A pizza box for a hat and other things the horse world is talking about

A pizza the action

All eyes are on Cheltenham this week for the festival – and many of those were on one woman’s raceday headwear. The spectator turned up with a hat made from two Domino’s pizza boxes, in red and blue, held in place with plenty of hair grips. And it was the ultimate lunchtime accessory, as she was then able to tuck into the pizza. “When you have the races at 12 but lunch at 1,” Domino’s Pizza UK said.

Keep up to date with all the Cheltenham action

Semen ruling

The exclusive breeding rights to the late record-breaking dressage star Totilas are held by Paul Schockemöhle, a Dutch court has ruled in a dispute over the dead stallion’s semen. The legal wrangle involves the stallion’s previous owner, Kees Visser, and Mr Schockemöhle, and has been rumbling through German and Dutch courts for some years. Proceedings in the German courts are ongoing but the Court of Gelderland in Arnhem, the Netherlands, dismissed Mr Visser’s claim on 15 February 2023.

Read more about this case

A top eventer retires

Don Geniro, who finished eighth at the 2016 Olympics with Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian, has been retired from eventing. The 16-year-old chestnut by Don Kennedy will now take up a new career as a schoolmaster junior dressage horse with 15-year-old Isabel Caldwell. “He’s been my top horse for such a long time now – he’s been part of my life for over 10 years,” said Alex. “We’ve been to two Olympic Games, but it’s not just the championships, the results, the highs and lows – and there have been plenty of highs and lows – he’s also been a horse that’s taught me a huge amount, not just about riding and the experience of going to championships, but about management at home.”

Read more about this championship horse

You might also be interested in:

Totilas legal dispute: court rules over dead stallion’s semen

Olympic event horse retires: ‘He’s been in my life for 10 years and taught me so much’

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Eleanor Jones

H&H news editor

Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.