Show Preparation - from

HILLGROUNDS FEINLINE (Basil)

Owned and ridden by Holly Armstrong 5-year-old dressage horse

STABLE TALK

WITH SHOWING STAR Jo Bates

“Basil and Holly have already qualified for the British Dressage Winter Championships and the Summer regional finals so now all we have to do is qualify him for his relevant age classes.

Continued overleaf...

Multiple championship-winning show horse producer and Absorbine brand ambassador, Jo Bates produces horses to top level. Jo has produced show horses to take Horse of the Year Show and Royal International Horse Show titles as well as several successful dressage horses.

From their yard near Banbury, Jo and her daughter Holly take us behind the scenes and introduce us to a few of their current horses.

AWESOME II (Paddy)

Owned by Ami Miller 11-year-old, coloured non-native horse

“Paddy is such a lovely personality with a permanent smile on his face. He loves his job and always has his ears pricked forward – he is just one cool dude!

“Paddy is already qualified for the Royal International Horse Show with Ami and we are aiming to get them qualified for HOYS later this year. He is coloured so obviously I really look after his white bits! Because we have orange mud here on the top of the hill, I have to be especially careful about not letting him get too dirty. “He is turned out in a hood and washed regularly in ShowSheen 2-In-1 Shampoo and Conditioner, but the real godsend for me is Absorbine Stain Remover and Whitener – it keeps his white bits really white! I love that is has stain lifters for a deep clean without bleach or blueing agents and that it has provitamins so it is good for the hair at the same time. “This will be Paddy’s third season with me, so he is well established with his way of going. It’s now just a question of keeping him up to date, supple and on top of his transitions as well as doing some lateral work. We take Paddy hacking but unlike other horses who prefer to hack in company Paddy is better hacking alone – with others he talks too much and gets spooky!“

“The pair go for lessons with Serena Pincus who is a highly experienced competition rider who has won several National Championship titles on her home bred horses. Serena worked and trained in Germany with former European and Olympic Champion Margit Otto Crepin. “Basil really enjoys learning new things and seems to find it quite easy! At home we are doing some pole work with him and hacking out which he is particularly keen on. He is very good at the lateral work and is starting to do changes now. “Basil has a quirky personality and can be a bit grumpy sometimes, especially in the stable. He pulls faces when you put his rugs on and likes his own space. He can also be a bit territorial about his food, so we keep him on the top left-hand side of the barn out of the way of the others. He likes to have the window open at the back of his stable no matter what the weather so another reason for the position of his stable as that side of the barn avoids the prevailing wind. “However, if you give him a scratch and a cuddle, he loves it so underneath all that he is a big (17.2hh) softy really! We absolutely adore him and Holly loves riding him! “We use Hooflex liquid conditioner on Basil to keep his hooves conditioned and supple and we rinse him off with Absorbine CoolDown after a workout because it gently cools and refreshes as well as soothing tired muscles.”

MINELLA REBELLION (Reg)

Owned by Katie Dashwood 9-year-old, ROR / Large Riding Horse

JO’S TOP TIP:

“We were all thrilled when Reg and Katie won the Racehorse to Riding HOYS Championship last year and they are already qualified for the riding horse at HOYS this year.

“We aim to try and qualify Reg for the Amateur Riding Horse at the Royal International Horse Show, having already qualified for the open equivalent there. Katie also has her sights fixed on winning the Tattersalls Retraining of Racehorses Championship at the Derby Meeting at Hickstead. “Reg is an absolute mud monster in the field, so we keep him pretty well covered from head to toe! He is definitely the worst one on the yard for wallowing in mud. He gets bathed in ShowSheen 2-In-1 Shampoo and Conditioner regularly and because it is pHbalanced and specially designed for horses’

As well as Jo’s busy life producing horses, running a yard, training and riding she has a lovely grandson Will who keeps everyone on their toes.

Jo said, “I love having Will around for many reasons but he has also helped train the horses too! He rushes around with his various toys clattering up and down the yard and this has been brilliant for getting the horses used to new noises. At first their eyes were out on storks but now they are so used to it they have completely desensitised to it; our horses just aren’t phased by it at all. “I also have a metal trolley that I use to cart the horse’s feeds about and that makes quite a racket –similar to the noise that the people transporting goods at HOYS make with their trollies. With Will playing with his tractor, and the dogs rushing around and the trolley, the horses couldn’t care less now. All of this is great for when they are at shows. “Now I am not saying everyone must rush out and get themselves a grandson but getting your horses used to different sights and sounds is so important. Obviously if you are on a newly broken horse or a particularly fresh horse you need to be careful.”