Contact The underlying theme that seemed to come across from both the dressage and jumping sessions was that the horses had to be working to the contact in order to create enough power. However, this still meant that the horses had to be in-front of the leg in order to be to the contact. During Adam’s sessions it was an absolute breath of fresh air that he talked about whether a horse should work deep…

We were treated to a fantastic day at Aintree Racecourse. A guided tour and course walk was followed by a sit-down lunch in a private function room and an afternoon’s racing. December 8th dawned dry and sunny despite a wet and windy forecast. We were greeted with coffee and mince pies, which was a sign of things to come. We were so well looked after throughout the day. Daniel Cooper, Trainee Clerk of the Course…

November 8th dawns – well actually it hasn’t as the alarm went off at 1.15AM & it’s pitch black!  Fran & I left Malsbury Cottage in Wexford at 2.15 AM to drive to Dublin Airport to change Faith into Fran as dear Faith had a family bereavement, the wig wouldn’t stay on Fran’s head & he point blank refused to take off the moustache, so we were told we had to check in at the…

Honesty, Energy, Time Those that attended the course walk were in for a treat this year as we were lucky to get input not only from Eric but Captain Mark Phillips himself. At the very beginning of the walk the first thing Eric explained was that as a rider you need to know your horse, your own style and clearly have an objective. Are you here to be competitive? Are you here just to complete…

What a super day I had at The Royal International Horse Show on Saturday 28th July.  The day was spent with many other F & I members and their guests where we had the luxury of the BHS box    with a supply of drinks and a lovely lunch right next to the main ring.  I wouldn’t like to try to work out how many times I have been, but I always love it and…

at Bold Heath Equestrian Centre, Cheshire on 5th July 2018. We had five groups of eager riders for the training day with Nick Turner. Mark Baker and his team at Bold Heath had built a fantastic track for us, with a testing series of jumping exercises for us. They have fantastic outdoor arenas at Bold Heath, which we planned to use but due to the penetrating rays of the sun they kindly let us have…

BALLYPATRICK STABLES, FETHARD HORSE MUSEUM & COOLMORE STUD, 26th June 2018. ANOTHER FABULOUSLY ORGANISED DAY BY FAITH PONSONBY BHSI BALLYPATRICK STABLES On arrival we were greeted and shown round by Olga Doyle (Greg Broderick’s sister). Greg represented Ireland as the only Irish show jumper at the Rio Olympics in 2016. I think to say we were blown away by the organisation of the whole operation was an understatement. There was design and thought oozing out…

We were lucky to have the opportunity to study the Burghley young event horse classes with the assistance of Nicola Baguley who has bred and ridden winners here. 
Firstly we studied the 5 year olds starting with the dressage where the marks are awarded with future potential in mind as a opposed to it being based totally on the performance on the day. A discussion on the influence that the strength and maturity of the…

THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY CHARITY OF THE YEAR MY TAKE ON OUR FOUR FABULOUS DAYS So, Faith Ponsonby and I offered our services to the BHS as volunteers on their various stands and what fun we had. We started in the Carlton Hotel near Dublin Airport as with a very early flight to Bristol Thursday morning, the decision was made that driving up to the airport in the early hours of the morning, 3am, was…