Blog posts of '2017' 'April'

How much is a horse worth? Yes, this is a trick question – and there are several answers, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. The nicest is the one you hear from an owner whose horse is part of the family and regarded as priceless. These owners tend to be women, and they often have a T-shirt that proclaims: “...

Buying a horse for yourself is difficult enough, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. But when a friend asks you to help them find the ideal partner for their child, the challenge level shoots off the scale. After negotiations between mother and 12-year-old daughter, we struck a compromise. It was a bit like t...

  Can you remember your first riding lesson? Mine was light years ago, but I can still remember every detail, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. The small riding school in Lincolnshire was run by two dedicated sisters called Daphne and June. They introduced me to a 12.2hh strawberry roan pony called Amigo an...

Well, our first squad assessment with horses has now been and gone.  It was, as usual, a considerable drive away for us which I guess is the penalty for living in such a wonderful and usually quiet part of the World.  This was in Milton Keynes at a riding stables and livery yard where I could stable...

Even those who don’t know one end of a horse from another have probably heard that showjumping stars Nick Skelton and Big Star are retiring, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. The announcement flooded across websites and social media and made mainstream TV. That’s important, just as it was when our dressage ...

It's been a long time in coming, but the 2017 endurance season has officially started. I can't tell you how good it felt to finish an 80km ride with Elayla; no matter how many amazing horses I ride, there is no better feeling to riding your own.   I think Tilford took us all by surprise this year; t...