She just sits there looking pretty, obviously. Jess Rimmer’s month has been pain, power and … pond-water. The glamour of training for 4*

Anyone who knows anything about horses, whether from the perspective of a rider, groom or spectator, knows that riding isn’t really a sport, because the horse does all the work.
And do you know what? I couldn’t agree more! After all, we just sit there looking pretty, steering left and right with the reins while the horse lifts his core, engages his hind leg, works forward into an even contact and maintains correct balance, power and speed into each and every fence – simply because he can. Oh yes, absolutely.
In fact (and don’t tell anyone, it’s a trade secret), I actually give each of my horses an instruction manual before each training session – I sit drinking coffee while they memorise it …
OK, I’ll stop now.

Mucking out’s enough
All kidding aside, if I had a chocolate bar for every time I heard ‘the horse does all the work’, you could call me Willy Wonka. These days, when someone from the general public says it, I don’t even bother arguing – they won’t ever understand. The people who support me in what I do (regardless of whether they understand it or not) are the people I choose to surround myself with.
For riding fitness, I’d always got away with relying on mucking out, riding loads, and the occasional run with Mum (where she’d absolutely leave me for dust!). It always seemed to be (just) enough – until I started at the Fox-Pitts.
After uni I thought “OK, if we’re doing this, we might as well do it properly!”. Which is where the brilliant Marie from New Forest Gym comes in.
Marie originally came to work with Sara (Bech Strøm), the Danish 5* rider who was working here when I arrived. Sara kindly invited me to join her sessions, and together we somehow managed to keep smiling while training through some pretty miserable, dark winter evenings.

NB: must stop falling off
With the horses being relatively fresh as they came back into work from their winter holidays, it quickly became a running joke that I kept falling off.
I mean, it was every week …
I’m pretty sure Marie just saw it as a challenge.
And obviously I wanted to stop falling off quite so much.
We have worked consistently to get my reactive core stronger, which means that I can react quicker, keep in good balance and support the horses as much as I can.
Marie is very patient – I try not to complain too much (but I do), and she is so good at motivating me with exercises which are very much related to the stuff we do on horseback. Plus we get to yap about horses throughout (when I can breathe enough to chat), which is a huge bonus!

Pond water clothes
Having just gone on about how much I’ve improved my core strength so I don’t fall off, you can guess what I did at Aston 4* earlier this month …
This time, not only did I fall off, but it was in the water jump too – honestly, the splash was quite impressive. As was the smell of my pond-water clothes as I trudged back to the lorry.
Fortunately, Basil was none the wiser – totally a rider error mistake – and we kicked on to absolutely fly round Burgham 4* last weekend. Oh, the ups and downs of eventing!
Next stop for us is Hartpury, which we are all really looking forward to – the horses are feeling on top form, and so am I. I think (I’m not, I’m still aching from Marie’s last session. But I keep telling myself it’s “good pain”).
See you on the other side!

Doug Procter takes us with him from his 3am Dorset start to Tattersalls in search of a mare – and returns with one very special purchase

Tuesday 8th July, and a 3am alarm means I’m in the horsebox and on the road by four. Usually this would mean I’m taking a mare for an early morning cover, but today I’m headed for the Tattersalls July sale in Newmarket (in Suffolk) – with an order from a new owner to buy a mare.
The July sale takes place over three days, with broodmares and breeding prospects on the first day, followed by two days of horses in training.
A quirk of this sale is that on the Thursday, selling is split into a morning and evening session … leaving the afternoon free to go racing at Newmarket’s July Course.
This year’s catalogue comprised 933 lots, but my client wanted an in-foal mare so we only had to work through the 330 selling on the first day to make a longlist, which I then spent Monday whittling down to a shortlist of 13.

The reason my client wanted an in-foal mare was so they’d have a foal next spring: otherwise, when buying in July, you’d be waiting at least 18 months before you have a foal. It’s much easier working through the list from home now that videos of horses have become standard in the online catalogue.
Most horses are on site for viewing for one or two days before the sale at Tattersalls: I, however, was just going for the day so I needed to be on the sales ground in plenty of time to look at early lots before selling started at 9.30.
The journey up was uneventful: the low early morning sun made Stonehenge look spectacular, but it is a real bore to drive head on into. I had parked up and was walking through the gates just after 8am.
Tattersalls has eight named yards, or paddocks, most of which are comprised of several stable blocks denoted by a letter A to FF. Horses are stabled by consignor, and not in catalogue order – so lot 10 may be at the opposite end of the sales ground from lot 11. Another job on Monday was to highlight my lots on the stabling list at the front of the catalogue, so I could make sure I saw all the horses in any given barn in one go.
When you arrive at a chosen lot you tell the staff which horse you want to see – some of the larger consignments have cards listing all their draft and you tick the ones you want to see.

That’s grand, thanks

First of all the horse is stood up for you, you stand into it to gauge the height and walk round to get your first impression. Then you ask to see a walk, side-on, then toward and away from you. The horse is then stood up again for a final look round before it’s “that’s grand, thanks”, the horse goes back in its stable and you write your notes on the catalogue page.
For example, my notes on the first mare I looked at read “plain, mid-size, good walk, light bone, NO”: whereas the second reads “good big mare, good lazy walk, correct, good bone, LIKE!!”

After seeing all 13, I had four mares marked LIKE – one with a single exclamation mark, one with two… and two earned a !!! (my highest score).
I then had to make a call to the client, who was abroad, to discuss and make a plan.
The problem was the mare I thought the best was to be the last of the four through the ring, so the question was, should we wait for her? This can be risky – you may pass on a good mare within your budget, only to find the one you’ve waited for sells for too much.
I was firm though: she was second in a Listed race at 2yo, was the best walker and best looking of the four and was in foal to Big Evs, a Group 1-winning first season sire standing at Tally Ho Stud in Ireland. This should make the foal inside her very commercial. We should wait for lot 120: Nottingham.
I followed the other three mares through the ring, and all would have been in budget. Had I made a mistake?
Would bidding on lot 120 go beyond the budget?
At Tattersalls they sell in guineas – 1gn equals £1.05 – and VAT is extra. So when your client gives you a budget in pounds you need some quick mental maths to work out your guineas bidding limit and also to factor in VAT if they’re not registered.

Open the bidding
Lot 119 was in the ring and it was time to get the client on the phone and see if we could buy “our” mare.
The hammer fell on lot 119, she was led out and we were on.
“Lot 120, Nottingham, from Hunting Hill Stud. Lovely Athletic Stakes-placed mare by Excelebration, in foal to exciting first-season sire Big Evs. Who’ll give me what, I want…” (That’s probably how the auctioneer started off, it’s always something like that.)
He asked for an ambitious opening bid, quickly dropping down to take 5,000. I knew the reserve was 30,000, so I waited and then caught the auctioneer’s eye with a wave of my catalogue and joined in at 20,000.
“That’s us at 20,” I said into my phone. “Us at 25 …”
At 30,000 I thought we had her, but the auctioneer worked long and hard to wring another bid of 32,000. I went straight back with 35,000, and after what seemed an eternity the hammer fell. Nottingham was ours!

Homeward bound
I wound up my phone call with a delighted new owner and waited for a member of Tattersalls staff to come over with the sales paperwork. I signed, tucked the green buyer’s copy into my catalogue and set off to the sales office to arrange payment. That done, I headed to barn U to see the mare and chat to the vendors, Conor Quirke and Kathryn Birch, a lovely young couple from Cork in Ireland, followed by a small celebratory beer with them in the back bar.
Heading back to the sales office I exchanged my green sheet for the mare’s passport and a pass out, and then moved the horsebox to the loading ramps. I collected Nottingham from her stable and took her down to load: access to the loading ramps is through a gate by the control office. Here they scan a horse’s microchip to make sure it matches the pass out before allowing you through to load.
And that was it, I was heading home with TGS’ newest resident.

*Footnote from Lucy:
For the first two weeks, all new arrivals are kept in quarantine in a field, with one retired mare for company, before joining the herd. As you can see from the photograph opposite, Notty – as she is now affectionately known – has settled in well with the other mares and we look forward to her foal, and more dreaming, in the spring.

At Bovington Saddle Club, yard manager Steph Buchanan has spent three decades quietly transforming lives – not just of horses, but of people too

Anyone who has spent time around horses will tell you: ’They don’t just listen – they understand.’ For Bovington Saddle Club’s yard manager and head coach Stephanie Buchanan, that quiet connection has shaped a life and career grounded in community, care and compassion.
‘I got into horses when I was about 12 after being grounded by my parents,’ Steph says. ‘The only place I was allowed to go was to the pony with my sister. I then realised I could hire him out to other kids and earn money to get back to the arcades! Horses saved me from getting into trouble, really.’

WillDoes

Steph has been at the heart of Bovington RAC Saddle Club since the early 1990s. When she arrived, it was just a single field – no fencing, no water, no rubber school. Today, thanks in no small part to her relentless drive, the BHS-approved yard boasts two outdoor arenas, an indoor school, a BE-level cross-country course and 71 horses, including 38 on full livery.
‘None of it would have happened without help,’ Steph says. ‘People wanted to give back, and they did – through donations, time, support. It’s always been a team effort.’
Steph is qualified to train and assess students up to BHS Stage 4. But her influence extends far beyond exams and schooling surfaces.
In memory of her late nephew Will, she is a trustee of the charity Will Does, which provides grants for children facing challenges – whether that’s respite care or access to sport and activities they’d otherwise never get to try.
‘We started by raising money through things Will enjoyed,’ Steph says. ‘Now, if a young person applies for a grant – whether they need a break or want to try something new – we’ll help however we can.’
That passion for support led the BHS to approach her in 2019 to help pilot its Changing Lives Through Horses programme at Bovington. Aimed at children who are disengaged, disadvantaged or in need of support, the scheme uses horses as a gentle bridge back into learning and confidence.
‘There’s a huge need for alternative provision in Dorset,’ Steph says. ‘We’ve had 159 young people come through since 2019. The horse acts as a buffer – having the horse between the student and the instructor helps them feel less exposed. Some go back to school with more focus, others find their way into the equestrian industry – the scheme is run through the BHS, so there’s an education pathway with achievers awards which are set towards the BHS stages. You get some kids who really shine.’

Trust Sally
Five of the centre’s horses are rescues themselves, rehomed from the World Horse Welfare Centre in Somerset. ‘They’ve been brilliant at matching us with the right horses,’ Steph says. ‘And those horses do a really good job.’
One of the centre’s favourites is Sally, who has been with them for 16 years. Steph recalls a particular moment with fondness.
‘I got a call from a local care home: one of their residents really wanted to ride a horse. They turned up with a coach-load – Zimmer frames, walking sticks, the lot – right in the middle of a Bournemouth BUCS (British University & Colleges Sport) competition going on in one school, an RDA lesson in the indoor school and a Changing Lives Through Horses session in the third … They all wandered round the yard, and out came Sally, just quietly soaking up the attention.’

It’s this sense of inclusivity and purpose that sets Bovington apart. Alongside its charitable and community work, the yard plays a formal role as an RAC centre. Troopers in phase two training are introduced to basic horse care before joining the Household Cavalry, and young officers complete the mandatory Spurs Course.
The yard also offers a pony leasing scheme for military families.
‘Most of the kids wouldn’t get the chance to own a pony,’ Steph says. ‘Leasing one four days a week gives them that experience.’
The centre is now also an approved Pony Club Centre – something Steph pushed for when she realised younger liveries were struggling with transport to other clubs.
‘Kids are the future,’ she says. ‘I’ve worked with Pony Clubs for years and I love it. We set up our own centre here so they could keep learning and enjoying their ponies. Last year, we won at Bicton – out of the whole of Area 14. They look after their ponies so well. It gives them goals. They work through their Pony Club badges, and if they want to, they can move on to the BHS exams.’

Throughout our interview she calmly fielded questions from volunteers planning an unaffiliated ODE, which includes a newly-designed 70cm class to encourage novice riders. It’s that same open-armed ethos that has defined her decades at Bovington. One of Steph’s proudest moments was announcing the club would host its first British Eventing fixture: ‘It was 25 years ago now, but everyone had worked so hard to get us there. That was really special,’ she says.

National recognition
Another highlight came with her own horse, Joey. ‘I bought him on a whim after a close friend passed away – he was just meant to be a happy hacker. But he ended up competing at Badminton Grassroots and in the novice at Gatcombe. We had such fun.’
Despite her modesty, Steph’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2022, she was named Coach of the Year by the BHS for her work on the Changing Lives programme. She was also shortlisted by Sport England as one of the UK’s top three coaches in the ‘Change a Life’ category. And in 2024, she received a British Empire Medal (BEM), which recognises meritorious service to the local community.
‘I was very surprised!’ Steph says. ‘The ceremony was lovely. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who’s local to us and First Sea Lord, also gave me another award – that was a really personal touch.’
After more than 30 years, Steph shows no sign of slowing down. ‘To the outside world it might seem like it’s just liveries and riding lessons,’ she says. ‘But it’s so much more.’

racsaddleclub.co.uk

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