Olympic dressage rider Laura Tomlinson and her husband, international polo player Mark, have welcomed a new baby boy. Tommy George Tomlinson was born on Monday (8 November) and is the couple’s fourth child – he joins siblings Annalisa, Wilfred, and Hanni. “We are completely in love with little Tommy. Our family is now complete,” said Laura, who was non-travelling reserve for the Tokyo Olympics on DSP Rose of Bavaria (Betty), and announced she was pregnant in July. Huge congratulations Laura and family!
Carl Hester has been awarded an honorary degree from Hartpury University. He was supposed to receive the accolade last year but couldn’t owing to the pandemic. “It was a big honour to finally get it,” Carl told H&H.He was awarded the honours in “acknowledgement of [his] outstanding achievements in the equestrian field and for [his] long-standing relationship with Hartpury”. Here, here. He also had to make a speech, which is not his favourite activity, but we are sure he inspired his audience as ever.
3. More reaction on riding being dropped from pentathlon
I know, more on this, but it is disconcerting that the governing body for modern pentathlon felt it would be in the sport’s best interests to remove the riding element, rather than rectify the issues seen in the riding phase in Tokyo. As World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers states: “No one could condone what happened at this year’s Olympics but the issue wasn’t that horses were being ridden but how the horses were ridden and the rules of the competition. We believe this could have been addressed while maintaining the sport’s integrity. Riding at any level needs an appreciation for how to get the best out of a horse, which is as relevant today as it was when the Olympics were established in ancient Greece. There is a risk that some will see this change as vindication of their view that horse welfare will always suffer when horses compete – a position we would utterly refute.” We couldn’t agree more.
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
