The flyer advertising the zoom meeting clearly stated ‘don’t try this at home’…. which prompted me to have a look at Connie’s website. The first thing that came up was Connie riding a lovely bay horse up and down a barn with no bridle, or headcollar, nothing!!! She appeared to be just indicating to the horse which way to go with her hand, and possibly her weight aid. OK, I thought, this is interesting… At…

Venue: SNEC, 7-8 October 2024. Organiser: Jen Morris BHSI, F&I Committee member and our Scottish Representative.   Reports: compiled by the team of Robert Pickles, Liz Eaton, Becky Monk and Alison Craig.   Photographs: courtesy of Sian and JUMAPhotography.   Introduction, and Day 1 (report, Alison Craig BHSI) Well, that was worth the trip to Edinburgh!  Everyone who attended for the stunning 2 day Equine Coach Assembly felt they had real value from their travel and time. The…

Burghley Course Walk – Thursday September 5th 2024 – taken by Nick Turner FBHS. We all met at fence 2 to begin our walk – where it emerged that we were extra-lucky, as Nick was accompanied by rider Emma Thomas.  This meant that we could listen to Nick describing the challenges, observe the course-walk-with-coach process, and then also benefit from Emma giving us her insights for her particular horse.  A bonus! All set for a…

A wonderful day on Saturday 27th July was had by F&I Association members, who each brought along a variety of friends and family.  22 in total, including three generations!   Hickstead itself as a venue is iconic and had a sense of excitement when I first arrived, meeting up with our F&I Hon Secretary and our organiser for the day, Alison Craig, who accompanied us to the smartly-revamped BHS hospitality box.  As it was early,…

On Tuesday the 11th of June 2024, F&I Association members and guests alike spent the annual Irish Day by reminding themselves of what ultimately energises us all to do what we do: riding at its finest. More specifically, we were welcomed to the heart of Hughes Horse Stud (HHS), which is nestled in the beautiful countryside of Graigue, Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny. The HHS continues the legacy and vision of the late Seamus Hughes, whose passion…

We gathered at fence 2 for a sunny 10am start on Thursday 9th May, with a lovely warm welcome from Ann Bostock who introduced Eric. Eric started by talking about the different types of course walk: For the rider. For the coach. For the owner. And how to approach those differently. Then he threw a question at us to consider as we carried on. ‘Do course designers set the trend or follow the trend?’ We…

29th April 2024. Morning report – from Mandy Chaffin BHSI. I was privileged to have a lesson with Judy Harvey for the F&I study day at her yard near Milton Keynes. The experience was hugely beneficial to myself and my horse “Dailmer” who is a 9yr old warmblood as we have recently stepped up to Prix St Georges and have been struggling with the right to left flying change in particular. Judy had fantastic ideas…

25th April 2024.   Organised by Liz Eaton FBHS, report by Sarah Thorne BHSI. Becky Thompson presented a fantastically educational presentation and discussion on Mastering Energy Shifts in ourselves and in our clients by being aware of what energy they may bring to a session. She started with the explanation that we are all energy, with the potential for action, either being positive or destructive, coming from anabolic or catabolic energy, and how these play out…

The F&I’s ability to provide food for thought served up another feast at the Talland Study Day on 19 March. Led by Pammy (despite a ghastly cough), Adam, Islay and Tim, along with an amazing 19 incredibly varied and willing horses, ranging from 4 to 27 years old. The moment everyone was gathered Pammy and Adam briefed us with the question: ‘What is a Fellow?’ After the somewhat predictable ageist (“Pulse or no pulse?”) jokes…

Sam’s presentation was truly excellent and a lot of food for thought was left for us to ponder. He started off by telling us how Equiratings started. It all began by him not performing well in the showjumping phase at the World Games in Kentucky in 2010 and at the next World Games in 2014. He decided it was not going to happen a third time! He then worked out that he was in the…