The legendary showman on embracing the journey, his collecting ring assessments and why he’s always watching and learning...
WHAT I’ve learnt over the years is that you can’t run every horse in the same way. Each one is different and you must, therefore, adapt a routine to suit his quirks to get the very best out of him.
Some horses don’t like schooling and prefer to hack, and vice versa. We’ve had one or two who hardly stepped foot in the school as it wasn’t their idea of fun. Then there have been others who didn’t enjoy hacking and would happily train in an arena.
With this in mind, you can’t be frightened to divert off a parallel line. If something doesn’t work for one horse, you have to find an alternative route to achieve the end goal. You’ll learn as you go along; I’m still learning and picking things up now.
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Freelance equestrian journalist
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
