We review the standout moments from a bumper year of news stories. From triumphs such as the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, the implementation of a ban on the donkey skin trade in Africa and the potential discovery of the cause of Equine Grass Sickness to dramatic lows such as dubious training practices by a few leading riders, we have covered it all over the past 12 months.
January
Road safety figures
The latest road incident statistics from the BHS show that fewer equestrian incidents were reported to the charity in 2023 compared to the previous year, but that three people died during the year and 94 were injured. A total of 86 horses were harmed, too, with 66 dying in road accidents.
Jilly Cooper Damehood
In a memorable year for Jilly Cooper, the author is awarded a damehood for services to literature and charity in the King’s first New Year Honours List. In October, her ‘bonkbuster’ Rivals, part of her Rutshire Chronicles series, is released on to TV screens after being serialised by Disney+.
Farrier crisis
The Farriers Registration Council releases figures that show that a farrier crisis may be on the horizon as numbers drop across the country.
There are 2,686 registered farriers in the UK at the end of 2023, 162 fewer than in December 2019.
The potential crisis is caused by an increase in the numbers of farriers reaching retirement age, some choosing to leave the profession or work overseas, and fewer apprentices coming into the trade.
February
Social licence
A World Horse Welfare webinar entitled ‘Maintaining public acceptance of equestrianism: What can we learn from other industries?’ sets the tone for the year in terms of frequently revisiting the issue of social licence, as many equestrian organisations court the good opinion of the general public.
Chief executive Roly Owers says: “Public acceptance, or social licence, is not something you can apply for. It’s an intangible, unwritten contract between society and an industry or activity; it’s a measure of trust.”
Pre-purchase examinations
A study by the Royal Veterinary College puts pre-purchase examinations under the spotlight and discovers that 57.1% of horses examined have prejudicial findings.
The most common are lameness, followed by diagnostic imaging findings, issues with the respiratory system, skin conditions and cardiac abnormalities.
Ban for donkey skin trade
The African Union bans the donkey skin trade, signalling an end to the legal slaughter of hundreds of thousands of donkeys within the continent.
Over the past decade, Africa has seen its donkey population decimated due to Chinese demand for ejiao, a gelatin used in traditional Chinese medicine that is made from boiling down donkey skins.
Your Horse Live moves home
Kelsey Media buys Your Horse Live to bring all three Your Horse entities (Your Horse magazine, Your Horse online and Your Horse Live) under one brand.
“This is great news for Your Horse Live’s future with a new forward-thinking owner who embraces consumer events,” said show director Emma Bedford.
Your Horse Life attracts 23,000 visitors to a three-day equestrian extravaganza taking place at Stoneleigh Park in November each year featuring demos, advice and entertainment from top riders and experts, plus showing championships and shopping.
March
Charter for the Horse
A new Charter for the Horse is launched, with the 19 member bodies of British Equestrian (BEF) signing up to commit to endorse the highest standards of equine welfare, wellbeing and ethics.
The Charter for the Horse has been developed with BEF stakeholder groups to be adopted across the equestrian industry by all with a connection to horses and equids.
April
Rare breeds decline
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust releases its Watchlist for 2024-25 which, crucially, reveals a worrying decline in numbers of Welsh section Bs, leading to them being added to the ‘At Risk’ category.
By contrast, there is positive news for New Forest, Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies, whose numbers show a healthy upward trend.
Horses loose in London
Two Household Cavalry horses need surgery after being spooked by builders moving rubble. They throw off their riders in the incident, which occurs while they are on exercise in Belgravia, and bolt through central London, their pictures appearing on newspaper front pages the following day.
May
Badminton’s surprise result
New Zealander Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier spring a surprise to scoop first place at the Mars Badminton Horse Trials, this year celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Farewell William Fox-Pitt
After finishing 13th at Badminton aboard Grafennacht, the great William Fox-Pitt, a stalwart of so many British teams and a prolific three-day winner, announces his retirement from top level eventing.
In 2015, he was forced to take time out to recover from a near-fatal fall which caused a traumatic brain injury.
“I’ve been so lucky to make a career out of my passion,” he says. “I will always just love horses.”
Live exports banned
There is joy in the horse world as live horse exports for slaughter are banned as the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is passed into law.
“Today is a defining moment in our nearly century-long and founding campaign. The passage of this law ensures that no horse, pony or donkey will legally be exported from Great Britain for slaughter,” states World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers.
Strangles strikes
Strangles Awareness Week returns on 6-12 May to inform equestrians about this infectious disease and to share the latest guidance on preventing and managing an outbreak.
Accessibility in urban areas
British Dressage launches the pilot for its Urban Equestrian Centre Programme, in partnership with Birmingham-based centre Summerfield Stables.
The programme is aimed at unlocking possibilities for under-represented communities in urban areas while bringing them top riding and horse care training.
Georgie Campbell dies
There is an outpouring of grief following the death of much-loved event rider Georgie Campbell (née Strang) in a fall at Bicton Horse Trials in Devon.
Georgie leaves bereft husband Jesse Campbell, who shows extraordinary strength less than four months later when completing Burghley Horse Trials aboard Cooley Lafitte, blowing a kiss to the sky as he crosses the cross-country finish line.
June
Cost of living crisis affects horse welfare
The National Equine Welfare Council’s survey on the cost of living crisis paints a worrying picture of equestrians going to extremes — such as compromising their own welfare, missing meals and keeping the heating switched off — so that they can afford to look after their horses.
One of the 6,000 respondents writes: “I can’t afford to call vets out of hours anymore. I rent a field and can’t afford a proper horse shelter or stables. I can’t afford the farrier regularly anymore.”
Princess Royal hospitalised
The Princess Royal spends five days in hospital with concussion and minor head injuries after suffering a horse-related incident in a field in the grounds of her home, Gatcombe Park.
The hard-working member of the royal family is out of action for barely a month, though, before she returns to official duties.
More falls occur during low risk activities
Dr David Marlin and Dr Jane Williams study rider falls and conclude that most occur while hacking or schooling, meaning that it is vital to wear protective equipment for activities that are perceived as ‘low risk’.
Jane says: “Our results show that falls occur more at home… which highlights that rider safety should be considered in these environments, and not just in competition or when we perceive that we are doing something risky.”
Funnell’s record Derby win
Showjumper William Funnell famously wins a record-breaking fifth Hickstead Derby, this time aboard Dublin, and credits “the enormity of this class” as the reason he keeps going competitively at the age of 58.
July
Dujardin’s suspension
In an episode that rocks the dressage world to its core, a video appears in the public domain showing Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse during a training session.
The FEI announces her provisional suspension, effective from 23 July 2024, meaning that she will be ineligible to ride at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Another video, this time allegedly showing Carina Cassøe Krüth whipping a horse in training, is sent to the Danish Equestrian Federation on 7 July, leading to an eight-month suspension for the rider, who announces that she will appeal.
The video was apparently shot two-and-a-half years before it was released.
Olympic Gold for Britain’s eventers
Eventers Ros Canter, Tom McEwen and Laura Collett secure Britain’s fifth eventing team gold in modern Olympic history in the incomparable setting of the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.
France finishes second, while the Japanese are a surprise third. Additionally, Laura wins individual bronze with London 52 behind Michael Jung and Christopher Burton.
Colic cases: research
Decision-making over colic cases comes under the spotlight at the University of Nottingham’s vet school, where researchers look into the issues faced by owners and vets when a horse suffers from a distressing emergency.
The conclusions are that every case is individual and owners should be comfortable in making a decision that is “right for them and their horse”.
August
Bronze for Britain’s dressage trio
The British trio of Carl Hester, Lottie Fry and eleventh hour substitute Becky Moody secure Olympic dressage bronze behind Germany and Denmark.
The unbeatable partnership of Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera win individual gold, prompting tears from the German rider. Isabell Werth claim silver, while Lottie and Glamourdale take the bronze.
Third showjumping gold
Britain’s showjumpers clinch their third team gold in Olympic history — following in the footsteps of the illustrious squads from 1952 and 2012 — with Ben Maher (Dallas Vegas Batilly), Scott Brash (Jefferson) and Harry Charles (Romeo 88) collecting a mere two time faults between them to head the chasing pack.
No member of the trio appears on the individual podium, though, championship honours on this day going to Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47.
Cycle4Caroline
Event rider Piggy March and her husband Tom announce that they and a handful of other event riders and supporters will take part in Cycle4Caroline.
The 1,100km cycle ride from Blair Castle in Scotland to the Savoy Hotel in London is in memory of Piggy’s sister-in-law, Caroline March, who died in March, two years after being paralysed in a fall.
The objective is to raise as much money as possible for the British Eventing Support Trust and Spinal Research.
How to overtake safely
The BHS, Nottingham Trent University and Elite Solutions produce new videos to promote the safer overtaking of horses and cyclists. The BHS Mindfulness Intervention videos are released on YouTube.
Claire Lomas dies
Inspirational former event rider Claire Lomas MBE, 44, dies after suffering an accident in Amman, Jordan. After being paralysed in an eventing fall in 2007, she went on to raise in excess of £900,000 for charity, and famously walked the London Marathon in a robotic suit.
Horses are more intelligent than we think!
Horses are more intelligent than scientists previously thought and they can think into the future. This is the finding from new research by Nottingham Trent University, whose researchers created an intelligence game for our four-legged friends.
The research shows that horses can think into the future and focus on what they want to achieve and the steps they need to take to do so. Read the full story here.
September
Para girls impress in Paris
Britain’s all-girl quartet of Natasha Baker, Georgia Wilson, Sophie Wells and newcomer Mari Durward-Akhurst do Britain proud at the Paralympic Games in Paris and bring home one silver medal and six bronzes.
Canter’s Burghley feat
To crown an extraordinary season, just six weeks after collecting Olympic team gold in Paris, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo win Defender Burghley Horse Trials.
Few owners can recognise lameness
A vet student, Jade England, presents the worrying findings of her study at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress that reveals only half of the 509 owners surveyed could recognise forelimb lameness, and even less — a third — hindlimb lameness.
Treat melanomas early
Additionally at the conference, the importance of acting on cancerous lumps on horses as early as possible is made by equine surgery specialist Dr Jessica Kidd. She notes that in the past vets felt that melanomas were a benign condition of old age that were best left alone, but new thinking is to treat them as early as possible.
New spurs ruling
With social licence ever in mind, the Pony Club changes its ruling on the use of spurs. Now it isn’t a given that riders can use them — they have to prove their competence to do so.
Young people benefit from being with horses
Research led by The British Horse Society (BHS) and the University of Buckingham reveals that there is a significant improvement in young people who regularly interact with horses.
The study, which analyses the effectiveness of equestrian-led educational programmes such as the BHS’s Changing Lives through Horses (CLtH), evaluates six key skill areas, including communication, confidence, teamwork, responsibility, perseverance and relationship building.
Road safety campaign
At least 245 Pass Wide & Slow (PWAS) awareness rides take place across Britain, and also in Canada, Poland and New Zealand. The Facebook group also uses donations to fund the printing of PWAS messages on 35 buses in seven regions of the UK.
October
John Whitaker presents cheque
Brave Emma Webb, who lost her teenage daughter, Brodie, to suicide in 2020, walks from Newport, South Wales, to the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham — a total of 145 miles — with her resin horse, Miles, in tow.
She is raising money for Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide and Riders Minds.
Just four weeks later, Emma visits Your Horse Live where she is presented with a cheque for £750 from John Whitaker for her charity, Do It For Brodie.
Riders Minds
World Mental Health Day (10 October) is used as a catalyst to encourage riders to speak out. Victoria Wright, the widow of event rider Matthew Wright and the chair and co-founder of the charity Riders Minds, reminds equestrians that conversations are key, as is positivity, and keeping an eye on others by “asking twice”.
UK to host eventing Europeans in 2025
Blenheim Horse Trials is named as host of the 2025 European Eventing Championships (18-21 September).
Another blow for dressage
In a further blow to the dressage sector, Danish rider and trainer Andreas Helgstrand is suspended for three months after he is linked, via his voice, to Denmark’s Carina Cassøe Krüth’s controversial training video.
Parliament debates firework legislation
A dozen MPs pledge their support to a campaign for changes to firework legislation at a drop in event in Westminster. The event is organised by The Fireworks Working Group to discuss the adverse effects of fireworks on animals and people.
At the beginning of November, campaigner Julie Doorne hands in a petition containing more than one million signatures to 10 Downing Street that calls for an urgent review of legislation to prevent animal suffering.
New budget puts pressure on equestrian charities and employers
The Budget brings news that the living wage will rise, to £12.21 per hour for those aged 21 and over, while a hike in National Insurance contributions for employers is likely to be a double whammy for equestrian firms and charities already feeling the pinch.
November
Ear hair trimming
The FEI General Assembly hears a proposal from the German Federation that will potentially outlaw the trimming of horses’ ear hair in competition due to the practice allowing insects or objects to enter the ear. The FEI has already banned the removal of horses’ whiskers.
Hobby horses
This is the year that competing hobby horses rises in popularity, with enthusiasts lining up at Arena UK in November to become the title holder of British Hobby Horse of the Year.
Olympic medals stolen
For the second time since he won them at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Richard Meade’s two gold medals are stolen. The medals are taken during a burglary in South Gloucestershire.
The first time they were stolen (from a car during the 1980s) the medals were returned to the event rider, who died in 2015. This time his family is appealing for their safe return, describing them as “of very little monetary value… but priceless to us”.
Christiansen retires
Multi-medalled Paralympian Sophie Christiansen calls time on her glittering career. Born with cerebral palsy and discovering horses at the age of six, she went on to win 30 senior championship medals.
Sophie also has a successful business career, as a software developer for investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Your Horse Live is a huge success
Your Horse Live, the first show run under Kelsey Media ownership, is a stunning success, with stars like Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Ros Canter, and influencers This Esme, Meg Elphick and Harlow Luna White, pulling in the crowds over three fantastic days.
The third-ever Your Horse Live SEIB Search for a Star Supreme Champion is crowned in Connemara pony Spinway Colm.
Injured grey horse heads home
Vida, most seriously injured of the five cavalry horses to be spooked by noise from a construction site and bolts for several miles through London in April, returns home.
The grey gelding was rehabilitated at The Horse Trust and after five months in respite care he returns to duties and his friends at the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Piggy March cycles through the finish line
Cycle4Caroline, the 1,100km cycle ride from Blair Castle, concludes at the Savoy Hotel in London and Your Horse Online editor, Aimi, is part of the crowd there to cheer the riders in.
Piggy March, her husband Tom, and Ian Stark are among the hardcore participants to complete the 11-day journey from Scotland.
They are joined on the final leg from Windsor Castle by special guests such as Zara Tindall and William Fox-Pitt. So far, the challenge has raised over £320,000 which will be split between the British Eventing Support Trust and Spinal Research.
December
Ban for Dujardin
Charlotte Dujardin receives a one-year ban and a fine of 10,000 Swiss Francs from the FEI for in a video which ‘engaged in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare’.
A video, which was sent to the FEI in July, showed the former Olympic champion repeatedly striking the legs of a horse with a whip in a training session.
Probable cause of EGS found
Researchers hail the discovery of the probable cause of equine grass sickness as a ‘significant breakthrough’.
They believe the cause to be a neurotoxin produced by pasture microbes and hope the finding will enable scientists to develop new treatments and improve diagnostics for those horses suffering from the illness.
Stevens’ great win
At the London International Horse Show, highlights include Gemma Stevens (nee Tattersalls), who is best known for her successful eventing career, pips John Whitaker and a host of other showjumpers to win the Cavgo Six Bar riding Envoy Merelsnest Z.
The FEI World Cup brings the show to a close on Sunday afternoon, with Ireland’s Darragh Kenny taking the title aboard Eddy Blue.
Main image © FEI/Benjamin Clark, inset Shutterstock, Cycle4Caroline and Your Horse Live. Additional reporting by Emily Bevan
