As I write this on the train heading back to Cheshire, I am reflecting on what has been a truly thought provoking day at The National Equine Forum. I firstly want to say a big thank you to the F&I Association for the opportunity for myself and Alex Wyatt to attend the forum. Having arrived slightly late due to train issues I arrived as Dr Richard Newton had started his talk on managing infectious disease…

This day was kindly organised by Talland School of Equitation. A group of eager F’s and I’s were welcomed by Pammy Hutton FBHS at Talland School of Equitation on a cold Monday morning. The group was a mixture of both riders and spectators. At 10am prompt, an action-packed programme began and the first of the 3 riders were given the arena and some younger horses to assess and critique. The horses were quality types with…

January 2020, Addington. What an inspiring two days. Corinne Bracken and Adam Kemp complemented each other, both in their methodology and in their delivery. For two days we felt totally torn between which coach to watch! The discussion section held on Tuesday was a brilliant idea and gave us a good insight to both coaches’ philosophy and experience. Overwhelmingly they spoke with a combination of common sense and passion. The discussion was fantastic – we…

The summer camp started on Tuesday 24th September where Eric Smiley FBHS was going to be doing gridwork sessions focusing on mental gymnastics. There was a line set up in the indoor arena, but Eric promptly changed the lay out. I was in the first group of the afternoon and you could tell straight away Eric wasn’t going to accept any “waffle”. We had to give him clear and precise answers and we were questioned…

As one approached the second fence on the Burghley 2019 course, the meeting point for the F and I course walk, it was hard to control the excitement at spotting “the flower bed” which was more like a raised bed for a giant.  It is only human nature to design courses which you would like to ride yourself and when walking the course you “must think of the psychology of the designer”, in this case…

Ladies Day at Hickstead dawned bright and clear – and it didn’t actually rain!  I look forward every year to a day at the Royal International Horse show, watching Show Jumping from the BHS box overlooking the main arena, and meeting up with friends. It has now become an annual event for the Campbells, Anne and I.  We arrived just after 10am, and parked close to the trade stand area just over five minutes’ stroll…

Myerscough International Arena, 20th June 2019 The topic of the day was ‘Suppleness and Straightness within the Jump Arena’. We were all looking forward to Andrews’s wealth of knowledge and experience, plus the opportunity to catch up with friends and fellow peers. The morning started with a couple of hours of flatwork, Andrew worked with horses of various levels, and throughout, the theme was ensuring the rider maintained their own balance and posture, therefore enabling…

How lucky were we to wake up to a glorious sunny morning in Co Kildare, for our Irish F and I day. On arrival to Jessica Harringtons yard at 10 o’clock , we found that we had only missed one lot as they do not start till 8 as many of the staff have yards of their own. Our first vision was the infamous Sizing John, Gold Cup winner in 2017. Sizing John was just…