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How horses changed a boy’s life, top riders swapping mounts and other things the horse world is talking about

Horse & Hound’s daily debrief, brought to you every weekday
Becky Murray Becky Murray

    • Is helping people through horses eccentric?

    A session at the National Equine Forum on 6 March shone the light on the value of equine-assisted services. 10-year-old James, who has dyslexia, addressed the audience to explain how horses changed his life, and that horses “don’t care if I have trouble reading, they judge me for who I am”. Projects including the Changing Lives Through Horses programme were discussed, and Ed Bracher, chair of the Equine Assisted Services Partnership, said horses not only provide support and allow engagement, they facilitate routes for people into other areas. “When I asked the health secretary, a few years ago, about how to get this more accepted, he said the problem is, what you do is quite quirky and eccentric,” he said. “So there’s a job for all of us to make people realise it’s not quirky and eccentric. It’s effective, it’s sensible and it really works.”

    Read the full story

    World’s top showjumpers prepare to swap horses

    Four of the world’s best showjumpers will go head to head in a horse swap class tonight (13 March) at the Dutch Masters. Sweden’s world champion Henrik von Eckermann, Germany’s European individual silver medallist Philipp Weishaupt, the Netherlands’ individual Olympic bronze medallist Maikel van der Vleuten and the Dutch national champion Willem Greve take part in the 1.45/1.50m class. The riders will start by riding their own horses, then over the next three rounds swap mounts.

    Find out more about this unique class

    ‘Well intentioned but incompetent care’

    The owner of two donkeys who were left to suffer has been sentenced in court. David Donaghey, of Ascot Gardens, Gateshead, was banned from keeping donkeys for five years after his two female donkeys were found underweight, with “severely” overgrown hooves and sharp teeth when the RSPCA attended following reports about their welfare. The RSPCA spokesperson said when interviewed Donaghey said he was “devastated” and “embarrassed” about the situation. The court heard a farrier had been due to see the donkeys but had “had to cancel a number of times” owing to the weather, and that references had been provided to say it was “nothing more than well intentioned but incompetent care”. Donaghey was fined £448 and ordered to pay £1,224 costs and a £179 surcharge.

    Read the full story

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    Becky Murray
    Becky Murray

    H&H senior news writer
    Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
    Becky Murray

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