1. Brits finishing 4th, 5th and 6th at the European Dressage Championships
Charlotte Dujardin, Lottie Fry and Carl Hester were within touching distance of the podium in the battle for the first set of individual medals at the European Dressage Championships, but finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. What an incredible result for Team GB to have three riders in the top six – and Gareth Hughes not far behind in 15th. It might be agonising to finish one step shy of the medals, but with the freestyle still to come and such brilliant performances – particularly from rising star Lottie Fry – what an exciting competition that will be to follow.
2. The tragic death of an Olympic dressage horse due to laminitis
A horse who was withdrawn from the Olympic dressage three days before the start of competition owing to laminitis has died. The Tokyo Games would have been the 19-year-old Ramoneur 6’s final competition, ridden by South Africa’s Tanya Seymour.
Read Tanya’s touching tribute to Ramoneur 6
3. Vicky Smith’s impressive hat-trick
Vicky Smith was the over achiever at Staffordshire County, pulling off an impressive championship hat-trick and taking three of the first qualifying slots for the Royal International (RIHS) 2022 in the process.
4. How we can keep ourselves and our horses safe in a breakdown
On 24 August, Nick Gauntlett’s stallion Party Trick and three horses belonging to young rider Sophie Hulme died when Nick’s broken-down horsebox was hit by a lorry on the A9. Following this, many are concerned about what to do when a breakdown occurs – especially when this happens on a road without a hard shoulder or on a smart motorway. So we asked the experts for some advice.
What to do if your lorry breaks down
5. Sir Lee Pearson’s big reveal – that he plans to ride at grand prix
In this week’s episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, H&H dressage editor Polly Bryan talks to the inspirational Sir Lee Pearson about, among other things, his future plans. “My mare is working at grand prix, so if I can grow some… confidence we might try to get out at grand prix later this year or the start of next year,” he says. Watch this space…
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