Bethany Stone

Features Assistant

Bethany's pony obsession was enabled by her generous (but naive) non-horsey parents, who unwisely allowed her to climb aboard a pony on holiday at the tender age of two. By five she was enrolled at her local riding school and welcomed her first pony, a no-nonsense chestnut mare, shortly after.

Her teenage years were spent balancing school, weekly Pony Club activities and endless hacks through the Lincolnshire countryside until university beckoned. Bethany left her horses at home to read English at Nottingham, but the separation was short-lived. Her youngster joined her to be ridden away while Dad became the family cob's full-time jockey.

After graduating Bethany wrote for her local paper before jumping at the chance to join the Horse&Rider magazine team in 2017, where she had great fun testing and reviewing horsey gadgets, delving into veterinary and management questions and visiting the yards of the world's most decorated equestrians to bring top training insights to readers.

Never one to sit still for long, Bethany spent her down time doing odd horsey jobs looking after dressage horses, exercising racehorses and keeping hunters fit for a Surrey artist and his wife – all while bringing on her own homebred gelding, Phillip.

After four years at Horse&Rider, Bethany attempted a brief stint as a paralegal before remembering that, really, she is a girl with a horse obsession and a strong inclination to write about it. She joined Horse&Hound in January 2024.

After retiring Phillip early due to a catalogue of veterinary issues, Bethany settled in Hertfordshire with her husband. She can often be found on board her share horse, Lenny.