in the stirrups - june 2015

In The StirrupsJUNE 2015

Royal WindsorHorse Show

2015

News, Results andInterviews

●Ticket To Rio:Tim Lips●Guest Review:Izzy Taylor●Summer Style●HouseholdCavalry● Badminton2015

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WELCOME...It’s been a while, now the fields are greenerand the evenings lighter which means morehorse time for all of us.

This month we include our adventures fromthe Royal Windsor Horse Show 2015 includinginterviews with Ben Maher and The HouseholdCavalry. In the Stirrups columnist Tim Lips tellsus of his drama just reaching Badminton 2015where he managed to place 21st... Well doneTim!We are joined by rising US showjumperHannah Patten who will be writing for us eachmonth sharing her encouraging anf positiveoutlook on everything horses and more. UKeventing star Izzy Taylor alsoguest reviews the newCavallo jacket.Enjoy this monthsissue!

Natasha

Dutch Olympic EventerTim Lips is in hot pursuitof the 2016 OlympicGames in Rio de Janeiro.Tim also won TeamBronze at the 2014 AlltechFEI World EquestrianGames Normandy.

Tim Lips

Daisy is a 17 year oldBritish Dressage rider. Fullof ambition, Daisy iscertainly on to watch forthe future.

Daisy Jackson

Patricia is The DressageTipster and founder ofCrystal System. Patriciaprovides us with usablereliable tips to improve allaspects of your dressagework.

Patricia Pitt

Jay is known as apersonality in and out of thearena. Based in the UK he isbuilding his own team ofshowjumping horses as wellas his own home breedingscheme.

Jay Halim

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Feature Page Number

The Royal WindsorHorse Show 2015 5

5 minutes with:Ben Maher 13

Musical Ride of theHousehold Cavalry 14

Shetland pony GrandNational 19

Fashion 22

Tried and Tested:Cavallo Ella Rose Jacke 27

Mitsubishi BadmintonHorse Trials 44

I N S I D E T H I S M O N T H S I S S U E :

See 3 See Page 42 See Page 30

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Fisher

See Page 11

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Anne Gage is a Clinician, RidingCoach, Horse Trainer and CertifiedProfessional Coach based inCanada. Anne focuses on themental and physical aspects of bothyou and your horse so you candevelop trust and respect whilebuilding confidence in each other.

Anne Gage

Magic is one of the Gentle CarouselTherapy Horses based in the USA.She is a specialised therapy horsewho brings comfort and happinessto people who are suffering illnessor trauma and is adept atrecognising those who need herskills most.

Magic

Hannah is a 17 yr old show jumperbased in the USA. Rising quicklywith her team of talented horses sheis also the creator of the PattenStadard. A new outlook and way ofthinking for people everywhere andwill definitely be one to watch forthe future.

Hannah Patten

Izzy Taylor guest reviews for inthe stirrups this month. Among thevery best eventers the UK has tooffer, she is a constant face on theeventing circuit. This moth shetests the Cavallo Ella Rose jacketfor perfomance anf wearability.

Izzy Taylor

www.inthestirrups.com

Don’t miss all of theaction from

The Royal WindsorHorse Show 2015

Pages5-21

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RoyalWindsor

Horse Show2015

Photo Credit: Trever Meeks/H Power

ROYAL WINDSOR 2015

Friday came and crowds were treated to anotherspectacular day of competition and stunning displaysat Royal Windsor Horse Show, including the firstwin of the week for Her Majesty The Queen whoonce again was present to watch her horses andponies compete and Carl Hester rounded off theevening with another near perfect performance and ared rosette.DRESSAGE:It was a British one-two in the FEI Grand Prix free-style to music at Royal Windsor Horse Show.Carl Hester and Nip Tuck delighted a full house withtheir winning test that scored high artistic marks anda final total of 79.45% just short of a personal free-style best for the pair. The combination, members ofthe British team that won silver at the World Eques-trian Games last year, ably demonstrated rhythmictrot work, passage and piaffe and beautifully fluentchanges of which his rider was particularly proud.“This horse has never, in all his tests made a mistakein his changes – all he wants to do is his best and healways tries his hardest,” said Carl who was howeverslightly disappointed with the final mark.“My aim was 80% and we didn’t quite make it –perhaps the walk wasn’t quite the same as in the

grand prix but no matter he was really good. Make nomistake this arena is a major ring with a big atmos-phere and it is so good for us to be able to ride here.”Carl’s pupil Fiona Bigwood made an emotional re-turn to the top with her young mare AtterupsgaardsOrthilia. Emotional as not only was it a big welcomeback for Fiona who suffered a serious fall a year agobut she also rode her freestyle to music made for herformer horse Mr G who tragically died in a fieldaccident.“I haven’t ridden to that music for four or five yearsand it was all a bit emotional for me – I loved Mr Gand I love Tilly also,” said Fiona. “I had no idea howshe would react to the atmosphere, music and thecrowd as she is quite hot but she just got on with itand has such a great attitude.”The mare who was found in Denmark 18 months agohas a natural ability for piaffe and passage and wasdescribed by Carl as ‘an 80% horse’.He said; “All Fiona has to do is to continue increas-ing her confidence in the ring and she’ll be in the topfive in the world – that horse can make us a goldmedal team again.” The British pair will both nowcompete at the CDI in Fritzens in Austria.

Photo credits: H Power

Fiona’s husband, Danish rider Anders Dahl, kept it inthe family with third place on Wie Atlantico. It wasalso one place higher than last year for Anders andAtlantico who showed particularly impressive pas-sage.

DRIVING: It was an outstanding day in the coachingmarathon - a renowned favourite at Royal Windsor -which drew an unprecedented crowd round the CastleArena anxious to witness the splendid spectacle of 16coaches drawn by lively teams of four horses. Amongthem was the crown equerry, Col Toby Browne LVO,driving Her Majesty The Queen’s team of bays to anoriginal park drag. His immaculate presentationearned him the award for the best turned out entry. Col Toby Browne was joined by nine other teams ofhorses put to park drags, together with four road coach

turnouts and two regimental coaches. All completed anine mile marathon through the Home Park beforecoming back into the arena to delight spectators. Thechampionship was awarded to Bill Ginns with histeam of Hackneys put to an original drag by Marston,while John Brown with his magnificent team of baysput to the Tally Ho Road Coach built by Shanks in the1890s stood reserve.

At the Land Rover International Driving Grand Prixdressage arena it was the turn of the pony four-in-hands. Bram Chardon from the Netherlands - currentworld pony four-in-hand gold medallist and son of thefamous Dutch FEI horse four-in-hand competitor Ijs-brand, has a clear lead from the rest of the field. Hisclosest challenger is Tinne Bax who was placed fourthindividually at the 2013 World Pony Championships.

SHOWJUMPING: DUKE IN WINNINGFORM AT ROYAL WINDSOR Ireland’s Billy Twomey thrilled the crowd atRoyal Windsor Horse Show with a perfectlyperformed round on Ardcolumn Duke to takethe Bahrain Pearl Stakes. With an early draw ina 17-strong jump-off, the Nottinghamshirebased rider had to put the pressure on with astrong target time.“He’s always competitive,” said Billy, who beatFrance’s Adeline Hecart (Question d’Orval)into second place. “I knew if I put in a good timeI’d be in with a good chance.”The 11-year-old stallion has recently returned tocompetition having had some time off for se-men collection. His comeback began two weeksago at Newark and Nottinghamshire CountyShow.“He’s stepped up again here and I’ll be jumpinghim in the Alltech Grand Prix [for the Kingdomof Bahrain Trophy] on Sunday,” said Billy,adding: “I’ve been coming to Royal WindsorHorse Show for years. It has great facilities anda great atmosphere.”The Manama Speed Stake proved a happy hunt-ing ground for Laura Renwick, well known as adangerous rival against the clock. Riding theseven-year-old Ulievka de Breve, Britain’sleading lady rider took and held the lead fromfellow countryman Robert Smith aboard CandyBoy.

ROYAL WINDSOR 2015

Photo credits H Power

ROYAL WINDSOR 2015

The day’s remaining international class, the LandRover Stakes, culminated in a 13 horse jump-off. Theresult was another victory for the home country withDanny McGlynn and Atletico Van D’Abelendreeftaking first place ahead of Harry Charles, son ofOlympic Gold Medallist Peter Charles, and Vivaldi duDom.SHOWING: Watched under the eagle eye of a de-lighted owner, Her Majesty The Queen's successfulcampaigner Barber's Shop, ridden by Katie Jerram,won the retraining of racehorses class having finishedsecond in the ladies hunters on the first day.Newmarket-based Simon Charlesworth landed thecob and hack titles for the second year running, theformer with last years victor Fait Acobbli and the hackchampionship with the exciting novice MountstephenShowman. Robert Walker, of Tarporley, Cheshire,continued his winning run to score two more victorieson Friday when the cobs Randlestown Rolex andStarry Night headed their class to add to his three winson the first day.ENDURANCE:Three riders shared the honours at the third RoyalWindsor Endurance 120km CEI2* competition today.First, second and third places were awarded equally toHis Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa ofBahrain, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Murbarak Al Khali-fa of Bahrain and Raed Mahmood, also from Bahrainwhen they recorded the same finish time of five hours33 minutes and 11 seconds.In fourth position, with atime of 05:45:02 was David Yeoman of Great Britainand fifth was Enora Boulenger of France in 06:00:10.The sun shone on super Saturday as more than 10,000spectators were wowed by another fantastic day ofcompetition and equestrian displays. World-class

showjumpers, including Ben Maher, Laura Krautand Peter Charles, battled it out in CS13* classes.The marathon phase of the Land Rover InternationalDriving Grand Prix proved to be popular as ever asit drew in hoards of fans ready to witness the driversmasterfully steer their course through a combinationof obstacles.SHOWJUMPING:Despite winning two national classes earlier thisweek, and having been a regular visitor for manyyears, an international win at Royal Windsor HorseShow had eluded Laura Kraut. But, in front of apacked crown, the former Olympic Gold Medallistchanged that today by taking top place in the King-

dom of Bahrain Stakes for the King’s Cup.With a midway draw in the 10-strong jump-off, Lauraproduced a superbly quick round and held the lead bya huge margin of over five seconds from Britain’sRobert Smith [Bavi].“It was a fun round to ride,” said Laura. “She [Nouv-elle] has been unlucky with injuries and sickness –and after investigation, she was found to have cysts onher ovaries [which have now been treated].“She’s now much happier and I am so pleased for herowners [Evita Group]. It’s also really nice to give [myother top horse] Cedric a bit of a break.”DRIVING:The battle for the lead in the Land Rover InternationalDriving Grand Prix was a dramatically contested onethrough the second phase - the cross-country mara-thon. With less than 1.5-penalties separating the topthree competitors at this stage, 2014 winner, ChesterWeber from the USA, six times winner, Boyd Exellfrom Australia and five times winner, Ijsbrand Char-don from the Netherlands - meant they pushed theirhorses and themselves to the limit, mindful that frac-

Photo credits: H POWER


ROYAL WINDSOR 2015

tions of a second in an obstacle could make a differ-ence. New obstacle timings were constantly beingrecorded, only to be replaced by the next driver storm-ing through.Going in reverse order of placing, Chardon threwdown the gauntlet with a blistering, fluently drivenround that certainly ensured he kept his third place atthis stage. Exell, however, gave no quarter - drivingcleanly and with breathtaking precision he recordedthe fastest time in six of the obstacles. Chardon drovewith exemplary skill and care but was unable, in themain, to match the times of the other two.SHOWING:Brother and sister Charlie and Tori Oakes fromUttoxeter, Staffordshire, pulled off a remarkable featwith one taking the mountain and moorland workinghunter pony championship and the other beingawarded the reserve. Tori, 23, claimed the top spotriding her 7-year-old highland gelding, Cairns Fer-gus, while younger brother Charlie, 13, won his classand was reserve with the Countess of Shrewsbury'shomebred welsh section B gelding, ChetwyndCaspar.

The fifth and final day of Royal Windsor Horse Show2015 saw an unprecedented number of people walkthrough the Windsor gates for their last chance towatch the equestrian extravaganza in the privategrounds of Windsor Castle. The crowds were treatedto a thrilling finale in the Land Rover InternationalDriving Grand Prix with last year's champion ChesterWeber retaining his title while Ireland's Dermott Len-non also made a victorious return to the show to claimthe CS13* Alltech Grand Prix in front of pack.SHOWJUMPING:Having not competed at Royal Windsor Horse Showfor 10 years, Irishman Dermott Lennon’s return re-sulted in him etching his name in the prestigiousevent’s history books by winning the Alltech GrandPrix for the Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy. Partneringthe consistent Loughview Lou-Lou, he thrilled thecrowd with the kind of performance expected of aformer World Champion.“I’d watched [Britain’s] Yazmin Pinchen go and sherode a great round,” said Dermott. “My main concernwas getting over the planks, but once I’d done that Iwas able to go.”His tactics paid off and he was able to pinch backthree seconds, holding on to the lead over eventualsecond placed Robert Whitaker [Catwalk IV] for Brit-ain.“I always love to come to Britain and win,” Dermottjoked. “It’s a great and famous show with classes forevery type and shape of horse I think.”

DRIVING: CHESTER WEBER WINS BACK TOBACK TITLES In a dramatic finale to the Land Rover InternationalDriving Grand Prix, last year’s horse four-in-handwinner, Chester Weber from the USA - in secondplace overnight - coupled professional nerve with

Photo credits:H Power


ROYAL WINDSOR 2015outstanding driving skill to retain his title with aback-to-back win. Second last to go in the cones phase, it looked for allthe world as if he would produce thefirst double clear; however, going justover the allowed time, he picked up0.18-penalty. In the winning positionand ready to take up the challenge,Boyd Exell from Australia, drovesmoothly and steadily to just past thehalfway point on the course. Here hisleft wheeler slipped on a tight turn,temporarily affecting the steering andlosing time. When a ball droppedfurther on he had to push hard forhome; the penalties he accrueddropped him 2.5-penalties behindWeber.“I’m elated,” Weber remarked. “It’ssuch a privilege to drive at RoyalWindsor and my horses have beenoutstanding. The course designer here[Christian Iseli from Austria] is the hardest in theworld but I have a good record with his courses. Iknew if I could go clear the pressure would be on.”SHOWING: It was ponies all the way on the final leg of theprestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show.North-Wales based Kinvara Garner, 12, who wasunable to compete last year because her father, ChiefSteward Sebastian Garner, was taken ill, came backwith venge-

ance. She took the coveted novice show pony titlewith the family’s home-produced 4-year old AlonbyDauphin.

The show hunter pony went toanother young lady on theverge of an exciting equestriancareer. Alice Homer from Ban-bury, Oxon, is only 11 but isalready following in the foot-steps of her famous showingfamily – her mother is LoraineHomer and her grandfather isthe legendary showman DavidTatlow. Having won her work-ing hunter pony class aboardnursery stakes contender Lem-ington Nougat, she hot-footedit to another arena to win the133cm class on AnnandaleMaria. Then she produced anelectrifying performance in theCastle Arena to take her first

Windsor ChampionshipPONY CLUB MOUNTED GAMES:A fantastic fast-paced finale in the Daks Pony ClubMounted Games saw Wales vault to victory withEngland, who they had been battling it out at the topof the table all week, coming in a close second. Asever, the mounted games wowed the crowd with thefive nations impressing the applauding audiences allweek with their pace, agility and incredible skill in all

of the races.


Photo credits: H POWER

JAY HALIM

Hey cubs! Its been a while, wehave a lot to catch up on!

So it’s that time of year again, the Royal WindsorHorse Show. Nothing comes close to it in myopinion, the setting, the classes and the style, allamazing and unapologetically British. This yearhas to be my best yet, I was so happy to be a partof it, this year in the international classes with thebig names in jumping. I took three horses, Good-

man's for Fun, VIP and Bart and although it didn’tgo completely to plan it was an amazing learningexperience for the horses and myself. Bart didn’tfeel right in the jump off so I decided to withdrawhim as, like always, my horses welfare is para-mount. I always like to remember there is anotherday and my horses are too good to risk. Good-man’s For Fun was a little hit and miss, he is 18this year and while I still know he has a lot left togive, it’s natural for a horse to become lessconsistent in performance as their age progress-es. VIP jumped very well in his first 160cm classon Saturday.Since I last wrote to you all I have found aninvestor for Abrisco which means I’ll be able toaim high in the future with this exciting prospect!I am always looking for more investors to add tothe depth of my team and raise my riding profile.

www.facebook.com/jaytigerhalimrider

Twitter: @jaytigerhalim

Photo credits: B Saunders

JAY HALIM

I went to Italy for 5 weeks earlier this year, we took8 horses with us - 6 for myself and 2 for my workingpupil Connor Moore. We had some really great winswhich included VIP placing in an Olympic Qualifier.Connor is my current working pupil and comingalong so well, the satisfaction of him excelling in hisriding is great and we still have vacancies for agroom and home rider so if you would like to joinTeam Tiger contact me via Twitter or my Facebookpage!We have had two foals from Derby, my stallion. Thefirst was a bay filly and the second a bay colt, bothas yet unnamed so watch this space!!

Photo credits: J Halim

FIVE MINUTES WITH:BEN MAHER

In The Stirrups Editor Natasha caught up with renowned Britishshowjumper Ben Maher between classes at The Royal Windsor HorseShow 2015.


Ben, how are you finding the show thisyear?

It’s a nice venue, the setting is like no other.It’s really great to have such a high end showin England. In my opinion there’s alwayssomething special about Windsor.

What did you come here to do?

If I’m honest this years show was a teambuilding experience. I didn’t attend this yearto win, more to use it as the foundation tobuild on for next years show and beyond.

Which horses did you bring with you?

I came with my 1st horse Cella with the intentof getting her show fit. My others are 9 yearolds and being here will give them experiencethat only Windsor can.

In my opinionthere’s always

something specialabout Windsor.


THE MUSICAL RIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLDCAVALRY

Trevor Meeks/ H Power

THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRYMOUNTED REGIMENT

The Household Cavalry has long been a staple of the British Army, revered and admiredby civilians around the world, In the Stirrups caught up with the regiment at the Royal

Windsor Horse Shows 2015 and interviewed Lance Corporal Joe Joyce.

With a proud tradition of over three centuries serviceas a bodyguard to the Sovereign, and made up of theBritish Army’s two most senior regiments, theHousehold Cavalry Mounted Regiment sits at the veryheart of the cultural and military heritage of Britain. TheRegiment’s rich history stretches back to 1660, fromdescendants of King Charles II’s Life Guards and theEarl of Oxford’s ‘Blues’. Since then it has forged atradition, ethos and reputation for excellence andprofessionalism, whether it is for State Ceremonialduties, or delivering manpower for the recentmilitary campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Every Household Cavalry soldier is first andforemost a fighting soldier, and uniquely in theBritish Army, the Household Cavalry use theirqualities to excellent effect by combining theirrole in armoured fighting vehicles with themounted State Ceremonial role. It is thisflexibility that has allowed us to remain at theforefront of the combat operations of today,whilst still maintaining the highest standardsand strong traditions of the past.

Horses: ‘Cavalry Blacks’ aretraditional crossbreeds of IrishDraught and Thoroughbred, andwill normally stand at well over16.2 hands tall. They arepredominately black with somewhite markings. Exceptions to thisare the ‘greys’ for trumpeters, theall-black Officers’ Chargers, andthe Drum Horses, selected andspecially trained to carry the heavysolid-silver kettle drums. TheseShires and Clydesdales can in somecases reach 19 hands tall. Thehorses are purchased in Ireland andWales at around 3 years old. Thefirst letter of their name denotestheir age, just like a vehicle

registration number. All horses are trained in-houseand most are ready after a year of intensive schooling.The end product should be steady on parade andaccustomed to vast crowds, heavy traffic and flashphotography.

Horse ‘Furniture’: On daily ‘watering orders’ or parkexcursions, the horses are tacked-up with brownexercise kits. When on public duties, the horse wears‘black kit’ which takes around 3 hours of checks and

Trevor Meeks/H Power

Credit: B Saunders

The HCMR help to formpart of the fabric of Brit-ain and aid in the power-ful symbol of the militaryheritage of our nation.

The Regiments key public duties andceremonial roles include:

• The Queen’s Life Guard. In earlytimes the Guard was as much as 100strong and provided Escorts to ac-company the Sovereign wherever heor she travelled by road. It now con-sists of either aLong Guard or aShort Guard on dutyat Horse Guards,with a daily chang-ing ceremony at 11o’clock (10 o’clockon Sundays), onHorse Guards Pa-rade.• The Queen’sBirthday Parade. The highlight of theCeremonial Season, and televisedacross the world, HCMR providesfour mounted divisions to escort theSovereign and perform a March Past.• The Garter Ceremony at WindsorCastle.• Investitures. Around 25 times ayear, Household Cavalrymen providestaircase parties as individuals arepresented awards and honours by HerMajesty the Queen,the Prince of Walesor the Princess Roy-al.• The State Openingof Parliament.• State Visits.•Remembrance Sun-day at the Cenotaph.• The Lord Mayor’sShow. A mounted di-vision (25 men) de-ploy as part of the procession.• The Major General’s Inspection.The whole Regiment is mounted foran annual inspection by the GOCLONDIST in Hyde Park prior to thebeginning of the main Ceremonialseason.

THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRYMOUNTED REGIMENT

polishing each time it is used. Both these and head-collars, reins andstirrup leathers are tailored in-house by the Saddlers and are lightlywaxed. The SO2 pattern saddle, more comfortable for the horse thanfor the rider, is covered with a sheepskin blanket. Brasses (the statebit, headstalls, stirrups, stirrup-bosses, buckles) all have to be highlypolished.

Uniform: Worn for as long as eight hours at a time when in the saddle,the discomforts of wearing ‘state kit’ for protractedperiods cannot be overemphasised. The ‘Albert pattern’helmet is adorned with a plume, white for the LifeGuards, red for the Blues & Royals. The metal armourplates (cuirasses) were intended to stop sword slashesand musket balls. Since 1821 they have been highlypolished as a symbol

of their role as Heavy Cavalry. A white ‘cartouche belt’is worn over the cuirasses like a bandolier. The swordis the 1892 pattern, and saw action in the Boer War.Jackboots are perhaps the most infamous bits of kit.

These are waxed hard and have many layers of polish applied. Farshinier and more durable than any patent leather, they are a source offevered competition between soldiers. All items of uniform have minorvariations when worn by Officers.

Very often the men that form The Queen’s Life Guard in Whitehall,in gleaming State ceremonial uniforms (known as Mounted ReviewOrder), may only recently have been operating armoured vehicles inAfghanistan, or parachuting in their airborne role. Therefore thesoldiers also have a full compliment of military personal webbing, anSA80 rifle, and all the kit required for modern warfare.

Specialist Trades within HCMR The Forge. 14 soldiersspecialise in farriery, shoeing and caring for theveterinary welfare of up to 300 horses. Using bothready-made and hand-made shoes, these soldiersbecome Certified Military Farriers, and will hold aDiploma from the Worshipful Company of Farriers.

Riding Staff. 12 soldiers are responsible for trainingnovice riders into competent horsemen who can fulfillall mounted state ceremonial duties. In addition, theriding staff train the Regiments’ horses from the time

they are purchased, through breaking and schooling, to the finishedarticle on parade.

Saddlery. 6 soldiers are devoted to the fitting, maintenance andrefurbishment of all horse ‘furniture’ (tack) and soldiers’ ceremonialuniform (in conjunction with the Tailors’ Department). Their skill andhandiwork is recognised by both military and City and Guildqualifications in saddlery.Photo credits: B Saunders

THE MUSICAL RIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLDCAVALRY

In the Stirrups caught up with Lance Corporal Joe Joyce on the Household Cavalry and hishorse Ebony in their stables at the Royal Windsor Horse Show 2015.

So Joe, tell us a little about yourself,how long have you been in the army?

I joined 9 years ago, I had no riding experienceat all. I did my instructor training at MeltonMowbray as we nneed to be as multi skilled aspossible when dealing with the horses in theregiment. It also gives us usable life skills out-side of the army, should we choose to leave.

Tell us a little more about the horsesand in particular the horse you will beriding today here at Windsor?

Well there are 32 horses when we are all fullcapacity so it can get pretty hectic. You’re notassigned any one horse but of course some of usget favourites and bond with certain horses bet-ter than others and often request to be the han-dler for a horse we connect with. My current rideis Ebony, she is a 16.2 ID x TB. We have only

bee working together a few days so fingerscrossed for the performance later!

What is your role in the Musical Rideof the Household Cavalry?

I am a “Layer”, this means during the perform-ance my horse lays down on the arena floor andI sit with her. This not only displays the trust andbond between me and my horse but also showsthe high level training of the regiment horseswhilst representing fallen horses in battle whilstin service of the British Army. I am also one ofthe flag carriers that do a lap of honour at the endof our performances to celebrate the unity ofEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

How difficult is the training procedurethat is used to train the horses to such ahigh level?

All horses are remounts, this means even if theyhave been a riding horse before coming into theregiment they are stripped back to the basics oftheir learning. For example to teach a horse likeEbony to lay on command it takes a huge amountof trust in her handler as well as lunging her atthe beginning, before progressing to letting herbegin to flex and bend on the lunge before shefinally relaxes to lay. All horses get completelyretrained by our own troopers and it is imperativeit is done cautiously and properly for the horseswelfare and safety.

Joe with Ebony laying during the performance.

Joe and Ebony after their performance


What do you think of when you think ofthe Windsor Horse Show?It’s very British. No other show is as tradition-al and it always has a good feel and niceatmosphere. It’s a great place to ride andcompete.

So John, you’re no stranger to theRWHS, how are you finding it this year?

It’s a good atmosphere this year, it my be mebut I think its busier than ever. The niceweather helps bring the crowds out.

How are the competitions going?

I have my three best horses here, we are offto Rome next so it’s good to keep them tickingover. I’ve had a few placings and had a greatround today (Sunday). My horse jumped greatbut I picked up a time fault… but I can’t blamethe horse for that!

My horse jumped greatbut I picked up a time

fault… but I can’t blamethe horse for that!


FIVE MINUTES WITH:JOHN WHITAKER

In The Stirrups Editor Natasha caught up with Legendary Britishshowjumper John Whitaker between classes at The Royal WindsorHorse Show 2015.


SHETLAND PONY GRANDNATIONAL

Danielle on Hollydale Voyage Photo credits: B Saunders

SHETLAND PONYGRAND NATIONAL

In addition to the elite dressage, drivingand show jumping taking place the RoyalWindsor Horse Show there was an elementof fun the form of the Shetland Pony GrandNational.

Competitors are aged between 9 and 14years old and must be smaller than 5 foot(152.4cm).

Ponies must be registered with the Shet-land Pony Stud Book Society and may onlybe up to 42 inches in height (10.2hh ap-prox.). They must be aged between 5 and22 years on the 1st of January in the rele-vant year. Naturally ponies need the stami-na and fitness yo race effectively and safelyas well as behave themselves during mount-ing, starting and the lap of honour!

In the Stirrups caught with one of theyoung jockeys after an action packed raceat Windsor.

Hi, tell us a little about yourself:

My name is Danielle and I come from West Sussex.This my second season riding in the Shetland PonyGrand National.

And what about your horse?

His show name is Hollydale Voyage, his stable nameis Billy. I’ve had him on lon 2 years now. If my mumcan’t find me she always knows to look in his stable.When I come home from school I go straight out tothe garden to him and love singing to him when noone is listening!

Whats it like, riding in the Shetland Pony GrandNational?

It’s fun! It keeps me busy and I make friends. We areraising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital at themoment, check out our just giving page!


Amongst the stars of the interna-tional classes at Royal Windsor,many competitors were of a moregrass roots level. For example isthis month’s cover stars Monetwith his owner and handler Joy.We met Joy after her class in theCopper Horse Arena where shecame 3rd in the In Hand Haflingerclass. Monet, who only turned onMay 9th placed highly after a love-ly class, 1st place was taken byBalmoral Anson, owned by HerMajesty the Queen and handled byLizzie Bryant.We asked Joy (A train conductorin her day job) to tell us a littlemore about Monet and her passionfor Halfingers;Spring Mead Monet was born9/5/2013 by Spring Mead Mon-soon out of Lilona, he was bred byDavid Hurst at the Spring MeadHaflinger stud in Wartling, EastSussex. Both his sire and damcome from impressive blood lines,his sire, Monsoon, is in fact thefirst British bred Haflinger stallionto stand at stud in Austria, his

grandfather, Mars was reserveworld champion and Europeanchampion several times. Monetwas ironically born on the day Ilost my part bred Arab Khan tocancer and I knew when I boughtMonet that it was a sign! I trulybelieve he was destined to be withme. Monet is a rather special boy,he has the most fantastic tempera-ment and personality, I have veryhigh hopes for him and hope forhim to partake in all disciplines intime. Windsor was only his 5thouting and he has been placed eachtime we’ve been out, I'm chuffedto bits with how he took it all in hisstride and coped so well with theatmosphere of Windsor as it’s sucha prestigious occasion. I also ownanother registered Haflinger, amare called Balklands Cherrygold(Stable name Cherry). Her sire,Nelson, was also owned by theSpring Mead Stud, she also com-peted at Windsor in 2008 placing6th, 2013 placing 5th and 2014placing 3rd. I can’t wait for thefuture with my two Haffy’s, I won-der what it will bring!

Spring Mead Monet

Joy with her Part Bred ArabKahn

Joy with her other Haflinger Cherry


FASHION

The combination of warmer weather and the approach of the show season is the ideal time to set aside those well-wornwinter boots and invest in winning footwear. Ariat are excited to launch their stylish V-Sport Zip Tall Boots, which will freshenup the look and feel of your footwear this season! Available in black, in a wide range of height and widthcombinations, in ladies sizes 3 - 8.5, priced at £249.99. For more information about the comprehensivecollection of performance footwear available from Ariat, visit: www.ariat.com

FASHION

Hiho Farrier Nail Bracelet


Manufactured using a four-way stretch nylon and cottontwill fabric to provide give during riding and yard activi-ties, the Ariat Olympia Acclaim Breeches are available intwo versions; a simple and elegant knee patch design ora full seat style. The Ariat Olympia Acclaim Breeches areavailable in charcoal or navy, in ladies sizes 22 – 36,regular and long length. Priced at £139.99 for the kneepatch style and £149.99 for a full seat. www.ariat.com

Ariat Olympia Breeches

Hiho’s King of the Road designed the stunning piece

after he watched the farrier shoe his horse. Andrew

thought that a farrier nail would be a great shape to in-

clude in a bangle…and so the Sterling Silver Farrier Nail

Bangle was born! The solid piece has a clever fastening

to keep it in place (and make it easy to put on and take

off) and has a ‘Hh’ for Hiho etched in the front of the nail,

for an extra touch. RRP of £65. To find out more,

see www.hihosilver.co.uk

FASHION

This stunning Equetech Florence Lace CompetitionShirt brings pretty to performance! Made from a techni-cal stretch breathable fabric with wicking properties, itfeatures a stock collar, diamanté buttons and a curvedbust design, capped sleeves and scooped back hem.Gorgeous for competition and great for casual wear too!Colours: WhiteRRP: £39.95Sizing: 8 - 18

www.equetech.com

Talolo Snakeskin Boots


Equetech Florence Shirt

Talolo help you get set for summer with their BohoSnakeskin Boots. The new style is made using highquality chocolate coloured rubber with mocksnakeskin design and has a topaz coloured lining.The boots benefit from cowboy styling, including asmall heel and pointed toe design, and finish justabove the ankle. Available in sizes EU 36-41 andpriced at £32 a pair. www.taloloboots.com

FOR HORSE

After the successful launch of the Classique jumping anddressage saddle in 2014, WOW has now introduced aGeneral Purpose version to meet customer demand. TheClassique collection, powered by WOW, was the resultof research within the market that identified a demandfor an ‘off the peg’ saddle which utilised many of theinnovative WOW saddle features, but at a lower pricetag. Made using the finest quality leathers and using theinnovative WOW manufacturing process, the ClassiqueGP is capable of taking all of the WOW Headplate sizesand styles so it can fit horses from Extra Narrow up to 8XWide. Available in sizes 16”, 17” & 18. The Classiquerange starts at £1,499. For more information visitwww.classiquesaddles.com

Moorland Rider Wash BagMoorland Rider has extended its range to include the

new Padded Wash-Bag, a product made to make

washing synthetic items with hard elements in a

domestic washing machine a viable option.The

zipped bag is 33cm x 26cm and incorporates spe-

cialist open cell foam padding that protects the ma-

chine’s drum during a cycle. The fabric outer acts as

a filtration system allowing water and detergent through to wash away dirt and grease, but prevents hair

escaping and clogging the filter. The foam cushions the machine’s drum and helps to prevent damage

when washing items such as headcollars, lead ropes, brushes and other objects with metal compo-

nents. After the machine’s cycle has finished, clean items should be removed, the bag shaken, and it’s

ready to be used again.

The Padded Wash-Bag is available in black, in one size, and has a RRP of £15.95.

For more information, see www.moorlandrider.co.uk,


Classique GP Saddle

FOR HORSE

Wahl Aloe SootheWe’ve long used Aloe Vera in ourown beauty routines, but now it’stime to extend the soothing solutionto your four-legged friend! WahlAloe Soothe Shampoo is based onnatural ingredients and contains noharmful detergents, so your horsecan benefit from Aloe Vera thesame way you do! The perfectlybalanced formula features Aloe Ve-ra Gel to soothe and cool, Avocadoand Coconut to moisturise andWheat extract to deodorise. WahlAloe Soothe Shampoo is designedto calm skin irritations as it cleans,

and lifts grease from the coat.Whether your horse is pongy fromthe paddock or stained from thestable, this concentrated shampoowill gently remove dirt, grease,stains and odours, conditioning theskin as it cleans.

Both Wahl Tea Tree and AloeSoothe Shampoo are available in500ml or 5 litre bottles. Priced from£6.99. Available from all good tackshops and online at Amazon. Toshop online or view more from theWahl range, visit: www.wahl.co.uk.


The proverb “no foot, no horse” isstill undisputed in the equine world.Neglected hooves can lead to dis-comfort, pain, disfigurement andlameness.

Wet bedding not only can causesaturation of the foot but also leadsto increased levels of ammonia inthe stable which can damage thehorn and weaken the outer layer ofthe horse’s hoof. Natural Nedz, for-mulated from a unique blend ofManuka, Silver and Cade Oil, of-fers an organic addition to thechopped straw bedding. The inclu-

sion of silver helps to limit mouldsand fungi developing in the beddingand stable environment, while alsoassisting in reducing the risk ofharmful viruses, bacteria and otherpathogens affecting your horse.

Both Nedz Original and Nedz Proare simple and easy to use and rotdown a few months to provide aneconomical bedding choice. Pricedbetween £6 - £8.50 per 20kg bale.For more information tel: (01254)677 762 or visit www.nedz.co.uk

Nedz Bedz

CAVALLO ELLAROSE JACKETTRIED AND TESTED

The Ella Rose functional jacket is one of the standout items from Cavallo’s Spring/Summer 2015collection. Not only is it breathable, it has two functional front pockets and is both wind andwaterproof, which is perfect for the cold and unpredictable British weather! The Ella Rose isavailable in signal red, cold grey or marine blue, three key colours that dominate the collection.Cavallo has focussed on primary colours for the functional jackets and polo shirts in the range, butexperimented with pastel shades for the quiltmix jackets such as the Elly waistcoat, and hoodies likethe Emelie, aimed at younger audiences.Cavallo went bolder in colour for their line of breeches, introducing the Candy in mint, the Coretta insignal red and the Celina in lemon. With the full seat in contrasting softer colours such as wheat orpastel grey, the breeches are for those who are daring with their fashion choices.The show collection, part of the Spring/Summer range, presents practical performance shirts instandard black and white colours, with a lace print for a chic touch. The show jackets are asfunctional as they are fashionable, made of water repellent material and decorated with pearl collarsand buttons. Stylish additions such as velvet lapels are available on request.Cavallo completes the collection with its series of socks, leather belts, cotton shopper bags andcaps, ideal for keeping your cool in the summer sun.The Ella Rose jacket as tested by Izzy retails at £155. For more information on the CavalloSpring/Summer 2015 collection, or to check your nearest stockist, visit the websitewww.zebraproducts.co.uk or call the office on 01352 763350

www.zebraproducts.co.uk

CAVALLO ELLAROSE JACKET

TRIED AND TESTED

This month British Eventing starIzzy Taylor guest reviews for Inthe Stirrups. Izzy wears the newElla Rose Jacket from Cavallo.Below are Izzys thoughts on thejacket:My first thoughts were how stylish the EllaRose it, I reviewed the red variation andit is certainly eye catching! There is greatattention to detail on the stitching whichis in addition to the good quality feel of theitem, it feels really well made.

It was lightweight and breathable which isa bonus when I was riding so many horsesin one day! I found out its not completely

waterproof but still efficient. If I had to lista slight drawback, it would be that I foundthe forearms a it tight but after all I rodein it all day!

LAURA SECURESSECOND IN SOPOT

GB’s leading lady rider Laura Renwick secured 2ndplace with home produced and British Bred 9 year-old bay gelding Bintang, owned by her husband John.

Having made his debut on a FEI 5* Nations Cup team onFriday when he jumped an outstanding clear in his firstround he mirrored this performance again this afternoonwhen he jumped double clear in the Sopot Grand Prix. Itwas twelve riders that came forward for the jump offhaving gone clear in the first round and Laura was one ofonly two riders that managed to break the 52 secondbarrier.Their finish time of 51.71 seconds wasn’t quite enoughto catch Sweden’s Douglas Lindelow and Casello 2 whobroke the finish line in 48.96 seconds but it was enoughto relegate Germany’s Patrick Meyer into 3rd place.Bintang has certainly done Laura proud this afternoonand shown the talent that she has always believed he had.Having produced him slowly through the national com-petition structure they took the 7 year-old Championshiptitle at the British Showjumping Young Horse Show in2013.Last year saw her introduce him to international compe-tition where he has steadily progressed taking it all in hisstride with great success culminating in him being select-ed for the Sopot FEI 5* Furusiyya Nations Cup. To comeout and jump three out of four rounds without a penaltybeing accrued is an incredible performance and one thatboth Laura and John must draw great satisfaction from.

Photo credits: British Showjumping

History was made at the World Equestrian Festival Aachenin Germany when Scott Brash, riding Hello Sanctos, wonthe first equestrian Major of the year, the Rolex Grand Prix,and his second stage of the Rolex Grand Slam of ShowJumping. Scott Brash is the first rider to achieve this re-markable feat since the introduction of the sport’s ultimatechallenge in 2013, and goes to the Spruce Meadows ‘Mas-ters’ in September hoping to be the only rider in history towin all three Majors in succession. Germany’s DanielDeusser riding Cornet d’Amour was second and France’sSimon Delestre on Ryan des Hayettes was third. Talkingabout his victory, Scott Brash said, “I don’t think it has quitesunk in yet, it has been my dream to win Aachen, so to winis a dream come true, I am ecstatic. “What makes Aachenso special is the crowd, to jump in front of 45,000 peoplethat are also very knowledgeable, is great for us riders andbrings out the best in us.” Having started his Rolex GrandSlam of Show Jumping winning ‘cycle’ in Geneva, ScottBrash now travels to the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, 9 - 13September 2015, to compete for the sport’s ultimate chal-lenge and the €1m bonus. “To win one leg is already hardenough, to win two is extremely difficult, to win three isgoing to be really hard, but it would be silly not to try so Iwill definitely try and win it” he said.

Is It Me Or Is It The Horse?

This month I am revamping one of my mostpopular blog posts from 2012.

Those of you who follow the blog atwww.likecrystal.com will know that my favourite‘F’ word is FORWARD. Without doubt having aforward thinking, willing partner will cure 80% ofissues in the arena. So, whether you are trainingat the very highest level or a complete beginner,whenever you encounter a problem, ask yourself…Is it me or is it my horse? This basic questionnever goes away, even for the most experiencedrider. To answer this ever present question youshould automatically run through a check list toassess and pinpoint the issues.

In sequential order run through a mental checklist of the following

1. RelaxationAre YOU relaxed? Are there any musclegroups tensing subconsciously? – grippingthigh, tension through shoulders, tense fin-gers, rigid jaw line, rock hard arms, solidback?

THE DRESSAGE TIPSTER

Patricia Pitt is In the Stirrups dressage training advisor. Known as The Dressage Tipster andjoint owner of www.likecrystal.com with her partner Mark, Patricia provides direct andusable advice to improve your ridiing each month…

2. Balance Can you let go of the reins and ride without reliance on your hand? Is your seat crooked? Are you leaning left or right, forward or back wards? Is your position correct?

3. Following the horse’s motion Do you employ a following seat? Do you move with the horse in walk or rely on the horse’s motion to move you? Do you allow with your hips in the trot? Do you use a circul ar hip rotation in canter?

4. Appling the aidsHow effective are your aids? Does your horseimmediately respond? Are they crisp, clearand true? Or are you having a numbing effecton your horse?

5. Coordinating the aidsAre you clear and do you fully understand andemploy your aids correctly? or are you creat-ing confusion with your aids?

6. Influencing the horseDo you fully understand the influence yourbody is having on your horse’s way of going?Are you able to influence the paces, so canyou lengthen and shorten the stride? Are youable to straighten a horse that is going offline? Can you develop more impulsion? Doyou know how to relax your horse?

Here’s how to assess whether you are restrictingthe free forward motion:

Are you blocking with your seat?

Your seat must follow the horse’s motion in arhythmical way in order to allow the horse to moveforward. If you say ‘go’ with your leg aids but yourseat does not immediately follow the forwardswing of the horse’s hips as he picks up a hindfoot, you WILL restrict forward motion –guaranteed!

Are any of these symptoms familiar?

· Bouncing in the saddle

· Pumping with your upper body? – Yes! Youhave seen them haven’t you? even at thehighest level!!!!! Check out some of the Olym-pic riders!

· Too much head and neck motion? The ten-sion has to come out somewhere!

· Flying elbows.

· Flapping legs


All of the above? These are common symptomsof tense hips that are not correctly following thehorse’s motion. You may also be cheating bycollapsing at the belly button to absorb the motionor pumping with your upper body at the canter.What to do … Work onthinking tall and elegant andtransferring the rocking tothe pelvis instead of theupper body. The goal is tofollow the horse’s motion byopening and closing the hipswhile maintaining a steady,relaxed upper body.

Are you blocking with yourleg?

If you use constant leg pressure to hold yourposition on the horse, or squeeze and hold withyour legs, some horses feel this as a restrictionof movement rather than as an encouragementto go forward, the horse may have been trainedto stop from the leg! Sensitive horses may try torun away from it. Either way – not correct.

Riders can tend to grip with the knee and thigh orturn their toes out and hang on with their calves. Of you try to enforce these incorrect leg aids witha touch of the whip, the horse may kick out, buckor balk as a way of saying, “Not fair! mixedmessage!”

A squeeze and release with the leg urges thehorse forward rhythmically. A softly supporting leg

can steady a flighty horse. A gripping leg alwaysrestricts forward movement.

Are you blocking with the reins?

This is an obvious block—saying ‘go’ with the leg and‘stop’ at the same time (Halfhalting continuously!) thatjust confuses the horse.Less obvious is the moreadvanced rider who hastension in their hands. Thiswill feel backwards to thehorse and he will respondaccordingly. That’s if youhave a generous horse. Ifnot you will get a reaction

you may not wish for. Do not allow tight fingers,tense forearms or locked elbows – your horse’sforward motion WILL be blocked!

So when the question of “is it the horse or is itme?” comes up, ask yourself how far along youare in mastering the six point check list above, ifyou are not yet able to influence a horseconsistently, the default answer to the questionis generally that the communication breakdownis on the rider’s side.

That’s YOU not your HORSE!

Patricia – The Dressage Tipster

www.likecrystal.com


TICKET TO RIO: TIM LIPS


The past few months have flown by like afast train! We are now in the middle of theseason and have had good results but thereare many challenges ahead.

When I think back on the highlights of the past fewmonths, three events stand out in my mind.

1. The first would have to be the evening we at-tended the Founders Foundation 2016. Theysupport me on my way to the 2016 OlympicGames in Rio de Janeiro and also we were ableto announce the support of Concrex(www.concrex.nl) who will continue to sponsorme to the Games in Rio. It was such a high pointto be able experience such a beautiful group ofpeople and businesses and really stands out as ahighlight of 2015 already!

2. The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials.The entire event, including the path to it, was anexperience I will still be telling pople 20 yearsfrom now, but I will tell you more about thatlater!

3. Houghton international Horse Trials which I rode

for the Nations Cup with a personal placing of 6th

on Concrex Bayro. I am happy that I placed sowell with this relatively young (at 9 years old) bigfriendly giant. It was a great result for the Neth-erlands in a Nations Cup competition. During allof the competition he felt super, he worked sovery well and gave me a great feeling, this givesme confidence in our next event at Luhmuehlenwhere Bayro will compete in his first 4*.

But let us return to Badminton, this story will notescape the readers of In the Stirrups, but in shortit was very eventful for us!

Badminton is known as the toughest Cross Coun-try course in the world and only this year did Irealise we faced a hurdle just as tough beforeBadminton had begun, and that was just to getthere! We left on May 6th at 6am DutchTime, headed forCalais ferry portfull of courage for theferry to Dover. After6 and a half hours wewere still not thereand as we were al-most at the turningfor the ferry port mereceived a call: no ferry for horses due to badweather! So what now?We decided to drive tt the freight train and comeover via the Eurotunnel but it seemed that all theother trucks and buses had the same idea and againwe got caught in extreme traffic jams. But then ithappened… the most intimidating experience Ihave ever experienced, fear and complete surprise.A group of illegal migrants gathered around thetruck!! They jumped on my car, crawled under-neath and pulled at all the doors and covers. Idrove to the front and back of the truck so theycould not crawl under or climb on. At one point themanaged to get hold of the handles of my tailgateand they were on the opening where Keyflow


TICKET TO RIO: TIM LIPSstood, I saw it happen in my rear viewcamera. I put the truck directly into re-verse and parked my truck, almost hit-ting the nose of the car behind me. Mymother and I feverishly watched them,she made eye contact with them from thecar and directly looked at them withoutfear. With an unspoken message she toldthem: Boys, we have seen you and weknow you are there. Stay away from mycar and steer clear of Keyflow. Don’t youdare!!Tension and tempers ran high, Klara (mygroom) couldn’t bear to look at them andclosed the curtains but that left us won-dering, if we did not show we had thesituation under control they would senseweakness and possibly try to get into the

car!We thankfully managed to convince Klara that we really had to keep the curtains open and our eyes on thoseboys. Eventually we managed to consult the police who checked the truck, no one was under or inside. Nowwe are aware there is a police presence at Calais but from our dreadful experience it does not appear thesituation is under control at all. I really believe thepolice do their best but I sat with fear expectingmore migrants for our time stuck there!Finally we arrived at the train and the gate swal-lowed my debit card and I was told by the deskclerk that I had to stand at the bus but must stillreserve. I explained the situation and no, she couldnot help me, she said the day before had been anational holiday ad that is why it was so busy.So we decided to use P&O as usual, wecalled and asked, “when could we sailwith horses onboard”. We were toldthey were going to cross with a heavierboat at 8pm (Dutch time) and could sailthen. Off back to Calais ferry port, backinto the traffic jam, Klara was checkingon Keyflow NOP in the truck and keep-ing him happy, now it was a waitinggame again. 8pm came and went, thesevere weather continued and still it wasnot safe to cross. Well we couldn’t doany more… it was time to turn back andhead home, it was disappointing. As wewere in Belgium my Father phoned, hehad travelled over a day earlier, who toldme he could arrange John Parker Inter-

national Horse Transport to collect Keyflow withhis truck at the eurotunnel and with an empty truckwe could sail via P&O from Calais! Finally wearrived back at Calais, this time with no traffic jamsand no migrants, we loads Keyflow with JohnParker and headed to the ferry terminal. We sailedquite smoothly with the next boat from Calais andafter 27 hours of travel and only 1.5 hours of sleepwe arrived in Dover! Keyflow had 5.5 hours of rest


and had it pretty good! Yet we still had matters of urgency… we could not miss the briefing and moreimportantly the first Horse Inspection! So with a few hours to go and a lot of kilometres between us andBadminton, the event we had been training all winter for and eagerly looked forward to!, we rushedtowards our goal! Just in time I sat down in the briefing (which had already begun) and Klara preparedKeyflow for the first horse inspection, he was approved and it was a little bit of a first victory because yes,we made it!The competition itself was satisfactory. In dressage we scored averagely and went flawlessly through thecross country course with just 1 bar down in the show jumping. There was some confusion during the finalhorse inspection but still the result was: Keyfow NOP – Accepted!! We finished 21st in the BadmintonHorse Trials 2015 and I am very happy with the result and it leaves me with knowledge of where I wantto pay attention and improvement for our next events, for example the European Championships at BlairCastle. First comes Luhmuehlen where Concrex Bayro will advance to his first 4* and the week after thatthe Strzegom Horse Trial in Poland are on the agenda. I hope that I my next column we can look backsatisfied on these events!Greetz

Tim Lips

CONFIDENT HORSEMANSHIPWITH ANNE GAGE

The best horse men and women not only alwayshave control of their horses, but also of them-selves. They are able to stay calm and confidenteven when their horses misbehave or don’t do asthey are asked.How are they able to do this? By staying in themoment, letting go of their ego and being in con-trol of their emotions whenever they are with theirhorses.If you are struggling with your confidence, thenyour thoughts and emotions are controlling yourfeelings and behaviours. They are running out ofcontrol. And, that negatively impacts your abilityto control your horse. Of course, when you don’tfeel like you have control of your horse, you feelless confident. And so the cycle continues.When you are anxious, fearful or even angry, youare focusing on either the past or the future. The‘what if’s’ are running the show. “What if this,that or the other thing happens?” your brain asks.And, it has no problem coming up with all sorts ofnegative scenarios.It may feel like you can’t control your thoughts andemotions, but you can! By practicing these 3techniques every day, you’ll soon find you can beconsistently mentally and physically calm and fo-cused.

1. Be aware of your thoughts. Your thoughtsaffect your emotions and your emotionsaffect youractions andbehaviour.The placeto begin togain selfcontrol isby noticingand chang-ing yourthoughtpatterns.Severaltimes throughout the day, stop and check inwith yourself. Notice what you are think-ing about. Write down the thoughts andhow you were feeling emotionally andphysically when you had each one. At theend of the day, read over your notes andask if these thoughts are being helpful orharmful. Then, come up with an alternativepositive thought to replace the negativeone. Next time the negative thought comesup, mentally say “stop it” and use the posi-

Mr Twister (aka Bert) is described as the epitome of an Officer’sCharger both in looks and his parade presence. At heart he is agentle giant and is loved by everyone who meets him. ‘Bert’ hasbeen a part of all major ceremonial and State occasions carriedout by The King’s Troop RHA during his career. This is ofparticular significance as following a severe injury early in hiscareer, he nearly lost his life.He sustained a large wound between his shoulder and his chest.This progressed into a body wide emphysema (air trapping be-neath the skin). Against all the odds, ‘Bert’ recovered and hassince taken part in numerous Parades, Royal Salutes and been theParade Commander’s Horse for the world famous King’s TroopRHA Musical Drive. Steady as always, on parade as thousandslined the streets of central London, he was the Parade Command-er’s Horse for Dame Margaret Thatcher’s Funeral in May 2013

The Horses Trust were of course in attendance at The RoyslWindsor Horse Show this year. WIth them was Bert, a gentlegiant of The King’s Troop RHA. Bert was officially retired inthe main arena during the show earning him enormousamounts of well deserved applause and cheers! To SponsorBert or on of the other horses cared for by The Horses Trustvisit www.horsetrust.org.uk

tive thought you’ve come up with to replaceit.

2. Take deep, calm breaths. Your breathingaffects how you feel physically. Whenyou’re feeling negative emotions you tendto either hold your breath or take short, shal-low breaths. Practice the deep, calm breathtechnique. This breathing actually slowsdown your heart rate, calms your anxiousbrain and gets your emotions under control.If you practice this breathing while you arewith your horse, you may notice that he mir-rors the rhythm and rate of your breathing.

3. Look for solutions. Your brain likes to becreative. If you ask it to look for problems,it will happily do so. Ask it “what if myhorse spooks at the wind?” and your magi-cal brain will come up with all kinds ofwonderful possibilities that will scare the

pants off you! Instead, ask it to focus onfinding solutions. Ask it questions like“how can I prevent this or that from happen-ing?” or “where can I get help for this orthat?” or “what do I need to work on to im-prove this or that?”

When you become aware of your thoughts, practicedeep calm breathing, and look for solutions ratherthan problems, you will notice that you are spend-ing more time in the present moment instead ofstressing about what happened in the past or whatmight happen in the future. You will feel morecalm and in control of yourself.You will be able to give your horse what he needsand he will be able to give you what you want.Your partnership will improve as you develop moretrust and confidence in each other.

Anne

CONFIDENT HORSEMANSHIPWITH ANNE GAGE


THE PATTEN STANDARD

My name is Hannah S. Patten and I am 17 years young. I grew up around horses butnot show jumping horses.

I started as a back yard 4H riderdoing western pleasure. It actu-ally all started because my momthought it would be cute to putme in riding boots and a showcoat. There was this one timewhen I was showing at a small4H show in Vermont and it waspouring rain and I was soaked.My dad was trying to make me

change but I refused to changebecause I wanted everyone toknow I was a horse back rider.Before I moved to the A-Circuit Iwas trampled twice. The firsttime I had to get stitches near bychin and now I have a big scar.The second time my upper lipwas severed. Each time I got back

on a horse and I am so glad myparents pushed me to do so.I go to a small private schoolcalled Saint Andrews located inSouth Florida. My parents dis-covered WEF and little Woodwhich was practically in my backyard. The first barn I ever rode atwas Carriage Hill and then after Imoved to Tan Line Stables. The

Love Carany aka The PrincessThunder Buddy

Agostino

Filou Vd Wateringhouve

THE PATTEN STANDARDtrainers at Tan Line helped me get my first ponynamed Care Bear. When I startedto compete more and more andwhen I became more competitive Iwanted to get higher training so wemoved trainers to Jennifer Beilingwho is known as the pony lady. Ireally learned how to ride and CareBear and I won everything togeth-er. My second and last time at po-ny finals I finished 3rd in the ponymedal! Care Bear is now with awonderful home and he is livingthe dream life.After pony finals my dad and momknew that horse back riding wouldbe my sport and nothing, not evenboys, would make me quit riding.Both my parents put everythinginto riding. The first horse I evergot is named Agostino, I still own him and I havehad him for six years. After this summer he isgetting leased out which makes me sad but alsohappy. I now own seven amazing horses, fivejumpers and two equitation horses. Love, Carany(the only mare in my string), Thunder Buddy,CassiCasca, Filou VD Wateringhoeve, are all of

my jumpers. Thunder Buddy is my onlyMedium/Low horse and the restare all my High/Prix horses! Char-lie is my baby equitation horsewho I bought when he was fourturning five, he is seven now. Wewent to our first indoors together,we did our first everything togeth-er so our bond is extra special.Agostino is my original horse, hewas the very first and I will neverforget all that he has done for me.I recently just launched my newestadventure: The Patten Standard. It is ablog for those who don't exactly fit in.The Patten Standard is someone whoembraces them selves through any-thing from fashion to their taste inmusic. I think people try to act to thisstandard that society holds people too.

I want people to realize it is okay to be yourself andyou don't always have to do what society wants you todo.

I am very excited to be apart of the In The Stir-rups Team.XoXoXoXo - HP

Me on CassiCasca

Charlie


WILLIAM FOX-PITT RETURNS TO WORLDEVENTING NUMBER ONE TOP SPOT

William Fox-Pitt (GBR), the multiple Olympic,World and European medallist, is back asworld Eventing number one after victory in lastmonth’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton HorseTrials, fourth leg of the FEI Classics™.

He had held on to the world number one slot for a yearuntil last month, when Michael Jung (GER), whobecame the first Eventing athlete to hold the Europe-an, world and Olympic titles simultaneously in 2012,jumped to the top of the FEI World Eventing Rank-ings for the first time in his career.Fox-Pitt and Jung have now switched places again,with Fox-Pitt holding a 15-point lead over second-placed Jung. The USA’s Boyd Martin is in third, justone point ahead of Andrew Nicholson (NZL) infourth on 486 points. Four of the world’s most suc-cessful female Eventing athletes are now in the FEIWorld Eventing Rankings top 10. Jonelle Price(NZL), fifth, is just 50 points ahead of London 2012Olympic team gold medallist Ingrid Klimke (GER) in

sixth, while Belgium’s Karin Donckers has droppedone place to eighth. Nicola Wilson (GBR), London2012 Olympic team silver medallist, now completesthe top 10 after her meteoric rise from 18th, and slotsin just 21 points behind Jonelle Price’s husband Timin ninth.View the full FEI World Eventing Rankings here.Longines FEI European Championships 2015 -less than 100 days to go until Blair Castle!

William Fox-Pitt (46) represented Great Britain through-out his teenage years, winning individual silver at theJunior European Championships in 1987, Young Riderteam gold at the European Championships in 1988 and1989, and completed Badminton at the age of 20.

His first Burghley win five years later established him asa regular on the senior British team and guaranteed him aticket to the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. He has sincerepresented Great Britain consistently, winning teamsilver at the London 2012 and Athens 2004 OlympicGames, and team bronze at the Beijing 2008 OlympicGames.

e secured team gold and individual silver at the AlltechFEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 in Kentucky(USA), team silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games™2006 in Aachen (GER) and team bronze at the 2002edition of the Games in Jerez (ESP), as well as sixEuropean team gold medals, one team bronze, two indi-vidual silvers and individual bronze.

ox-Pitt has also won a total of 55 CCIs (internationalthree-day events), including a record 14 CCI4*s, which

are the world’s top international events: Badminton(2004 and 2015, when he became the first rider in historyto win there on a stallion), Burghley six times (1994,2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011 when he became thefirst rider to win a record six Burghley titles on sixdifferent horses), Luhmühlen (2008), Pau twice (2011and 2013) and Kentucky three times (2010, 2012 and2014).

Jon Stroud/FEI

About William Fox-Pitt

Photo credits: FEI

DAISY JACKSON

Daisy Jackson is a motivated and ambitious young rider progressing through the Great BritishDressage Circuit. Follow her each month here at In the Stirrups.

I have been very busy since I lastwrote and have lots of news totell....... May involved attending achild safeguarding and protectioncourse which was held at SparsholtCollege. I then completed a two dayfirst aid course which was held atMerrist Wood. I am happy to saythat I have now applied to be put onthe BD list of registered trainerswhich should be confirmed shortly.I am also now registered as a trainee

judge and am looking forwards toseeing things from the other side ofthe judging box by doing somejudge training and judging at localcompetitions. Putting all this togood use, I was a guest trainer for aclinic held by eventer and client ofmine Lizzie Milham and was greatfun. With my first clinic done anddusted I am now very much lookingforward to taking future clinicswhich are being held at Sparsholt

College and hopefully other venuesas well. If you are interested in com-ing along for lessons or test ridingthen please get in touch either on thecontact page on my websitedjdressage.co.uk or on my Facebookpage Daisy Jackson Dressage.Competing and training has beengoing really well. Both my currentcompetition horses Fürst Larkshilland Premier Into The Black havedone me proud this month with three

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With thanks to all my team that work hard to keep thehorses in peak condition help me with my suppleness,posture and fitness and ensure the horses are alwayswearing the best:Contacts:

www.carolinebennetts.com/www.kateboeanimalphysio.co.uk/http://www.jessicagrovept.com/www.thebalancedrider.co.ukwww.bespokebandages.comwww.facebook.com/WoldsExclusiveBlinghttp://delviento.co.ukwww.topspec.com

Contact me:http://djdressage.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Daisy-Jackson-Dressage/488163894546750https://twitter.com/DJDressage

DAISY JACKSON

regional qualifications andfour U25 Championshipqualifications between thetwo of them. Tracey By-water’s beautiful Rubine-ro x Negro mare that goesby the names Pigley andBlackberry has been ontop form this month withfour scores between 7275% both at Novice andElementary and thereforehas now qualified for theRegional Championshipsfor Novice Open and Ele-mentary Open as well asthe same classes at theU25 Champs at Sheep-gate. Fürst Larkshillwhose breeding is FürstHeinrich x De Niro is now

qualified for the TopSpecsponsored Medium OpenRegional Championshipsas well as the MediumOpen and Advanced Me-dium classes at the U25Championships. All that isleft is 2pts to get to bequalified for the Ad-vanced Medium Restrict-ed RegionalChampionships and thenthey will be on a shorthacking break before get-ting them ready for the re-gional’s.Have a great month andsee you all next time J

Daisy

Jock Paget during the final showjumping phase Photo credit FEI

Mitsubishi Motors BadmintonHorse Trials 2015

Badminton always proves to be one of the most antic-ipated events on the Eventing calendar. Knownaround the world to equestrians and non-equestriansalike, it boasts one of the most challenging courses inCross Country and never fails to attract all of the topnames in Eventing. This year was no less and thedressage phase began the action, split over two days itsaw some amazing tests and leftAndrew Nicholson in pole posi-tion going into the Cross Countryleg of the competition.The 53-year-old Kiwi, who per-formed his test early on the firstmorning, sat out in front of the 81starters, although his lead shrunkto just 1.2 penalties over worldnumber two William Fox-Pitt(GBR) and the 15-year-old stal-lion Chilli Morning who rode onthe second day of dressage.Nicholson’s former ride, Armada- a full brother to Nereo – wentinto the cross country phase inthird place with Oliver Townend(GBR) on 39.2. Ingrid Klimke(GER) is fourth on HorsewareHale Bob on 40.2 penalties, andNew Zealander Jock Paget’s tworides, Clifton Lush and CliftonPromise, in fifth and sixth place,separated by a mere 0.4 of a pen-alty.Nicholson admitted that he was quite surprised to findhimself still in the lead after some strong performanc-es by fellow competitors today. “I expected to end upabout fifth,” he said, “but Nereo felt very smart yester-day and I thought that if anyone beat me they probablywouldn’t be very far in front.”Ingrid Klimke (GER) produced a beautifully ridden,accurate test on Horseware Hale Bob, which was onlymarred by a few moments of tension, notably in the

walk. The ever good-humoured German Olympian,who took “Bobby” draghunting as a young horse,explained that he had suddenly heard the hounds inthe Duke of Beaufort’s hunt kennels on the Badmin-ton estate.“He was really opening up at the start, with a lovelyshoulder in, and I had a big smile on my face,” she

said. “But then he heard thedogs and I had to tell him ‘comeon, we’re not hunting’! But it’sgood that he’s excited, becausehe needs to be awake tomorrowfor the Cross Country.”Klimke added: “I’m lookingforward to it and don’t feelthere is any particular problemfence. My horse has scope andis neat on his feet and well bal-anced. We’re definitely goingfor it.”As the cross country phaselooked set to begin, ridersweighed up Giuseppe dellaChiesa’s (ITA) Cross Countrycourse, which last year claimedsuch notable scalps as Nichol-son, Fox-Pitt, Sir Mark Todd(NZL), Pippa Funnell (GBR)and Mary King (GBR). As istraditional, the direction wasreversed this year so that it runs

anti-clockwise, the route riders tend to prefer, and thegeneral perception is that the intensity has been re-duced.“The course is a little bit kinder than last year, withnot as many combinations, but you can't get awayfrom the fact it is still big, it's still Badminton, andthere’s no room for error anywhere,” said the sea-soned Kristina Cook (GBR), who sat 11th on DeNovo News before the XC.


Photo credits: FEI

BADMINTON 2015

“There is so muchhistory at Bad-

minton. I rode here when I was 21, many years ago. Iwas completely terrified then. I've had some amazingrides here, and I have also fallen off a few times aswell, but that is the respect Badminton needs. Only thebest come here.”Andrew Nicholson (NZL) joked that he was “stillliving the dream” after judging his Cross-Countryround on Nereo to perfection, the New Zealand riderfinished one second inside the optimum time of 11minutes 27 seconds to remain on his leading Dressagescore of 37.8.There were five New Zealand horses in the top 10.Nicholson is also seventh on the Thoroughbred CalicoJoe and Paget is ninth on Clifton Promise after pickingup 6.4 time penalties. Sir Mark Todd was ninth onLeonidas ll with 1.2 time penalties and earned anenormous cheer from the crowd when he finished onthe last horse of the day, Oloa, 43rd.“The course rode really well and the going was per-fect,” said the four-time winner who, at 59, was theoldest in the field of 78 Cross Country starters. “Evennow, I can say that you still get just as nervous andit’s still just as much a thrill. I enjoyed every minuteof it.”With only one ride, Fox-Pitt endured an anxious waitfor his turn towards the end of the day, and revealedthat he’d been “playing in the Wendy house and onthe bouncy castle” with his young sons. “With thecourse riding so well, I knew that just a few secondswasted would mean it was all over.”The performance of Fox-Pitt’s mount, Chilli Morn-ing, was the best by a stallion in the history ofBadminton. “When he argues, it gives me confi-dence that he’s up for it,” said Fox-Pitt, a referenceto the time the chestnut stopped at a ditch at Ken-

tucky in 2013. “It’s not poetry in motion, but he’s verygenuine, a super horse.”The huge crowds waiting to see thrills and spills at theLake were not disappointed. Three veteran riders,Kristina Cook (GBR), 11th after Dressage on DeNovo News, fellow Briton Gary Parsonage (SligoLuckyvalier), who last rode at Badminton in the daysof long format, and triple Olympic gold medallistAndrew Hoy (AUS) on Rutherglen all got a soakingwhen their horses pitched over the curved willow“wave” fence into the water.“I’m so annoyed with myself,” said Cook when she’ddried off. “He was going so well and for some reasonI decided I wanted another stride and got the horse tooclose to the fence.”The step out of the Lake also proved influential andended the challenge of young German rider NiklasBschorer who had been eighth after Dressage. Heperformed heroics to stay on when Tom Tom Go 3stumbled up the step, but had to retire when his airjacket inflated.When asked how he was going to keep calm over-night, the leader Andrew Nicholson replied that hewas going to return to his home near Marlborough,Wiltshire. “My youngest two children, Lily and Zach,will being me back to reality, and we’ve also got a fewproblems with our chickens,” he said.The finale could not have been more tense, with threepenalties – less than the cost of a rail down - coveringthe first five riders, and all attention on the great Kiwirider Andrew Nicholson aiming to win Badminton forthe first time in 31 years of trying as the show jumpingkicked off on the final day.Paget, lying fifth after Cross Country, eased the pres-sure on his rivals when Clifton Lush hit the 11th fenceto pick up four faults. Klimke, next into the arena, was

William Fox-Pitt during Dressage

Oliver Townend during XC


Photo credits: FEI

Photo credits: FEI

BADMINTON 2015

Andrew Nicholson

immaculately prepared, having been competing herGerman Thoroughbred gelding in Jumping classesover the winter, and they produced a confident clear.Next to go were the 2014 runners-up, Oliver Townend(GBR) and Armada, but the Yorkshireman had hu-morously predicted that he wouldn’t be taking homeany trophies as the 16-year-old gelding is notoriouslydifficult in this phase. Four fences down dropped thepair to 11th.Fox-Pitt is known for his ability to deal with extremepressure and the generous Chilli Morning more thanrose to the occasion, jumping as if on springs to recorda clear and switch the burden onto the shoulders of hisNew Zealand rival. As the crowd erupted, Nicholsonentered on an unsettled Nereo, the 15-year-old chest-nut clearly unnerved by the electric atmosphere, andwhen he hit the second fence it was all over. Twomore rails went as well and the pair dropped to sixthplace, but the New Zealander somehow managed tofind a smile. “I’ll live to fight another day,” he prom-ised.William Fox-Pitt (GBR) re-wrote the record bookswhen he became the first rider in history to win aCCI4* on a stallion, jumping a magnificent clearround in today’s final phase on Christopher Stone’sChilli Morning to capture the Mitsubishi Motors Bad-minton Horse Trials, fourth leg of the FEI Classics™2014/2015. The popular German rider Ingrid Klimke

finished runner-up by just 1.2 penalties on her newstar Horseware Hale Bob, and New Zealander JockPaget was third on Clifton Lush, a great achievementon a horse coming back after a year’s lay-off for injury.Chilli Morning will now return to stud duties and willnot compete again this year. “He’s a fantastic horsewith a brilliant brain and he wants to work.” Fox-Pittwas quick to heap praise on Nick Gauntlett, the riderwho produced the stallion up to four-star level.Ingrid Klimke said Horseware Hale Bob had given hera great ride in all three phases and she was keen to paytribute to Chris Bartle, the German team trainer “be-cause he always had faith in us”.Kelvin Bywater’s Jumping track proved influential,with clear rounds at a premium. Sir Mark Todd (NZL)rose from ninth to fourth with just one time penalty onthe German-bred Leonidas ll and Bettina Hoy (GER)had her best ever Badminton result with fifth place onDesigner 10 after incurring only four faults.Klimke’s second place at Badminton added to her winat Pau (FRA) last year propels her into first place onthe FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 leaderboard and shehas a good ride, Escada JS, for the fifth leg at Luh-mühlen (GER) next month. Fox-Pitt, now second inthe rankings, following a fourth place in Kentucky(USA) recently, is also planning to compete at Germa-ny’s premier event, so the contest should go right tothe wire at Burghley (GBR) in September.

Photo credits: FEI

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