Equestrian Life’s February issue is out now!
While we find ourselves entering the lunar year of the rabbit, every year is the year of the horse for equestrians!
As Heath Ryan reminds us, this is a great year to have a crack at getting into the final Olympic selection trials early next year. And if you want to put your hand up for the big time, you have to get out of bed early. Every day. Heath did just that recently, heading off at 2am on a five-hour drive to Bong Bong racecourse for Bowral Dressage Club’s competition. He points out in this month’s column what a high level of dedication is required to be a serious dressage competitor. And yes, the competition at Bong Bong was “very interesting”, he says, with several contenders showing possible Olympic potential.
For further insight as to who’s new on the horizon, we analyse the Victorian Youth Dressage Championships and enjoy an in-depth interview with Maddison Growcott — this issue’s cover star — who epitomises Heath Ryan’s work ethic; her team of two horses and two ponies competed in no less than 17 tests with great success. Dana Krause gives a rundown of who made an impression in the U-25 Grand Prix, and we preview another event: next month’s Dressage & Jumping With The Stars. On the eventing front, a grassroots competition that has produced many an Olympian in the past is the Avenel Horse Trials. We take a look at the history behind this long-running event and also the eventers who stood out when Avenel returned in a big way after a two-year layoff.
We have a huge Training section this issue, kicking off with Roger Fitzhardinge’s observations from Stefan Wolff’s first clinic here in two years. Roger also gives us a heads up on the changes to the Novice dressage tests – out with the old and in with the new, he says. Expat Tristan Tucker is happy to tell Adele all about the astonishing success of his TRT Method, while also sharing his insights on how to deal with paddock anxiety in our horses. Kerry Mack unpacks what the walk is all about, and in a fascinating new series, Mim Coleman draws on her riding and corporate backgrounds to discuss the concept of courage in the competition arena.
In Health, Dr Maxine Brain discusses cardiac murmurs – and don’t stress, they are not all bad. In Lifestyle, there’s plenty to enjoy once you take your boots off. Californian TV comedian Kaley Cuoco tells Bernard Bale how she is seriously into showjumping, while Suzy Jarratt takes us along for the ride on the making of the (mostly) true story of The Horse With The Flying Tail!
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