“The Future of Showing” report

What is the FUTURE of SHOWING? An open debate held at Stoneleigh Park on Sunday 21st February 2016 with panel members of Sandy Anderson and Emma Wardell from Grandstand Media, Professional producers Craig Elenor and Rory Gilsenan, M&M exhibitor and judge Lizzie Briant, amateur exhibitor Jonathan Fry, show organiser Carolle Lee Jones and journalist Tricia Johnson. […]

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Taking a risk

Showing is about performing, it’s about standing out from the crowd, it’s about that something special… But where do you draw the line? When does showmanship become circus tricks, when does standing out become a distraction? I saw a Horse and Hound feature “7 incredible moments from 2015 showing season” – top of the list […]

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Strictly Come Showing

I am loving Strictly Come Dancing – the elegance, the sparkles, the music. It’s harmless entertainment on a Saturday night. The only stress is –  Who to support? Jay McGuiness or Jeremy Vine? Three weeks ago, Jay did the most incredible Pulp Fiction themed dance scoring the first 9s of the series (definitely worth youtubing […]

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Have you qualified yet?

“We won! Yey!” …… “Was it a qualifier?”….. “No, but he went so beautifully, I’m really pleased.”…. “Well, hopefully he will go beautifully again next week at the qualifier where it really matters.” This is a conversation I actually heard  What a downer! I walk along at shows and it is all I hear. Even […]

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Burn all Scrunchies!

My eyes struggle to focus, I take a deep breath, my palms start to sweat, my breaths shorten – yes someone is wearing a scrunchie! People laugh at my ridiculous dislike for anything scrunchie related but they don’t understand that this is not just a mild issue – this is a marmite level of hate […]

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The plight of the Amateur show rider

Squeezing in a quick schooling session before a 9am meeting, trudging into a field wearing a suit with wellies, discussing financial profitability on the phone while applying a poultice – can an amateur ever truly compete against a professional? An amateur, by its dictionary definition, is someone who competes for the love of something rather […]

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