Horse&Rider Magazine – May 2015

Uk’s best-selling equestrian monthly

A real passion for horses

TM

FLATWORK • JUMPING • CONFIDENCE • VET • MANAGEMENT • SHOPPING • COMPETITIONS

Charlotte

Fine-tune

your

flatwork

VET’S GUIDE TO

COLIC

Lynn Russell’s

trimming heads and legs

Managing

overweight

horses

improve your

accuracy

and win!

WITH Izzy Taylor

Gridwork

Exercises to try at home

WIN!

Weatherbeeta

SUMMER rugs

Get ready f or Badminton

Mitsubishi Motors Badminton

Horse Trials, Badmint on House, Gloucestershire

●

6–10 May

Britain’s oldest three-day event, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials is a spectacular display, putting the world’s finest eventing partnerships to the ultimate test. 160,000 visitors are expected to descend on Badminton, ready to witness powerful dressage, daring cross-country and to experience the electric atmosphere in the showjumping arena, where top the riders fight it out to be crowned champion.

Don’t miss...

16.30 First horse inspection

Wed

6

thurs

7

fri

8

sat

9

sun

10

9.00–17.00 Dressage 12.30 Dressage display

9.00–17.00 Dressage 12.30 Dressage display 17.00 Stallion parade

e z i r p e e r f raw r at dHorse&RideeHorse Visit rld of th ter o en the W vilion to pa

AttwoolLs Barbour Stockman coat

10.45 Shetland pony Grand National 11.30–17.00 Cross-country test

8.30 Final horse inspection 11.30 Showjumping begins 14.30 Parade of competitors 14.45 Showjumping (top 20) 15.45 Parade of Duke of Beaufort’s hounds 16.00 Presentation of prizes

For even more information visit

badminton-horse.co.uk

FMBs Therapy System

A week’s hire of the pulsed electromagnetic and massage Combi Pro Rug

Flint’s Yard

Summer bundle

Photo: Mitsubishi Motors/Kit Houghton

Did you know?

● Andrew Nicholson has completed the event more times than any other rider, with 33 successful rides. ● Lucinda Green takes the title for most Badminton wins, winning six times on six different horses. ● In 1995, Mark Todd rode the final two thirds of the cross-country with just one stirrup! ● The greatest number of completions by a horse is seven, shared by four horses (Ballycotton, Over To You, Lenamore and Comanche).

10 HORSe&RIDER

Feedmark

Condition & Shine supplement, Herbalicious treats and a feed stirrer

IDolo tether tie

Simple to use safety tying aid

Horseworld Catch it live on TV

Follow @bhorsetrials and #MMBHT on twitter for updates in the lead up to Badminton

BBC red button – live cross-country on 9 May BBC2 – Two-hour programme of highlights with live showjumping on 10 May

Shop ’til you drop Need to know

Advance tickets (valid until 27 April) Wednesday...................................... £6 Thursday & Friday.................... £14.50 Saturday.........................................£26 Sunday....................................... £12.50 Season (whole event)..................£50 12 and under................................ free Car passes In advance/on the gate......... £10/£12 Season............................................. £28 You’ll need grandstand tickets for the showjumping (from £9.50 – these seats usually sell out in advance). Seats can also be reserved for the dressage (from £6.50).

With around 270 individual tradestands open every day, the shopping at Badminton is always a highlight. To maximise your day of shopping, here are some of our top tips... ● Use the shop and drop facilities, so you don’t have to carry your haul around all day. ● Shop at lunch time when it’s a bit quieter and eat earlier or later when the queues are shorter. ● Dressage days are quieter than cross-country, so they are an ideal time for shopping.

H&R’s top tips ● Tune into radio Badminton for live commentary and expert discussion while you’re queuing in and out. ● Get in early to avoid long queues, especially on Saturday. ● Walk the cross-country after the dressage so you can work out which fences you don’t want to miss. This gives you the chance to get an unobstructed view before the crowds arrive on Saturday! ● Take bin bags to sit on if the grass is damp. ● Stay until the end of the cross-country and then walk the course so you can really admire the fences.

Aquamax

Branded fleece and saddle cloth

Mirrors For Training Arena mirror

EquiFeast

One lucky winner will win all these great goodies!

Cool, Calm & Collected starter pack and follow-on pack

Read more about these prizes on the competition pages of horseandrideruk.com

HŪF Design

Green hamper of essential horsey goodies

Champion Aintree jacket

Bedmax

Voucher for five bales of shavings

Visit worldofthehorse.com for a full list of exhibitors HORSe&RIDER 11

➤

Fabulous on the flat with Charlotte Dujardin

Small tweaks to the way you ride and train your horse can really help add sparkle to your dressage, as Charlotte Dujardin explains

20 HORSe &RIDER

In the saddle

Start with the basics To begin the lesson, Charlotte asked Greg to warm Tallie up, focusing on the basics – something that’s important for horses at any level. Stretching and warming up correctly prepares your horse for a good, productive training session. To achieve a nice, round stretch through the neck and back, Greg took his hands forward, allowing Tallie to take the contact down and round, which allows his long back muscles to engage and stretch.

To encourage Tallie to become supple as he stretches, Charlotte suggested lots of circles, instead of straight lines, while warming up. Once Tallie had relaxed into a long, low stretch, Greg asked him to add more power into the trot by revving up the engine – his hindquarters. To do this, he asked Tallie to trot forward for a few strides and then slow down for a few strides, all while maintaining an active hindleg.

Top tip

Be soft with your hands when encouraging your horse to stretch down.

Our trainer

Our model Charlotte Dujardin OBE holds all three World Records in dressage as well as being double Olympic gold medallist at London 2012, European Champion 2013 and World Champion 2014.

Greg Smith competes at Advanced level in dressage. He is now based in New Zealand after living in the UK, where he was based with Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. He rides Tallie in our feature.

➤ HORSe&RIDER 21

PART TWO In this feature. . .

Our trainer

Tom Davison is the son of Olympic Dressage rider Richard Davison.

Having represented GB on numerous jumping teams, he now focuses on running the business and coaching clients across Europe and the USA.

Our models

Gillian Davison is Richard’s wife, and Tom and Joe’s mum.

She’s a former pointto-point and National Hunt jockey, and event rider. Gill produces the family’s young dressage stars and competes up to Grand Prix level.

As told to Céleste Wilkins. Photos: Bob Atkins

Joe Davison is Tom’s younger brother. He has been a member of Team GB’s Junior and Young Rider teams, and is currently competing a string of seven horses across Europe.

Our equine pupils Alfranco is a 10-yearold gelding who competes in dressage at Grand Prix.

Frederick is an eightyear-old gelding who showjumps at 1.40m 38 HORSe&RIDER

➤ Ride accurate circles and centre lines

Hit the mark Want to earn top marks in the dressage arena or ride tidy showjumping courses? Accuracy is key, says Tom Davison

I

n the dressage arena, riding accurate figures can mean the difference between a seven or an eight on your score sheet. Likewise, in showjumping, riding accurately can produce a quick, tidy jump-off that wins the class. And riding accurately at a show starts with training at home.

Using simple exercises, you can prepare yourself for success in the dressage or showjumping arena.

In the saddle

➤ Shave seconds off your jump-off time ➤ Perfect your jumping position

➤ HORSe&RIDER 39

Left Kate

wears:

John Whitaker Lightweight show jacket with full collar piping £120, Bling Signature lightweight performance polo £35, Star breeches £70.

Brogini 1001 Lazio performance boots £250.

Centre Jess

wears:

Shires Huntingdon jacket £109.99, SPRT tie shirt £24.99, show tie £9.99, Berrington performance breeches £71.99, Norfolk leather field boots £159.99. right Megan

wears:

Treehouse Helite air jacket £385, Event shirt £84, hat silk £15.

Jeffries High waist competition breeches £76.80. Model’s own boots.

118 HORSe&RIDER

Gear guide

Gear guide

SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Ride in style with this season’s must-have gear for horse and rider

➤ HORSe&RIDER 119