1. Why Tina Cook is taking a step back from the top
Eventing legend Tina Cook has called time on her elite-level career, after her medal-winning ride Billy The Red was put down aged 15. She will continue to produce young horses and compete up to three-star level, but also support her daughter Isabelle, now 17 – who is a promising young eventer – and her 15-year-old son Harry, who are her main priority now.
Tina, who has three Olympic medals to her name, as well as being European champion, and winning world team golds and silver and European team gold, told H&H it is “the end of an era”.
Find out more about Tina’s plans
2. What Lottie Fry and Charlotte Dujardin have in common
Carl Hester, the man behind the incredible success of Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin, also helped Lottie Fry on the way to her star-studded career, which reached new heights this summer when she won two individual gold medals. So he has an idea what makes both of them tick.
“Lottie gives you that same sort of calmness while watching her that I finally learnt to get with Charlotte. They are so good at their job, so good at competing, that I don’t feel nervous or worried for her while watching,” said Carl, on episode 129 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, this week supported by NAF – Five Star for the Best Performance Worldwide. “You never feel as though the situation will affect Lottie; it totally does not overwhelm her, and she is able to rise to the pressure. In fact, she rides better under pressure, just like Charlotte does. She loves it.”
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale take gold in the special at the 2022 World Championships
3. Celebrating the legacy of one of our favourite authors
The birthplace of Black Beauty author Anna Sewell has opened to the public, 145 years after the best-selling novel was published.
On Thursday (24 November) the mayor of Great Yarmouth led the official opening ceremony of Anna Sewell House – Redwings took over guardianship of the property in July when the owner approached the charity about occupying the building.
Redwings plans to use the property to showcase “the legacy of Anna Sewell and her famous novel”, which did so much to raise awareness of horses’ suffering more than a century ago, as well as the charity’s ongoing work.
You might also be interested in:
Tina Cook pays tribute to ‘horse of a lifetime’ Miners Frolic: ‘He wasn’t born brave, but had a natural will to try for me’
Tina Cook and Billy The Red inspire the next generation with visit to inner-city riding club
Carl Hester on his plans for En Vogue and the upcoming grand prix mare who is ‘like riding the most wonderful sofa in the world’
Re-watch Lottie Fry and Glamourdale’s breathtaking World Championship freestyle
Subscribe to Horse & Hound this spring for great savings
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.
