Horse&Rider – July 2015

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July 2015

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End of an era Twenty times champion jockey, AP McCoy OBe, has come to the end of a truly remarkable career, retiring after more than 4,300 wins. He rode to third place in his last race in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,000 at Sandown Park. AP was the first jockey to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010 and has been champion jump jockey every season since he turned professional in 1996. His other career highlights include winning the Grand National in 2010, the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1997 and 2012, Champion Hurdle in 1997, 2006 and 2010, and the King George VI chase in 2002. He also holds the British record for most wins in a season – 289 in 2001/2002. Over his impressive 20-year career, he has broken bones more than 700 times, punctured lungs and has had all his teeth replaced. AP has admitted he has few plans for his retirement, but plans to dedicate more time to golf and watching his favourite football team, Arsenal.

On top of the world Our Olympic champions, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, retained their FEI World Cup title in Las Vegas when they won the freestyle with an impressive score of 94.196%. This put them almost 10% ahead of the rest of the competition.

Charlotte is the first rider to hold the Olympic, World, European and World Cup titles at the same time. She said: “The crowd were clapping throughout 8 HORSe&RIDeR

the tests, which isn’t something we’re used to, but Valegro loved it!”

Edward Gal, who followed in second place, said: “When I started out, scoring over 60% was something, then it was 70% and then 80% – but now it seems 90 is the new 80!”

Charlotte added: “I don’t go into the ring to get less than a 10 and Valegro lets me do that.”

This year is the 50th anniversary of the rediscovery of the Caspian horse in northern Iran, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. According to extensive research, the Caspian is one of the four original horse types, predating the Arab, and is, therefore, an influential ancestor to many of the warmbloods in existence today.

Although the Caspian has excelled in many disciplines, unfortunately the economic climate facing horse ownership and the recent closure of two large studs has had a negative effect on the breeding of this rare horse.

For more information, visit caspianhorsesociety.org.uk

Photo: Colin Barker

Photo: FEI

Golden year

Horseworld What’s on TV for horse lovers Tune in to Horse&Country TV on Sky 253 or online at everywhere.horseandcountry.tv Watch new Parelli: Savvy Summit on 2 July and Backstage Pass with Monty Roberts on 6 July. Watch four legs of the Global Champions Tour – Monaco (4 July), Paris (12 July), Estoril (18 July) and Chantilly (25 July). More showjumping at Bolesworth 4* Grand Prix on 12 July and eventing from Luhmühlen on 7 July. Don’t miss the new series of Zoo Vet at Large (5 July) or Yard Talk and H&C Masterclass with Paul Tapner (27 July). For complete listings, visit horseandcountry.tv

Horseball A combination of polo, rugby and basketball, played in an arena, horseball is a fast-paced game played in teams of four.

Points are scored by shooting a ball through a high net (approximately 1.5m x 1.5m).

Backstage Pass with Monty Roberts

Horses on screen

Brits abroad

Photo: FEI

A selection of Britain’s top eventers took a trip across the pond to compete at Rolex Kentucky CCI**** (23–26 April) and four pairings completed the three days. William Fox-Pitt claimed the highest placing for the Brits, finishing fourth on Bay My Hero, followed by Nicola Wilson on Annie Clover, who finished eighth.

The top spot was filled by the then world number three, Germany’s Michael Jung on Fischerrocana FST, who was also third on his second ride La Biosthetique-Sam FBW. Michael has since taken the lead in the FeI eventing world rankings.

Have you tried...

Recently horses have really been making their mark on screen.

The audience of BBC drama series Poldark have had their hearts stolen

by Seamus, the Irish Draught who plays the lead character’s horse. Seamus was deemed so important to the Poldark series

by BBC bosses that he had his own stunt double, another Irish Draught named Jonny Wilkinson.

Dark Horse, released in April, received great reviews and won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. The story follows the incredible true story of Welsh National winner, Dream Alliance, who was owned by a syndicate of villagers from a poor mining town in Wales.

A short, equestrian-themed documentary film made in Cornwall has been accepted to the Cannes Film Festival 2015 as part of the short film programme. Cornish Cowboy illustrates the life of Cornish horse whisperer, Dan Wilson, who was trained

by Monty Roberts.

Polocrosse A combination of polo and lacrosse, polocrosse is played on grass with a team of six – only three players play at a time. each rider uses a racquet with a loose thread net in which the sponge ball is carried. The objective is to score goals by throwing the ball between your opponent’s goal posts.

Horseboarding Not for the faint-hearted, horseboarding involves a horse rider towing a board rider on a mountain board, attached to the back of the saddle by a 10m rope. The team either drag race over 100m or, in an arena, negotiate a series of gates around a complex, twisting course against the clock.

HHH Rate H&R and win!

Rate H&R and you could win a Mountain Horse Crew jacket, worth £89.95!

Visit tinyurl.com/RateJul15 to give our features a star rating, and one lucky reader will take home this versatile, lightweight and waterproof fleece-lined jacket, ideal for all-year-round wear.

Combining practical features with style, it’s designed for in the saddle and on the yard. Colour may vary. mountainhorse.co.uk

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Our expert

Create

a thinking horse

As told to Kelly McCarthy-Maine. Photos: Jon Stroud. With thanks to the 2015 International Eventing Forum, internationaleventingforum.com

Andrew Nicholson is legendary for his smooth, elegant crosscountry rounds. But how does he train his horses to achieve them?

Here he shares some of his favourite exercises with Horse&Rider

N

o matter where I am, at home or at a competition, I go through the same warm-up routine with my horses. And I get started straightaway so neither one of us has the chance to get nervous and my horse doesn’t have time to gawp at the flags or a crowd, or get scared of the atmosphere.

Here’s the basic plan...

• Walk for a minute, usually just to get where we are going. I don’t think horses really warm-up in walk. I believe they like to know what is going to happen next. When you establish a routine, you take away some of the surprises. The horse starts to relax into the routine and to trust his rider.

eventing legend ‘Mr Stickability’ Andrew Nicholson became ‘Mr Consistency’ in 2014 by winning Burghley for an incredible third time in a row on his charismatic grey gelding, Avebury.

A veteran of six Olympic games, he rides up to 16 horses a day from his base in Wiltshire.

Our models • Trot. Straightaway I ask the horse to listen to me and to work with me. I ask him to go forward and come back to me, always asking for little changes as I work around the arena – in this case, around the jumps. There may be scary corners or areas, so he needs to learn to look while still paying attention and listening to his rider.

• Canter. It’s the same principle as the trot. I move the horse forward and back, around the arena and away from my leg. The canter needs to be active with the hindleg punching up off the ground. Take time to play in canter, allowing it to change and each time finding the new balance, then changing the canter again.

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Five-year-old Zachari came from Spain in November 2014. He’s set to start his British eventing career at Novice level in 2015.

Five-year-old Ricardo came to Andrew from a showjumping background. A dab hand at technical jumping exercises, Ricardo will also go eventing in 2015.

Jet Set IV is an eightyear-old gelding, competing at Advanced level.

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In the saddle

No matter what you start with, if the horse wants to do it with you, anything is possible

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Power

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hacking!

As told to Kelly McCarthy-Maine. Photos: Trevor Meeks. With thanks to Lucinda Fredericks, lucindafredericks.com

In the saddle

Our expert

Lucinda Fredericks has won some of the world’s toughest four-star events, including Burghley, Badminton and Kentucky, all on her diminutive 15.3hh chestnut mare, Headley Britannia. She now competes on Brit’s children, as well as several up-and-coming event horses.

Our models

Britannia’s Mail is Brit’s eldest son at seven years old. Marley is a Sport Horse of Great Britain-approved stallion, and combines his stud duties with a successful eventing career.

Short on time but want to get the most from your hack? Olympic eventer Lucinda Fredericks shares her tips and exercises for 45-minute power hacks

T

ime in the saddle is precious, but there is always a multitude of commitments clamouring for your attention, whether that’s because you are a multihorse owner trying to train and improve every day, a working mum trying to fit in a ride before the school run or a professional managing staff and a hectic business – or, as I suspect for many riders, a combination of all of the above, like me!

Producing a horse so he is physically and mentally prepared to go competing, feeling confident and getting results is a critical part of my business, so I need to bring focus and attention to each session. With at least six horses to ride each day, a regular rota of riders to coach, owners, sponsors and staff to speak to, and a daughter to care for, I don’t have time to dawdle.

And I like to limit the amount of time I spend in the arena with some horses to just a couple of days a week. I prefer to do as much of my schooling and fitness as I can in the great outdoors.

I’ve found that 45 minutes of quality work is plenty of time to improve a horse’s fitness and way of going, and it’s much nicer for everyone than a long, drawn-out session in the manège.

To begin with, it’s important to accurately assess your horse’s fitness and choose the best way to gradually build up his strength.

The end goal of any fitness regime is to have a sound, happy horse who is well-educated and physically conditioned to cope with what you are asking him to do. Then you can tailor your hacking and riding out to help him grow fitter and stronger. Make sure you approach each horse as an individual and find a fitness schedule that suits him, rather than sticking by a rigid or set method.

All riders want a horse who is trainable and has a good attitude to his work. While part of that is down to his personality, some of it is down to what kind of work you do with him. And what could be better than riding out on fields, in the woods and over rolling hills? It’s good for the soul and I highly recommend getting out there.

The ground underfoot

Choose the best ground and keep an eye on the weather. For example, if it has been dry for several weeks and the ground has become firm, it’s best to avoid flat areas that are hard and concentrate on hills. Likewise, if it has rained a lot, keep out of boggy areas or places where the going is slippery.

Keep scanning the ground for subtle signs that there may be holes. Mounds, dips or changes in the grass cover are all clues that the ground has been disturbed. Get to know the land you are riding on and stick to familiar paths. Keep an eye out for dogs and wildlife, and don’t forget to take in the scenery, too!

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