The working hunter tracks for horses and ponies at the Agria Royal International are widely recognised as being among the most challenging on the outdoor circuit. In this article exclusive to H&H subscribers, we ask a leading working hunter rider why that is and how best to prepare for Hickstead’s unique championship courses
The working hunter classes at Hickstead’s Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) present some of the most challenging tracks that horses and ponies will see all season.
Amy Tough is one of our leading working hunter riders with an impressive seven Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) wins and crucially, several RIHS successes. Most recently, she won the horse workers at Hickstead on Kalani K in 2024. She also won the mountain and moorland working hunter pony class (exceeding 143cm) astride King Rover in 2022.
Here, Amy gives her insight on the courses and shares her advice on how to train for success in the working hunter classes at the Royal International Horse Show.
The best thing about the working hunter classes at the Royal International
“It’s the most fun ring to jump in all year,” says Amy. “The atmosphere is super and there’s always a strong crowd, which adds to it. It’s also a really testing track, which means it’s a level playing field and every horse has a good chance of success if they jump well.”
Why is the workers at the RIHS such a challenge?
The ring at Hickstead is, according to Amy, the “closest course on the circuit to the hunting field” and not just because it’s on a slope.
“The ground is undulating there, and it has the most natural-looking features you’ll find all season – it’s the only ring with a stone wall, ditches and hedges.
“The horse workers will usually include these on top of the usual bogey fences in the ponies – the bullfinch and the water splash.”
In order to show off your animal, Amy suggests that you aim for a “true working hunter pace as it’s a big ring.”
But be warned, you can’t just set off at that pace and expect to breeze around the track.
“The course will always include challenges, for example there’s usually a pen for the mountain and moorland workers which will then really test the adjustability of the canter as the pony will need to be in a collected canter to get through successfully.”
How do the working hunter classes at Hickstead compare to at HOYS?
“It’s not necessarily any bigger than the course at HOYS, which has its own difficulties,” explains Amy. “It’s the complexity of all the different elements woven together that makes it difficult. You need a versatile horse or pony.”
How to train for success in the workers at RIHS
As Hickstead nears, Amy prepares with lots of cross-country schooling.
“It helps to get horses used to the ground and seeing natural features like ditches and hedges,” says Amy. “Fences like these are hard to portray for your horse in an arena.”
Bullfinch practice is also on Amy’s agenda.
She says: “Practice bullfinches. If your horse or pony haven’t seen many – it’s possible a horse new to the open circuit could qualify without seeing any – start with a thinner filling of greenery so that they can see their way through and understand that this is how they tackle it, and gradually make it thicker as weeks go by.”
Amy warns new combinations to beware the water splash: “This can catch a lot of combinations out.”
With a water splash such as the one at Hickstead, horses and ponies are allowed to step in it, so they can either trot through it or jump it.
“It’s about working out what works for your pony,” says Amy.
To prepare, Amy suggests that you begin by getting horses and ponies used to the principle of a splash out on the cross-country course with a larger water feature, and then narrow it down.
“This way, it doesn’t shock them. With a water element out cross-country, the horse or pony can see it from a distance and prepare. The water splash at Hickstead is narrow and sunken so it could catch them out and shock them if they aren’t used to this kind of test.”
In the horse workers, the “ditches are sometimes behind rails, so practice this, too”, says Amy. “They need to have seen this or else as they go to take off, they might be surprised by the ditch and that might knock their confidence.”
Adjustability in your canter should be a part of everyone’s basic training. But it does no harm to practice some more so that you’re sure you can easily adjust the pace as you need to in the ring.
“For example, if you have a big oxer going down the slope to a ‘skinny’, it’s essential the horse doesn’t just run on down to it and knock it. You can only really practice this in open countryside on different slopes and gradients,” explains Amy.
Her last tip is to make sure that you practice all of these elements.
“You don’t want to only practice one – your bogey fence, for example – as then if something different catches them out early in the course, they won’t lose confidence for the rest of the track.
“Practice all elements to make sure your horse stays confident to jump a good round throughout, whatever comes their way.”
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Bethan joined Horse & Hound as showing editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Showing World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she started showing as a teenager and has enjoyed wins at major shows up and down the country, including Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, as well as HOYS, RIHS and London. She is particularly passionate about Welsh breeds and is also a Welsh language commentator.
