PONY magazine – March 2017

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I lost my pony!

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Top tips for

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Quiz!

What type of rider are you?

How to make

flatwork fun The PONY??

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March 2017 £3.49 Issue 822

Will you pass…

Find your dream

Nosy pony!

WHERE DO YOU READ YOURS?

Horsey news, views and goss!

I read mine with my 12-year-old pony, Tilly!

Brae Kniveton

Big Star shines!

British Showjumping (BS) has announced that the national six-yearold championship will be renamed the Big Star Championships.

Big Star, ridden by Nick Skelton OBE, took home an Olympic team gold medal at London 2012 and an individual gold medal at Rio 2016.

Their Rio medal was a historic win, being the first individual gold medal ever won for Great Britain in showjumping!

Big Star was trained by Nick through BS age classes, winning the national six-year-old championships in 2009 before going on to compete internationally. In an interview at the time, Nick said he thought Big Star was potentially the best horse he had ever sat on – but even he couldn’t predict the success they’d go on to achieve!

Therefore, it was decided that naming the championships after Big Star was a perfect way to acknowledge his huge talent and outstanding performance.

Photos: Fiona Scott-Maxwell, Mitsubishi Motors/Kit Houghton

The misadventures of Charlie!

It’s so beautiful here! I can’t wait to get skiing!

C’mon, Charlie, jump off!

Arrgghhh!

I don’t think I can - it’s too high up!

Me too.

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PONY magazine

The lift won’t stop Charlie! You need to jump!

Nothing like making an entrance, eh, Charlie?!

Celeb horses

The British Horse Society (BHS) has inducted new members into its Wall of Fame. Each year, horses, riders, drivers, breeders, trainers and coaches are celebrated.

Famous faces inducted this year include top event horses Chilli Morning, Avebury and Opposition Buzz. Ridden by William FoxPitt, Andrew Nicholson and Nicola Wilson respectively, it’s certain these incredible horses won’t be forgotten quickly!

Philco, a famous showjumping horse from the 1970s and Team GB’s new eventing performance coach, Chris Bartle, were also included in the Wall of Fame.

Lucky Pony Club members got the chance to have a lesson with top showjumper, Ben Maher! @ukponyclubofficial Everyone is having a great time and learning lots from @benmaherofficial!

Give eventing a go in 2017!

British Eventing’s (BE) arena eventing series has an exciting change for 2017.

Open to BE members and non-members, competitors jump a course of showjumps followed by a round of crosscountry fences in the arena.

The course finishes over a joker showjump fence that’s 10cm higher than the rest of the course!

There’ll be 10 qualifying competitions throughout January and February, with the championships held in early March. Previously only run at BE90 and BE100 levels, BE80 has now also been included, making it the perfect introduction to the sport of eventing.

For more information, visit britisheventing.co.uk/ arenaeventing

Did you know?

The winner of the championships will get their hands on a BE membership for 2017, plus a £100 training voucher!

SPOTTED!

We’ve been keeping an eye on all the latest celeb gossip over on social media – what have your fave riders been up to?

Up-and-coming showjumper, Harry Charles, gives his horse a cuddle after jumping a fab round in Spain. @harrycharles_sj Good job fella

bit.ly/maryemily_king VIRAL VID!

Ever wondered what it’s like to go behind-thescenes with Mary and Emily King? Watch video from when Team PONY visited their beautiful yard this summer. Send in your funny pony-related videos to pony@djmurphy.co.uk

Top eventer, Oliver Townend, gets an impressive owl cake for his birthday! @OliverTownend Yum yum yum! My birthday cake...

PONY magazine

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Spice up

your flatwork!

Fed up with flatwork? Check out how to make it fun for you and your fave pony

Take it outside

Taking your schooling out of the arena is a fab way to keep things fresh. You’ll be able to take advantage of the extra space, and your pony is likely to be more forward with the change of scenery.

Riding in fields with long grass will also encourage him to lift his legs higher and the lack of arena fencing will test how straight you are. If you don’t have arena boards and letters to mark out a school, you can use poles, cones or even buckets. Print out your own letters and stick them on card, then attach them to your markers – there you have it, your very own school!

Warm-up woes

All ponies need warming up to give their muscles time to loosen before they start a schooling session, especially if they’re older or have been standing in their stable.

If your pony gets bored easily or loses concentration, using a short hack as a warm-up can be a great way to stretch out his muscles and keep him alert and interested before schooling.

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Top tip

Don’t worry if you don’t have a completely flat field to school in – riding on a slight slope will encourage your pony to use his hindquarters and build fitness.

Top tip

Check the ground you plan to ride on – look for any rabbit holes, and make sure it’s not super-slippery or rock hard, as this could strain your pony’s legs.

Our models

Pumbaa Goess-Saurau is an 18-year-old event rider who has represented Great Britain in the Pony European Championships in 2011 and 2013. She’s riding Out of Touch Down, known as Sooty, who she’s competed up to CIC**.

Top tip

If you’re riding in a field, remember you’re not restricted to the inside of the school! Try weaving around your markers or circling inside and outside of the arena – it’ll keep your pony concentrating as he won’t be able to anticipate your next aids.

Think outside the box

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut riding the same 20m circles over and over again, but there are loads of shapes you can practise to improve your accuracy. Mix it up with serpentines, loops and smaller circles to keep things interesting.

Change the rein in different ways as well, not just across the diagonal.

Teardrops, turns on the haunches or forehand and two half-circles are all ways you can mix up changing direction.

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