Author: Suzanne Ashton

Piggy March lends support to Strangles Awareness Week 2022 in new video One of Britain’s leading event riders Piggy March has given her support to this year’s Strangles Awareness Week and is encouraging all owners to take part in the ‘Temperature Check Challenge’ in a new video. Leading equine welfare charities, vets, researchers and higher education institutions from around the world have come together to organise the week (2nd – 8th May) – now in its third year – with the aim of educating people about the highly contagious equine…

Stripe Technology – Zebra Explain The evolution of the zebra’s striped coat has been a hot topic amongst scientists for over 150 years with many in-depth studies carried out by scientists on why Zebras have stripes and the connection with flies.  Here, Zebra Products explain the theory behind the concept. One of the earlier studies to Bucas’ knowledge is that of scientists painting wooden pallets containing vegetable oil, in different patterns. There was one painted with black and white stripes to mimic a zebra, one was all black and the…

The Best Horse Racing Tracks in the World Horse racing tracks are all around the world. But the best ones are located in specific parts of the world and we are going to explore all of them. With the craze around horse racing even going to the extent of creating online horse betting and more, one can only imagine what the future holds for this sport. And if any thought has to be laid on to the future, you need to think about the past and the present. That is where…

A Brief History Of The Belmont Stakes Something that makes the Belmont Stakes so iconic is that it is one of the oldest horse racing events in America. Not only that, but it is arguably the most gruelling track in the Triple Crown races.  The Belmont Stakes is held every year on the third Saturday in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is considered by many the most prestigious race in American thoroughbred racing, and at 154 years old, it isn’t difficult to appreciate why.  This is…

Hamilton Mounted Police and Equine Guelph Hosts Large Animal Emergency Rescue Training Hamilton Mounted Police, and Equine Guelph hosted another Large Animal Emergency Rescue Training workshop on March 30, 2022 at the Ancaster Fairgrounds. Participants from Hamilton Mounted Police, Hamilton Fire Department and McKee-Pownall Equine Services were hands-on, working together on the rescue scenarios using props including Rusti, Equine Guelph’s life-size and very hefty horse mannequin. Proper use of specialized equipment and positioning of webbing around the body of the animal is so important to the positive outcome of lifting or…

Badminton Horse Trials Reveal New Trophy for 2022 Just weeks before this year’s Badminton Horse Trials, Presented by Mars Equestrian, the organisers have revealed a brand new sustainably led Trophy. Designed and made by award-winning animal sculptor Judy Boyt, using materials from the Duke of Beaufort’s Badminton estate, the new trophy retains its authenticity with each horse representing an individual element of the eventing mix. However, there’s a plentitude of finer details to be enjoyed by the winner who gets to take the trophy home following the event. Judy, who…

Berlin Eagles Soar Into Championship Lead After Winning GCL Miami Beach With Clean Sheet It was a moment for the history books as Berlin Eagles’ dynamic duo of Ludger Beerbaum and Christian Kukuk became the first team to ever win GCL Miami Beach on a score of 0 faults. Riding Mila and Mumbai respectively the pair shot to the top with a dramatic shake up in the overall rankings as the season starts to unfold. Set next to the effervescent Atlantic ocean, clean jumping rounds were few and far between…

Katrin Eckermann triumphs in Miami Beach while Ludger Beerbaum holds on to LGCT Ranking lead It was a fairytale ending for the Longines Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach in Florida as last to go Katrin Eckermann stopped the clock a second faster than Shane Sweetnam to triumph in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Miami Beach. Riding the 9 year old Cala Mandia the pair risked it to the last at a flat out gallop and punched the air while the whole of Miami Beach erupted in…

Alarming number of rescue requests reported for 2022 say Bransby Horses Horse welfare charity receives same number of rescue requests in first three months of 2022 as the whole of 2021 Half of those reported stated this was due to financial reasons. One of the UK’s leading equine charities, Bransby Horses, has reported a steep increase in calls from horse owners struggling to afford the upkeep of their animals. Last year the charity received 108 calls from members of the public looking for advice on what to do if they…

Review North Warwickshire Club Point-to-Point Mollington Written by Jake Exelby The North Warwickshire Club point-to-point at Mollington on Saturday treated spectators to 30 runners in the six races, some impressive performances, doubles for jockey Dale Peters and trainer David Kemp and a local success in the Grand National, shown on the big screen after racing! The pair teamed up to great effect with Caryto Des Brosses in the Hatton Arms Mixed Open. Although the race was a match, it was no foregone conclusion beforehand, with the winner’s sole opponent being…

RSPCA call to ban whip after winning jockeys secure victory despite breaching whip rules Jockeys at both the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival lift trophies despite breaking whip rules The RSPCA is calling for a ban on hitting horses with whips to make them run faster after the winning jockey at the Grand National and winners at the Cheltenham Festival landed victory despite breaching whip rules. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is carrying out a consultation around the use of the whip in racing and the RSPCA urges the body…

British Dressage and Horse & Country announce wide-range content broadcast partnership British Dressage (BD) and leading international equestrian sports network Horse & Country (H&C) have announced the details of an exciting wide-range broadcasting partnership. The new arrangement will see increased exposure across all of H&C’s assets that will ultimately deliver you a whole new set of dressage content to feast your eyes on. Enhanced dressage coverage on H&C’s streaming service, H&C+, will reflect both parties’ commitment to increasing the reach and awareness of British Dressage both at home in the…

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera triumph, while Werth retires Weihegold in style Written By Louise Parkes  FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2022, Leipzig (GER) There’s nothing like a big win on home ground, but there’s also nothing like retiring a superstar horse in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd, so Saturday’s Freestyle finale had it all when Jessica von Bredow-Werndl steered Dalera to victory at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final 2022 where the sport said a rousing farewell to Isabell Werth’s great mare, Weihegold OLD. The Leipzig Messe was electric with…

Short Grand Prix win goes to Dalera and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl Written by Louise Parkes It was no surprise when the reigning Olympic and European gold medallists, 36-year-old Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her 15-year-old mare TSF Dalera BB, strutted their way into pole position in the Short Grand Prix when the FEI Dressage World Cup Final 2022 got underway in Leipzig, Germany last night. Drawn in prime last-to-go position the German duo soared ahead of the opposition to post a score of 84.793, pinning Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour and Vamos Amigos…

McLain Ward takes the lead ahead of Sunday’s title decider Written by Louise Parkes   America’s McLain Ward knows what it is to win the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup, and yesterday the 2017 champion set himself on that path once again when topping the second competition at the 2022 Final in Leipzig, Germany. A brilliant last-to-go run with Contagious in the seven-horse jump-off against the clock moved him up from overnight fifth to pole position on the leaderboard, and he goes into Sunday’s finale a full fence ahead of The…