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Hope in fight to save Olympic legacy equestrian centre, fireworks terror, and other things the horse world is talking about

Horse & Hound’s daily debrief, brought to you every weekday
Sarah Jenkins Sarah Jenkins

    • The compelling argument to save Olympic legacy site

    There is renewed hope for an equestrian centre that formed part of London 2012’s Olympic legacy. Back in January, Royal Borough of Greenwich Council’s decision-making cabinet voted to sell the £1.6m Greenwich Equestrian Centre, despite opposition. Now it seems there has been some progress, with groups clearly arguing the case for the centre to remain and work even harder for the benefit of the local community.

    “The Greenwich Equestrian Centre isn’t just a facility – it’s part of our Olympic legacy and a space that has inspired generations. The community has shown it wants this site restored, not sold,” Tao Baker, who leads the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, told H&H. “With Sport England’s support, we’re proving that collaboration, not disposal, is the real legacy London deserves.”

    The fight to save this centre

    Horseworld turns out to support seriously injured rider

    In October, horse rider and trainer Catherine Robinson was kicked by a horse, causing significant injury to her face and resulting in catastrophic damage to her optic nerve. Given time to come to terms with the extent of her injury, Catherine is now focused on aiming to contest paradressage.

    Catherine ran a business backing and training horses, but has lost her sight as a result of the accident. The equestrian community has rallied to support Catherine, and a fundraising page set up on her behalf has already raised more than £90,000.

    “[Horses] were my everything,” she said. “But I can’t change what’s happened so it’s about taking the best out of a pretty shit situation. It’s keeping your mind right; I’ve always been an independent person so it’s going to be difficult, of course, but I’ve got a great group of friends and family.”

    The community’s support for this injured rider

    “Don’t subject our poor horses to another night of hell”

    A horse owner whose two-and-a-half-year-old daughter is very worried about her ponies being scared during fireworks season has joined the long list of people pleading with others to stop setting off fireworks and only attend organised displays.

    Others would like fireworks to be banned altogether, limited to certain nights of the year, for sound to be reduced or other changes to the law – so traumatic is the impact to their animals or people they care about.

    The challenges owners are facing during fireworks

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    Sarah Jenkins
    Sarah Jenkins

    H&H editor-in-chief
    Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
    Sarah Jenkins

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