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Tributes to the greatest horseman and other things the equestrian world is talking about

Horse & Hound’s daily debrief, brought to you every weekday

  • One of the best

    Tributes have been pouring in from across the equestrian world to Allister Hood, who died last week at the age of 69. The showman, who took title after title and championship after championship at the highest level, has been described as “the ultimate showman, and a top-class horseman, in every sense of the word”, and a true gentleman. Royal International Horse Show showing director David Ingle said: “We’re not going to see the likes of Allister again, he was a very special individual and always willing to help. He was probably one of the best showmen there’s ever been. There’s been some great showing people, but in a championship Allister was always the one to beat.”
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    Extortionate costs

    The All England Dressage Festival at Hickstead has been cancelled as it is not possible to make it economically viable. The fixture, which started as a Premier League show in 2016 and became an international competition this year, will not run in 2025. “Regrettably, we’ve made the difficult decision to end our running of our dressage fixture, but we would like to thank all our sponsors, especially ICE Horseboxes, as well as organiser David Crockford, and all the riders and owners who supported the fixture over the past four years,” said Hickstead director Lizzie Bunn, adding that the main reason is that the numbers do not add up. “The costs – particularly of judges and officials – at over £50,000 are exorbitant and, despite our best efforts, the event still ran at a loss,” she said.
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    Worming guidance

    The industry has again been warned that the way horses are wormed must be changed before it is too late. New guidance has been published by CANTER (Controlling Antiparasitic resistance in Equines Responsibly), to support vets, pharmacists and SQPs (suitably qualified persons) in prescribing and recommending parasite control strategies. The aim is to help tackle the growing threat of resistance to all classes of wormer available. CANTER veterinary representative David Rendle said: “Anthelmintic resistance represents a huge threat to equine health and welfare. Universal adoption of a diagnostic-led approach to parasite control and a dramatic reduction in the use of anthelmintics is what’s needed to address this. If horse owners don’t make these changes now, it will be too late.”
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