understand the job or they don’t listen. I’ve had to let some go because of this.”

“It is hard to find good staff who last,” Michael Owen adds. “Most of the working pupils I take have been taught by me for a while, so they already know how I work and what my standards are. I’ve found it’s better finding people I know instead of advertising.”

4. Be time-wise

Get the most from your riding routine by schooling, jumping or galloping all of the horses on the same day. “I build a course, then every horse jumps it,” says Andrew Nicholson. “Sometimes they might not even do a practice fence. I get on, jump round, then it goes up a few holes and they do it again. I have a lot of horses to fit in, so it has to be quick — but at the same time they must be learning something.”

5. Make the most of people

Ginny Howe‘s parents help with the running of her yard, while Michael’s mother often grooms for him at events and Victoria relies on friends to help with hacking. “A lot depends on your personal situation, but boys can often rope in a wife or girlfriend to help, or maybe your family owns stables or there is someone close by to help with the small things, like laundry,” says Vittoria. “Last year I was ordering things from Boots online because I didn’t have time to go to the chemist. All the girls live with me and I cook most nights, but they help with washing up and housework, so everyone pulls their weight.”

Don’t miss the full feature about top riders’ routines in this week’s eventing special issue of Horse & Hound magazine (5 March 2015)

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Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon finished best of the Italian squad at last year’s European Championships and at the 2012 London Olympics when she piloted Borough Pennyz into individual eigth and 11th places respectively. Unfortunately, Vittoria had to withdraw Pennyz from this year’s World Equestrian Games just before her dressage test.

Here she shares with H&H her top tips for warming up and down:

1. The Italian rider learned a lot from studies carried out prior to the 2008 Olympics into the best way to cool down horses.

“The hotter the weather the more of a concern it is to get a horse’s body temperature back to normal as soon as possible,” says Vittoria.

At a three-day event she uses a pre-cooling technique prior to going across country. She likens it to the days of the long format, which included a mandatory 10-minute break before crossing the start line.

“I begin by letting the horse loosen up and then we will do some faster work as

a pipe opener — rather like the roads and tracks and steeplechase in the old days,” explains Vittoria.

“It is important that the horse’s heart rate is up and we will jump several fences to get our eye in and make sure I am seeing a forward stride.”

This is followed by a 10-minute break. The horse walks around and his flanks and neck are washed down. Excess water is scraped away before he is towelled off — imperative for preventing slippery reins.

“The idea is that if the horse sets off cool then he will recover quicker.”

2. After crossing the finish line it is important to pull up gradually.

“I do see people forgetting to do this because they are so happy with their round but tired horses are more likely to trip and that risks injury.”

Loosen the horse’s girth before undoing it and removing the saddle completely.

“I like to do this so that the pressure is released gradually,” adds Vittoria. “Keep the horse moving as much as possible to help blood circulate around his body which will speed up the recovery process.”

3. It is crucial to get water on to a hot horse quickly. This applies to finishing a cross-country round, after schooling or working on the gallops.

“There can be a 25-degree change in the water temperature from when it goes on the horse to dropping off his stomach, so sponge it on and then scrape it off and put more on. You don’t want hot water sitting on the horse,” says Vittoria. “I like to offer a few sips of drinking water quite soon after exertion. I wouldn’t want him to be thirsty after working hard.”

4. She does not allow horses to eat until they have stopped puffing.

“Then they will have a pick of grass so that they drop their heads which helps to clear the nasal passage,” adds Vittoria whose team places ice in the water tank on hot days to keep it cool for washing down. “Prepare this before your cross-country round so that it is ready for use as soon as you get back to the lorry. However, don’t leave buckets in the sun.”

5. Vittoria’s horses wear cold boots after a big run to help warm, tired legs recover.

“We check the boots frequently because they heat up quickly and then have the opposite effect on legs.”

6. On a sunny day a cooler is applied to prevent the horse catching a chill. On a colder day a Thermatex is worn to wick away moisture while keeping the horse warm. Studs are taken out as soon as possible.

“Borough Pennyz is bouncy so her studs are removed before she treads on herself or a person.”

7. The key to cooling down a horse efficiently is organisation.

“It is important that every helper knows what their job is and all the necessary kit is easy to get to to save wasting any time,” says Vittoria.

This training feature was originally published in Eventing magazine in the May 2014 issue.

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Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon finished best of the Italian squad at last year’s European Championships and at the 2012 London Olympics when she piloted Borough Pennyz into individual eigth and 11th places respectively. Unfortunately, Vittoria had to withdraw Pennyz from this year’s World Equestrian Games just before her dressage test.

Here she shares with H&H her top tips for getting horses fit:

1. Vittoria begins initial fitness work by hacking out before bringing more work into the routine.

“The hacking puts the basics in place, then I can move the hacking up a notch and start schooling,” explains Vittoria.

2. Hills are a vital part of Vittoria’s fitness programme for all of her horses, particularly Pennyz who is warmblood/TB.

“Pennyz used to struggle with hills when she was younger. Sometimes I trot up the same one several times. On the gallops I go up and down in canter so that the horses learn to balance themselves.”

3. Pennyz’s buzzy nature means her fast work has to be well timed.

“If I start doing it too early she starts to stress and then she doesn’t eat very well. That’s why I like to do the majority of fitness work out hacking before doing anything fast.”

4. All of Vittoria’s horses hack most days for around an hour.

“I think hacking is very important. It makes them strong and tough.”

5. Vittoria’s horses do canter work twice a week.

“I make sure I’m a step ahead with the fast work so that if they do something silly, like lose a shoe or get a small cut, and I miss one session I don’t have to panic,” explains Vittoria.

“For younger horses or those competing at lower levels the trot work and hills out hacking are the most important element of building core fitness.”

6. The hills are particularly important for Pennyz because, unlike a pure Thoroughbred, there comes a point when she tires.

“The fast work includes short, sharp bursts of speed uphill and we canter continuously in between,” explains Vittoria. “When we were preparing for London, Pennyz would do that seven times in the same session so that she was ready to cope with a twisty track.”

7. Vittoria builds the intensity of the cantering sessions until each horse holds a steady speed for double the number of minutes of a cross-country round at their level.

“They run up the steeper part of the gallops more times as we get closer to a big event,” she explains. “For instance an intermediate horse goes up and down four times, while a horse aiming at a three-star will go up and down at least five times in the final week. That is around 20 minutes, working on the basis that our cross-country round will last for 10 minutes.”

This training feature was originally published in the April 2014 edition of Eventing magazine

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Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon withdrew Borough Pennyz just before her dressage test in the eventing competition at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games today (Friday 29 August)..

She confirmed to H&H that Sally Bullen’s popular grey mare “didn’t feel right” in the warm-up.

The British-based pair could have been in line for an individual medal, especially as this is expected to be a strong cross-country competition and Pennyz is a fantastic performer in the jumping phases.

Vittoria has had a run of bad luck this year including withdrawing Pennyz from Badminton with a bruised foot — another event which would have played to her strengths. In June she had thousands of pounds worth of tack stolen from her previous yard in Gloucestershire while she was competing at Bramham.

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As equine crime rises, rural insurers NFU Mutual has launched its Country Crime Fighters Awards 2014 to help prevent thefts.

H&H recently has reported on several high-profile break ins, including to dressage rider Sarah Turner and Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon.

NFU Mutual told H&H it was seeing hauls of up to £30,000 worth of tack being stolen from competition and livery yards — the highest amounts since 2011.

Now the company has launched a cash fund of up to £6,500 for people who help prevent equestrian crime.

The awards will help to recognise and celebrate unsung rural heroes by providing them with financial and practical support to help fund anti-crime initiatives.

All people have to do is visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/crimefighters and tell the insurer in 300 words or less why they or their community group deserve to win an award and how they have helped to reduce crime in their local area.

The categories for 2014 are:

• Crime Prevention using social media
• Equestrian crime prevention
• Farm crime prevention
• Local community crime prevention
• Wildlife crime prevention
• Rural business crime prevention
• Crime prevention using technology

The national winner will receive a trophy and a cheque for £1,500. Regional winners will receive a trophy and £500.

Nominations can be submitted online at the Country Crime Fighters webpage and closing on the 11 August.

To enter online visit: www.nfumutual.co.uk/crimefighters

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After recent high-profile equestrian break-ins — including at Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon’s yard — riders and yard owners are urged to be extra vigilant.

Rural insurer NFU Mutual told H&H claims for major thefts are on the rise.

“We have seen a number of large tack theft claims up to £30,000 recently. These tend to be at professional or large livery yards,” said NFU’s Nicki Whittaker.

“The last time we saw large claims like this was in 2011. While tack theft is always a problem for horse owners it is normally just a few items stolen — now it is big hauls.”

In March, H&H reported that equine-related crime was at its highest level for the past decade.

Italian rider Vittoria’s yard in Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos, was broken into earlier this month (4 June). Thousands of pounds worth of tack — including 16 saddles, 25 bridles and 20 bits — were stolen. Most of it was made by Italian manufacturer Pariani. Nothing as yet has been recovered although Vittoria has listed serial numbers of all items on her Facebook page.

“They bust a door to get in and took everything of value,” said Vittoria. “Every bit of leather work they could find has gone.”

Last month (21 May), dressage rider and trainer Sarah Turner had more than £10,000 worth of tack — including saddles, bridles and headcollars — stolen from her yard in Essex.

She is “almost certain” the thieves had “some knowledge of the yard” as they came across two fields to reach the yard — before smashing through two doors with an empty gas bottle and a crow bar.

“It makes me sick to the stomach as to how anyone could do this,” she said.

“I have tried to help warn others by using social networks and we are currently considering ways of enhancing security in order to restore peace of mind.”

On 19 May, burglars took at least £7,000 worth of stock from a Yorkshire equestrian business, Hoofies Equestrian and Pet Supplies.

Owner Lauren Houfe said: “They took pretty much everything. I was left with

a few rugs, lead ropes and horse treats.”

Keighley Neighbourhood Watch is urging buyers to keep an eye out for “reduced price equestrian equipment”.

But why now?

“Over the past 10 years, crime in the countryside has become more organised and sophisticated,” said Ms Whittaker.

“Thieves are very aware of the value of items on or around livery yards.

“As the economic climate improves, it is possible that people are looking to invest in new tack and equipment. Where there is demand, thieves will be quick to fill this gap.”

She said this type of crime is highly organised and will involve criminals visiting a yard — sometimes on the pretence that they are lost.

Vittoria believes she was targeted as thieves knew she was away competing at Bramham.

“They must have had local knowledge,” she said. “They waited until I had gone.”

On the other hand, H&H knows of big yards that have not suffered a single theft in 15 years. But they tend to have strong, bolted doors, an alarmed tackroom and office, closed circuit TV and someone living on site.

Report it

David Collings of Hampshire Police warned that equine-related crime is never going to be high on the police priority list.

“Equine crime is not a ‘sexy subject’. The onus is on horse owners to act, to prevent as much as possible — by marking — but also to report if things are stolen,” he told H&H.

“Ask yourself where it goes. It must reappear somewhere — at tack sales, car boot sales or eBay — where it is bought by other horse owners,” he added. “Victims must equally become investigators in their own right. If they want to try and recover their property they must spend time researching all potential outlets where property could be disposed.

“Thieves will undoubtedly work on the theory that the public are not inquisitive enough or concerned about buying stolen goods or that their chances of getting caught in possession of stolen property are limited.”

H&H reader Daryl Freeman said he has beefed up security measures.

“In the first three years I lived in Norfolk, I had rugs, equipment, jumps stolen every year,” he said. “I have stock fenced my yard as a result and I keep two dogs out with the horses as a deterrent.”

Vittoria admitted her security was “not as high as it could have been”, but that police told her “if thieves want to get in they will”.

H&H reader Rhona Glynn agreed. “I don’t think anybody is immune to tack theft regardless of how much security they have. These people are professionals,” she said.

H&H has in the past couple of years reported on two cases in which thieves were captured on CCTV camera, and still not caught.

Goods shipped abroad?

Big hauls could end up anywhere —with professional criminals often shipping the goods to Ireland or the Continent within hours.

Buyers should always check for markings if buying at tack sales or car boot sales and report anything suspicious.

“Pariani is an uncommon brand to find in Britain and Ireland, so I’d urge anyone to keep a look out at sales or online,” said Vittoria.

“I’m not sure how they plan to sell them on, as they will stand out like a sore thumb.”

In April, £15,000 of equipment was taken from a riding centre on the Hampshire-Surrey border. Owner Caroline Ewen said that information about burglaries needs to be shared between owners.

“Somewhere somebody is buying a saddle that cost £1,500 for virtually nothing. They should realise this might be stolen and report it,” she said.

And with eBay and similar sites growing in popularity, buyers are warned to take extra care.

H&H reader Phillippa Granger said she’d be suspicious of buying goods online.

“I would be aware if they were selling it really cheap or didn’t know what size it was,” she added.

As an owner, you need to be able to identify your belongings should they end up online.

“A clear picture will help the police identify your property and allow you to prove ownership if you see it offered for sale,” said Alison Cox from NFU.

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Olympic eventer Vittoria Panizzon is urging horse owners to look out for her tack after her yard was “cleared out” by thieves.

The Italian rider’s yard in Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos, was broken into overnight last week (4-5 June).

Thousands of pounds worth of tack including 16 saddles, 25 bridles and 20 bits were stolen.

“They bust a door to get in and took everything of value,” Vittoria told H&H. “Every bit of leatherwork — including draw reins and breastplates — they could find has gone.”

Most of the tack is Pariani. There were also some Albion saddles.

“Pariani is uncommon over in Britain and Ireland, so I’d urge anyone to keep a look out at sales or online,” she said.

“I’m not sure how they plan to sell them on as they are very distinctive and will stand out like a sore thumb.”

The thieves also took Equissage pads and handheld units and Ice-Vibe boots.

“The landlord was away and I was off competeing, so there must have been local knowledge. They waited until we were out,” she added.

“It’s taken years to build up this collection and to break the tack in. Plus it has sentimental value, it’s very upsetting.

“I’m trying to look on the bright side that at least they couldn’t find the keys to take the cars. Plus Pennyz [her Olympic mount Borough Pennyz] was in her stable and was unharmed.”

Vittoria has 2 saddles and bridles left — the ones she had with her when she was away competing at Bramham last week.

“People have been very kind lending me tack, but it’s hard with high-withered thoroughbreds,” she added. “I just want to spread the word and to get it back.”

Gloucestershire Police confirmed to H&H that they were investigating.

Anyone with information should contact the force on 101.

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Vittoria Panizzon, one of the favourites for this year’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, has had to withdraw Borough Pennyz after finding the mare had a bruised foot this morning.

“We tried our best, but there were not enough hours to sort it,” said the Gloucestershire-based Italian.

“She is on her best form ever, and looks and feels amazing, with ever improving results in the preparation, so it feels like a massive opportunity missed for both of us. I’m very sorry for all her fan club and the whole team, who have put in 100%.

“She has never missed an event in her life, so it’s a shock, but we will look forward to WEG [Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games].”

Badminton final scores

Vittoria and Sally Bullen’s home-bred 11-year-old by Cevin Z were 7th at Badminton last year (pictured).

They were 3rd favourites at 7/1 with Horse & Hound’s betting partner, Paddy Power.

The 1st horse inspection at Badminton is at 4.30pm this afternoon.

Bet on the Badminton winner — closes 4.30pm today (Wednesday, 7 May).

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Rock Model, the horse who launched Italian eventer Vittoria Panizzon’s career, has died, aged 19.

The 15.3hh son of Rock King, bred by Sarah Bullen, suffered a heart attack while enjoying a canter out hacking alongside Vittoria’s other advanced rides Borough Pennyz and Merlots Magic at her Gloucestershire base. He died in Vittoria’s arms.

Rock Model’s career highlights include individual silver at the 2003 young rider Europeans, leading the Italians to team bronze in front of a home crowd at the senior Europeans in Pratoni in 2007 and finishing 16th at the 2008 Olympics (pictured top).

He was also particularly successful at Belton (above), winning there twice and enjoying several top placings. He accrued 1019 British Eventing points during his career.

“Goodbye to a very best friend… He has taken me round the world competing in Hong Kong, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Italy, France and GB,” wrote Vittoria on Facebook.

“He has entertained me since I was 17 and he was 6. He was 19 this year and still finished 3rd at Belton 2013 and 2nd to Woody [Merlots Magic] at Oasby in his last run last year [right]. Who says 15.3hh is small?!

“It was the most perfect way for him to go, he had a heart murmur for many years but absolutely loathed holidays and thrived on showing off to big crowds. He is the only horse I know that can throw a stick and jump anything, including electric fencing and wire, and do fast pirouettes!”

Vittoria concluded her post by sending big hugs to everyone who loved “Bug”, adding: “We miss him already, always the yard favourite.”

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William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning retained their Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials title this afternoon when they jumped a faultless clear in the senior CCI3*.

Christopher Stone’s stallion was the overnight leader and had a fence in hand to win, but didn’t need it.

“Yesterday he was fairly feisty, so I was aware he could take the fences on too much, but I was pleased he was rideable,” said William.

Sir Mark Todd also went clear on Diane Brunsden and Peter Cattell’s Leonidas II to hold the runner-up spot.

“When you’ve got William Fox-Pitt in front of you, you know there aren’t going to be many mistakes, so all I worried about was getting the clear on my horse,” said Mark. “It was a decent track and the time was tight. Anything can happen.”

There were only eight showjumping clears in the time in the class.

William said: “Di Boddy is a very good course-designer. She’s very aware of the arena and the layout and used a variety of things to test us, plus a tight time. And even the horses that went inside the time yesterday would have felt their exertions today.”

The main drama of the final session was France’s Mathieu Lemoine, third overnight, falling off when Quickness stopped abruptly in the middle of the treble at fence 10. He was therefore eliminated.

Another Frenchman, Didier Dhennin, moved up from fifth to take third on Opi De Saint Leo.

Paul Sims’ clear on Calador raised him from 11th to fourth, while Michael Owen’s with The Highland Prince elevated him from 13th to sixth.

Nicola Wilson had just the final part of the treble down to take fifth on Annie Clover, while she also finished eighth on Beltane Queen.

Jeanette Brakewell slotted into seventh on Lets Dance (up from 10th with four faults). Lucie McNichol (Zeus Of Rushall) and Donatien Schauly (Seculaire) had two down each to fall from sixth and eighth to ninth and 10th.

Apart from Mathieu, the main victim of the final phase was Vittoria Panizzon (Merlots Magic) who dropped from fourth to 12th with three fences down and two time-faults.

All H&H’s online Bramham coverage

Results

Buy H&H on Thursday (13 June) for a full report from Bramham.

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Zara Phillips is best of the British riders in the senior CCI3* at the Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials after the first day of dressage.

Riding Trevor Hemmings’ Lord Lauries, Zara scored 45.6 to slot in just behind the leader, France’s Maxime Livio (44.4).

Lord Lauries was produced to three-star level by Germany’s Olympic individual bronze medallist Sandra Auffarth, with Zara taking over in 2010. The pair were recently eighth in the CIC3* at Houghton (pictured).

The 12-year-old by Laralle makes his Bramham debut, while Zara has tasted success here before — she won the under-25 section in 2002 on Toytown.

Leader Maxime has made an excellent start in a bid to improve on his third place here in the under-25s in 2010 on Jaipur II.

His mount this time is his own and Philippe Magnen’s Cathar De Gamel, a 12-year-old by Quatar De Plape who won Sandillon CIC3* in May.

Should Maxime win, he would be the first French rider to take the senior CCI3* here since Didier Seguret on Lotoise in 1989.

William Fox-Pitt — who holds the record for Bramham wins with six in this class so far — sits in third on Running Order, a new ride for him this year.

On form riders Gemma Tattersall (Arctic Soul) and Vittoria Panizzon (Merlots Magic) are tied for fourth place.

British amateur rider Janine Jansen — a BBC Spotlight presenter — leads the BETA CIC3* on her own Velocity II with a mark of 43.4.

The Bishop Burton College under-25 CCI3* competitors all have their dressage tomorrow, while all classes run across country over Ian Stark’s tracks on Saturday.

Log back on for updates from Bramham over the weekend. Full report in H&H next Thursday (13 June).

Results and times

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Italian event rider Vittoria Panizzon tells H&H about her Olympic jumping machine.

Fact file

Name: Borough Pennyz

Stable name: Pennyz

Age: nine

Height: 16hh

Breed & sex: AES (Anglo European Studbook) mare

Sire: Cevin Z

Dam: Sovereign Flight (by Dutch Gold)

Discipline: eventing

Owner-breeder: Sally Bullen (who also bred her dam)

Rider: Vittoria Panizzon

Groom: Laura Wilson

Best result: finishing 11th at the London Olympic Games after adding one showjumping time-fault to her dressage score of 53.5.

Four things you didn’t know…

1 Vittoria produced Pennyz, starting work in 2009 and running in their first BE90 in April that year.

2 While nothing really frightens Pennyz, she will snort loudly at anything that offends her or invades her personal space.

3 Pennyz requires tactful handling for dressage – Vittoria has to “suggest” things or even just whisper to her, as a touch of the leg can produce an exaggerated reaction. She is only worked on the flat once a week, which suits Vittoria, too.

4 She gets very wound up about galloping, but runs out of steam after a few long hills as she is not a full thoroughbred. Vittoria has to work hard on the mare’s fitness.

To read the full interview with Vittoria Panizzon about Borough Pennyz see 27 September issue of H&H

Read all the latest eventing news

Vittoria Panizzon and Rock Model (pictured right) triumphed in Belton’s showcase class, the Grantham Cup, ahead of last year’s winner Ruth Edge riding Two Thyme. Cross-country leader Dominic Ruane, 22, finished third with two rails down on Hunter’s Legend.

A marathon 72-starter advanced section L saw a first advanced win for Heidi Woodhead (neé Simmons) on The Biz. She narrowly beat Rodney Powell riding Langarth Darcy into second place.

Junior European Champion Laura Collett, 17, rode Fernhill Sox to win the Horse Trials Support Group under-25 section — a first advanced outing for horse and rider — by 16.3pen. Lauren Shannon finished runner-up on Quixotic, ahead of Oliver Townend on Saxon Cross.

Read this report in full, including photos and further analysis, in this Thursday’s Horse & Hound (5 April, ’07)

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