The show horse producer talks about the benefits of planning ahead, the importance of a pre-competition feast and one very special Connemara pony...
I always go into the arena at home with a plan or a specific exercise to work on. It can be very easy to go in the school and trot round in circles without achieving much. I like to use lots of polework for variation and straightening.
My dressage trainer Gary Foggon helps me with all my horses on the ground, so I always have plenty of homework when I do take the horses to school in the arena.
But if you’re perhaps having a bad day or you’re feeling a bit down or tired after work, sometimes a positive hack with your horse working into a forward contact can achieve more than just going in the school.
My mother taught me about the importance of getting your horses fit. In the early years I spent hours hacking on the roads in the Derbyshire hills working on the horses’ fitness and hardening their legs up. In January when the horses come in from their holidays we spend six weeks on the roads, firstly walking then building up to trotting.
The piece of horse management advice I live by is “no foot, no horse”. This is so true. I’m very lucky to have a great farrier, and all the horses have their feet picked out daily. We also use preventative hoof treatments on the frog, sole and outer hoof regularly.
A magical sight
When I was growing up I was eventing-mad, and Andrew Nicholson was my idol. Watching him ride across country was just magical. He is so cool under pressure and makes everything look so easy.
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There are many talented riders around at the moment and I like to spend a lot of time watching collecting rings at the bigger shows. Holly Smith and Charlotte Dujardin are also class riders and are inspirational to watch.
When I was 14 I rode the Connemara Sydserff Golden Oak for his owner Liz Milner, who produced him from home. We didn’t have a manège so all the work was done out hacking or in the field. When I rode him, I was young and inexperienced in the ring and competed against adults, but we held our own. We went to Olympia and stood second at Horse of the Year Show twice. I would love to have a native like him on the yard now to show.
These days, the one thing I always do on competition day is eat. I love food. I can often get “hangry” if I’ve not eaten first thing before a show. It’s a bit of a running joke between my show pals and they often check that I’ve eaten before I’m about to go in the ring.
Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
