BILL FEED ER WINT YOUR OFF £500 ! WIN The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly
Competition confidence
CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN’S
Grand Prix lessons for
grassroots
How to create a winning routine
riders
14
COST CUTTING
POLEWORK
1 LAYOUT, 3 WAYS AND JUST 6 POLES!
TIPS
Cool, calm & focused
CREATE A
HORSE FRIENDLY n
in 15 minutes
training pla
DJMurphy
Piggy March Issue 636 £4.49
11 August – 7 Sept 2022
IN THE ARENA WITH
Angles • Tricky lines • Skinnies
In this feature. . . Our expert
As told to Kiera Boyle. Photos: Jon Stroud
Piggy March is an international eventer who’s represented Team GB at several World and European Championships, as well as winning Badminton Horse Trials in 2019.
22 HORSE&RIDER
Our model
Cooley Kan Do (Gin) is an eight-year-old mare owned by Lady Gill Aldous and Ann Tolhurst. She’s currently competing at BE intermediate level.
Improve your technique through an S-bend
In the saddle
Master angled lines
Piggy’s favourite exercises
Hold the
line Want to refine your cross-country skills at home? Piggy March talks lines, skinnies and planning ahead
W
hen you think of cross-country, you probably envision a fast and thrilling ride, flying over fences. Accuracy may not be the first quality that comes to mind. It’s easy to wing it if you think a fence looks inviting enough, however when it comes to more technical combinations, approaching on a flyer is likely to land you in a sticky situation with no room for adjustment. The skills required for perfecting your lines out on the cross-country course can easily be practised at home, and doing so will make you feel better prepared for your next outing. Working on seeing a stride, judging accurate lines and creating the perfect canter are the real ingredients behind a successful round. To help, I’ll walk you through one of my staple exercises that you can easily set up yourself at home.
HORSE&RIDER 23
What’s in the brain
goes down the rein
Our expert
As told to Kiera Boyle. Photos: Peter Nixon
Mark Hallion is an international showjumper and trainer. He’s competed regularly on the European circuit and runs a successful breeding programme that has produced horses who’ve won the four- and six-year-old championships at Hickstead.
48 HORSE&RIDER
Showjumping success doesn’t all happen in the saddle. Mark Hallion shares his behind-the-scenes advice to help you keep calm on show day
O
n the day of a competition there’s so much to think about – making sure you don’t forget anything, leaving enough time to walk the course, and that’s all before your horse even sets hoof in the ring. On top of that, you need to try and stay relaxed and focused throughout the day as well. The way I deal with the stresses of
competition day is by enlisting a trusted routine that I always follow, every time. By making sure everything’s ready in advance then sticking to the same techniques when I arrive and while I prepare to go into the arena, I know that I’ll be on track and in the right headspace to go out and win. If you struggle to keep your cool at a show, here’s how I do it – why not give it a go?
Mind matters
HORSE&RIDER 49