1. Excitement building for London International Horse Show
With less than a month to go until the London International Horse Show kicks off at its new home at ExCeL London (16–20 December), William Funnell is looking forward to the event as much as we are. In this week’s column, William extols the virtues of the new venue, for riders and spectators and horses – not least having more space, meaning bigger, better courses, and being able to warm up without crossing the arena in five strides.
2. Quiet from British Equestrian on the new Olympic format
In the same column, William shares a sense of disbelief that Great Britain was one of the few countries who hadn’t submitted feedback to the FEI for a planned review of the new Olympic format. “I understand that comment was instead sent via a European Equestrian Federation questionnaire,” says William. “British Equestrian (BEF) is supposed to be our voice and point of contact when it comes to Olympic matters and everybody within the industry knew the report had to be done – and it was the BEF’s job to do it – so why wasn’t it done?” The FEI general assembly is this week, which H&H will be following.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
3. Olympic legend Eric Lamaze taking time out from the sport
Former Olympic champion Eric Lamaze is “taking a sabbatical” from the sport owing to his health, and handing the reins to fellow Canadian showjumper Beth Underhill. Eric has been undergoing treatment for a brain tumour for three years; his last competitive appearance was at Spruce Meadows, Canada, in September, when he and his Rio 2016 individual bronze medal-winning ride Fine Lady 5 were on the winning Nations Cup team. We wish Eric all the best in his recovery.
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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.
