W rld
winners
Is it possible to predict the winners at WEG? H&R’s Céleste Wilkins has a go
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recently attended a lecture by equine scientist Dr David Marlin in which he attempted to forecast the winners of the 2014 World Equestrian Games (WEG) by looking at past WEG and Olympic results. To him, the strong equestrian nations of Germany, Sweden, France, USA, The Netherlands and Great Britain are the ones to beat, but I delved into the recent international results to help you predict who will come out on top.
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Horses are always unpredictable and the teams haven’t been selected yet, but check out who’s currently on track for WEG success. Then have a go yourself and predict which countries will win medals in as many disciplines as you can for your chance to win Charlotte Dujardin’s hat or WEG mascot plushies!
Will history repeat itself? Arguably two of the biggest equestrian championships are WEG and the Olympics. They run two years out of sync, and perhaps by looking at the results of previous WEG and Olympics (right), some insight can be gleaned into which countries we can expect to be successful in Normandy.
Horse
WEG 2010 Individual
Philipe Le Jeune (BEL) Vigo D’Arsouilles
OLYMPICS 2012 Team
Abdullah Al Sharbatly (KSA) Seldana di Campalto Eric Lamaze (CAN) Hickstead
Dressage
Eventing
Individual
Edward Gal (NED) Moorland’s Totilas
Team
Germany
Individual
Steve Guerdat (SUI) Nino des Buissonnets
Team
Great Britain
France
Gerco Schroeder (GER) London
The Netherlands
Belgium
Cian O’Connor (IRL) Blue Lloyd 12
Saudi Arabia
The Netherlands
Individual
Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) Valegro
Team
Great Britain
Laura Tomlinson (GBR) Mistral Hojris
Great Britain
Adelinde Cornelissen (NED) Parzival
Germany
Steffen Peters (USA) Ravel
Germany
Laura Tomlinson (GBR) Mistral Hojris
The Netherlands
Individual
Michael Jung (GER) La Biosthetique-Sam
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Team
Great Britain
William Fox-Pitt (GBR) Cool Mountain
Canada
Andrew Nicholson (NZL) Nereo
New Zealand
Individual
Michael Jung (GER) La BiosthetiqueSam Sara Algotsson Ostholt (SWE) Wega
Team
Germany Great Britain New Zealand
Sandra Auffarth (GER) Opgun Louvo
Horses are always unpredictable but can past results predict future success at WEG?
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Showjumping
world
Ben Maher’s top-class mare, Cella
Showjumping
Individual medal contenders Team GBR’s Scott Brash and Ben Maher are currently ranked first and second on the world rankings, so you know they’ll be bringing their A-game to Normandy if they’re picked for the team. Scott’s top two horses, Ursula XII and Hello Sanctos, are consistent, and he’s got a few others at the top level – so he’s not short on horse power. Ben has Cella, a top-class horse who rarely touches a pole, plus several rising stars. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat won individual gold at London 2012 and his horse, Nino Des Buissonnets, is still consistent at the top level. He’s a beautiful, efficient rider, so definitely one to watch out for if selected.
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PART ONE In this feature... ➤ Schooling for events ➤ Relaxing a tense horse
Photos: Bob Atkins. As told to Céleste Wilkins. Many thanks to Toggi and Champion for their help with this feature. Visit toggi.com and championhats.co.uk for more information.
Our trainers Piggy French is an international event rider and has represented Great Britain on many occasions. She competed at the World Equestrian Games in 2010, was second at Badminton Horse Trials in 2011 and in 2013 won Barbury International CIC3* on Tinka’s Time. She has a busy yard, with many up-and-coming eventing prospects.
Our models Susannah Paybody and nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse, Brownie (Castletown Clover), have successfully competed at BE80, where they were placed 10th in their first event, and are aiming for a BE90 this year.
Troubleshooting with
Piggy French
This month, top international event rider, Piggy French, offers easy solutions to your flatwork problems
Louise Forsythe rides six-year-old home-bred Koda (Lekota Moon). Louise’s mum used to drive Koda’s mum and they still have her at 20 years old! They’ve done unaffiliated eventing and riding club events. Louise hopes to do a BE90 event this year. Maya LawtonSmith’s pony, Dolly, is usually ridden by her brother – but Dolly stood in at the last minute when Maya’s pony went lame. Maya does all Pony Club disciplines and is aiming for a Pony Club one-day event later on this year.
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D
o you struggle to get the most out of your horse during schooling sessions? Sometimes just a few tweaks can make all the difference and result in better scores in the dressage arena. International event rider Piggy French tackles common problems with three Horse&Rider readers to help them achieve schooling success.
In the saddle
➤ Motivating a lazy horse ➤ Creating bend and suppleness
Susannah says: “When I get to an event, Brownie gets very tense, and he can take a long time to relax and be in the right frame of mind to do dressage.” Piggy’s solution: “Don’t worry about your horse’s
outline until he settles down in his mind. Come out of the saddle and have a good canter – if my horses are tight or hot, coming off their back can really help them settle. “Try lots of transitions. Don’t worry if they’re not good. I find that the more you do without worrying about it, the more you’ll both feel relaxed and settled. Be consistent and clear with your aids. Do transitions within the gait – move him on for a few strides and then bring him back for a few strides. “If he hops into canter, let him canter around several laps of the arena. It will help calm him down. Plan ahead and bear in mind, it might take about an hour of schooling to get him to the point where he can concentrate and you get some really good work out of him.”
Susannah says: “Brownie tends to get quite strong on the flat.”
Piggy’s solution: “If he gets strong, do little half-halts – give
and take the rein. This will help to soften him – sometimes if you just pull back continuously, he will fight you and pull back against you.”
Susannah says: “When I change the bend – as in a serpentine – he gets quicker.” Piggy’s solution:
“Think ‘steady and rhythm’ in your head. Concentrate on maintaining a steady rhythm and changing the bend, and don’t let him deviate from the tempo you’ve set – you’re in charge!”
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In this feature. . . ➤ Secure lower leg ➤ Let the horse rise to you ➤ The best
Feel-good jumping
Achieve a great jumping seat and boost your confidence – and your horse’s – with top trainer Tina Sederholm
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any riders are relieved just to get to the other side of a fence safely, but a balanced, correct jumping position not only allows your horse to jump to the best of his ability, it also increases his confidence and desire to jump for you again. Imagine if you were trying to jump an obstacle and a rucksack either flew up your neck or bumped on your back. It wouldn’t make you keen to try again!
What position is best over fences?
Photos: Bob Atkins
Your aim is to follow your horse’s jumping movement in a harmonious way, so you give him enough freedom to jump – and to many of us, that means folding or leaning forward. However, there is a fine line between giving him freedom and getting ahead of the movement, which can impede your horse’s upward thrust and cause him to have fences down. The foundation to a good jumping seat is your lower leg position and the control of your upper body. If your lower leg swings back, you will almost certainly end up in front of the movement.
An effective jumping seat works around the rider having even contact from the inside of the mid thigh to the mid calf 40 HORSE &RIDER
However, although riders are often told to ‘keep their lower leg at the girth’, what is often misunderstood is that the jumping position pivots around the knees. This means the lower leg will move back very slightly behind the girth as the body goes forward, and go slightly ahead of the girth as the horse lands. When the fences get very big, this lower leg movement may increase a little, simply because of the amount of power that the rider has to absorb from the horse. If you try to fix your leg too rigidly at the girth, you will lose your upper body control. I do not mean that you should pinch with your knee. Instead, think of the area from the middle of your thigh to the middle of your calf having equal contact with the saddle and that your jumping position pivots around that. This will not only give you a steady leg position, it will also help you feel how far to fold with your upper body.
Your aim is to follow your horse’s jumping movement in a harmonious way
a
st
In the saddle
approach ➤ Essential half-seat ➤ Hand position ➤ Cross-country jumping Our trainer Tina Sederholm has evented up to international level, and has been training horses and riders of all levels for over 20 years. She is also the author of ‘Words of a Horseman’ and ‘Unlock your Riding Talent’, and is a regular contributor to Horse&Rider.
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PART TWO In this feature... ➤ Long-reining ex-racers
Laying the
groundwork
In the second part of our rehoming an ex-racer series, Mary Henley-Smith long-reins the Moorcroft horses as an essential first step in their rehabilitation
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ast month we met Mary Henley-Smith, trainer and manager of Moorcroft Racehorse Welfare Centre, who explained how she helps ex-racehorses deal with the change from racing life to more conventional yard routines. Now she describes groundwork techniques she finds useful as they start their rehabilitation into riding horses. Mary continues...
From the ground up
As told to Lisa Harris. Photos Bob Atkins
Our horses work five days out of seven. When they first arrive, they start by doing 10 minutes of long-reining a day, followed by hacking. I long-rein them until they start to look a better shape and their posture improves – as well as their fitness – before putting a rider on-board in the school. We bear in mind that we’re essentially rebreaking them – changing careers requires building different muscles, so we work from the ground up.
Back to basics
Sometimes when the ex-racers arrive, their backs are dipped, weak and sore, so we spend longer working on their physique before putting a rider on their backs. Saddle fitting is often quite tricky when they are weak at the beginning – their backs tend to be a funny shape, but this changes with work, so that’s another reason we use long-reining to build them up before riding them.
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When I think a horse is ready for a rider, I will lean over him – just to see how he reacts. If he looks uncomfortable, I will do a bit more strengthening work with him on long-reins for a few more weeks before trying again.
All the gear
I like to wear a hat and gloves while long-reining, for safety. We use a general-purpose saddle with the stirrups pulled down to the length they would be for a rider. We thread the two lines through the stirrups. As they’re ex-racers, they can be quite sensitive to having the stirrups below the saddle flaps – they’re used to being ridden by jockeys with short stirrups. It can take a horse a while to get used to the feeling of having stirrups against his sides, so in many cases it helps to have someone else on the ground to reassure him. I might ask a helper to walk with him to reassure him for a few circuits – especially when starting out. I have to be aware that on a circle, the feeling of the outside line on his quarters may startle him at first – making him shoot forward. That’s when it helps to have someone else to reassure him, at least until he’s comfortable with the Threading lines by his quarters, and having the lines someone walking behind him to give through aids and commands. the stirrups
Capti capti capti
In the saddle
➤ Building consistent contact ➤ Improving suppleness Our expert Mary HenleySmith, manager and trainer at Moorcroft Racehorse Welfare Centre, has her BHS Intermediate Instructor and BHS Stable Manager’s certificate. She has a varied equestrian background, with experience training students for their BHS exams, managing a large London riding school and grooming at the highest level for an Olympic dressage rider in Switzerland. She has been at Moorcroft Racehorse Welfare Centre for over seven years, overseeing the rehabilitation of many ex-racers. For more information, visit mrwc.org.uk
Our equine pupil
Caption caption caption
Moonhammer had a short racing career, trained by Nick Gifford. He damaged a tendon while racing and then spent many years in a field looking after youngsters before coming to Moorcroft. He now enjoys a life of mainly hacking around the countryside.
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