1. Sweden leads the way on horse welfare
A British equestrian who lives in Sweden contacted H&H to highlight that horses must receive turnout time daily under the country’s equine welfare laws. Although the rules do not state how long horses must be out, or give dimensions for the turnout area, they do say the horses must be allowed to move freely in their gait of choice. “It has to be a big enough space for the horse to canter around in, and for a long enough time for it to choose,” Melanie explained. “The regulations on horses’ needs are clear – they need to move around, should not be confined to a box for the whole day, and perhaps most important is that it is not simply about horses needing to be move, otherwise it would be enough to require them to be ridden or exercised by a human. The choice is the element that needs to be appreciated and should be considered in welfare, horse management and best practice.”
Find out more about Sweden’s equine welfare rules
2. A new challenge for Nicola Wilson
Nicola Wilson is among the first cohort of a new elite coach development programme supporting trainers across 21 sports. The Coaching in High-Performance Sport scheme is supporting 27 coaches, many of whom have already supported athletes to win medals. Nicola said she is “delighted” to be part of the programme. “I am certainly being taken out of my comfort zone and am so grateful to British Equestrian for putting me forward to be given this opportunity as I transition from podium athlete to coach,” she said.
Find out more about this new opportunity for elite coaches
3. Impressive return for rider who broke her back
Alexa Palmer and Global Super Nova at Aston-le-Walls in July 2022.
A rider who broke six vertebrae last year scored a win on her comeback run at Aston-le-Walls (11 May). Alexa Palmer was out of the saddle for three months and has had a long recovery after her injury, which occurred while she was riding a young horse in the arena at home. After spending three days flat on her back in hospital, Alex was sent home in a neck brace. Initially, Alexa could not even lift a bottle of water and would struggle to hold a plate of food because her back could not take that weight. But she could walk so she was able to carry on her coaching business while wearing her neck brace, and walk to keep her fitness up, moving on to cycling, squats, lunges and working with weights.
Read more about Alexa’s impressive recovery
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