Mark Phillips: ‘An unacceptable number of horse falls’ *H&H Plus*

Mark Phillips explains why quality in qualifiers matters more than quantity

I’M over 70 years old and lucky to have had both my Covid vaccinations – and to be able to travel on an elite athlete back-up ticket. However, I’m beyond tired of all the restrictions and bureaucracy surrounding sport and travel.

Two weeks ago, I spent two hours in a hot immigration line at Heathrow, where the charming ladies handling the frustrated travellers were giving out water to the weary and battery chargers for drained mobile phones, such was the embarrassment of our border force.

My travels have highlighted the paper-thin FEI risk management policy. Strzegom had probably 80% of its fences up to height, but the technical difficulty was barely of intermediate standard, with combinations on five to eight strides. In Kentucky, at the same qualifying level, the combinations were all on two and three strides, plus there was terrain.

This column can also be read in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 29 April

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