From the editor

Seeing the results of our successful youth programme.

There’s no doubt we had an exceptionally happy and successful NAF Five Star Winter Championships and for the winners the great memories will linger long after life has returned to the normal routine of looking after horses and training for the next competition.

It’s especially thrilling that we have so much young talent in our sport, riders who have worked hard for the big names and are striking out on their own or whose skill was spotted at an early age by a committed patron.

We’ve been reaping the rewards of our youth training system in recent years, with British pony, junior and young rider squads consistently on the podium in international competitions. We have some very bright stars to watch out for in the future.

But as a leading senior rider pointed out to me, the tough part is progressing from riding those wonderful, seasoned youth horses and producing youngsters that are capable of potential greatness through the ranks.

Witnessing the action at Hartpury, we saw example after example of riders who have come up through the youth system achieving great scores and – equally important – happy, confident performances from lovely young horses. It makes for a very exciting future.

It can be challenging to plan the right path for a talented youngster, especially if they have shown potential in age classes. Darren Hicks, who has a stable full of exciting prospects, gives some useful pointers on page 48.

We also saw that our flagship events have something for everyone, especially in the Petplan Equine Area Festival Winter Championships – from a rider who purchased a dressage horse as 60th birthday present to herself to those successfully dipping their toe into the sport from other disciplines.

With finances still tight all round, it’s heart-warming that we saw such strong support and enthusiasm at Hartpury.

Training activity is crucial to the development of the sport, not to mention that it is an aspect very much enjoyed by members. So it’s great to see that our Para riders will get their own Academy this year, developing their skills for a highly competitive competition scene or just helping them to get more out of life-enriching equestrian activity.

We’ve got a great summer of dressage action ahead, whether you enjoy competing at your level, watching the big names at our exciting calendar of major events or furthering your training at clinics and camps. Time to relish our fantastic sport.

Jane Carley Editor, British Dressage