InFocus

Is the German ‘purpose bred’ eventer taking control over the once dominant thoroughbred eventing scene?  It has come to my attention that the last thoroughbred to win gold at the Olympics was Blyth Tait aboard Ready Teddy. And if any of you follow the eventing circuit, you’ll come to note that Ready Teddy has been deceased for some years now, with this success occurring in 1996. In 19 years, no thoroughbred has won gold at the Olympics!  Is this saying something about the thoroughbred we all used to rave about because they had a heart as big as a gate and the determination to dig in and keep battling?  The strength they had to run 15km before even....

A Tribute

Sire of several Grand Prix show jumpers along with advanced eventers, the famous Holsteiner stallion Lansing was a loyal contributor to both the German and New Zealand equestrian industry. Born in 1986 Germany, Lansing served several top horses.  He was later imported into New Zealand in 2003, continuing his service here.

Pip Ffoulkes, together with her husband Paul are the agents for The German Holsteiner Verband here in New Zealand, with Paul originally working in Germany. He began the early training with Lansing, therefore it was a no brainer when his name appeared on the list of stallions that they were able to lease.....

Ones ability to successfully manage a horse’s fitness for competition is an important aspect to being a knowledgable horseman. However, are there too many riders that aren’t knowledgeable enough in this field of expertise or do they just not pay it enough attention? According to Michael Jung, fitness work is the most important aspect to a horse’s training. So why are so many riders concentrating on perfecting their dressage for an extra 2% instead of perfecting their fitness? When… if they put the same amount of energy into their fitness work, they may complete a cross country inside the time and still front up to show jump the following day. We....

Since when did most of our top event riders pack up and move their stables overseas? What do countries like England have that New Zealand is lacking? Is it the competition or the atmosphere that lures people in? The obsession with riding amongst the professionals? The 2004 Olympic team consisted of only two kiwi based riders, Matthew Grayling and Heelan Tompkins. Both Revo and Glengarrick were flown to Athens on Sunday 4th July, with competition commencing on the 14th August. Yes, both riders had spent time in England prior to 2004, gaining international experience to compete against some of the world’s best. However, the point of difference for Matthew and....

Horses. There are so many stereotypes about these unpredictable animals, one being they are therapeutic for humans. Now I’m not saying this isn’t true. There have been so many horses in my life that have done wonders in the way of strengthening my personality, teaching me determination and the ability to care for another needy living thing, other than myself. Essential to this is to have the right horse. The horses that have been therapeutic for me (if you can call it that) have been horses that I trust and know aren’t out to hurt me. I have absolute faith that my parents would never have put me on a horse that was going to intentionally hurt me. But that is....

A horse we bred, who incidentally carries genes extremely important to us, suffered repeated bouts of colic for more than a year.  Lou had lost half his body weight and was on the brink of a very invasive surgery or the alternative…  actually, I can’t bear to mention the alternative as it was not a pleasant prospect for any of us. Certainly not for Lou, and at the very least would have involved tears and earth works. 

More than a year ago I was a slightly late, no more than 30 minutes, with Lou’s breakfast. When I finally appeared, feed bucket in hand, he began burning around the paddock with excitement. It was winter. It was muddy. He slipped....