Brits at the World Cup Finals, farewell to an Olympic horse and other things the horse world is talking about

The World Cup Finals

Brits Ben Maher, Robert Whitaker, and Lottie Fry are in action at the FEI World Cup Finals, taking place in Basel, Switzerland this weekend. The showjumping action got under way yesterday, where Ben was just pipped to the post by Frenchman Julian Epaillard in the opening round. The competition continues this evening at 7.15pm UK time and the final takes place on Sunday. The dressage begins today (4 April) with the grand prix at 2.30pm UK time, followed by the freestyle tomorrow (5 April) at 8.30pm UK time. H&H’s dressage editor Oscar Williams is onsite and will be bringing you all the news from both disciplines as it unfolds.

Read more from yesterday’s showjumping

Farewell to a special Olympic horse

Happy Times, who represented Australia with Sam Griffiths at the London Olympics, has been put down aged 25 following a bout of colic. The pair’s many achievements included completing Burghley six times, where they were third twice, finishing third and fourth at Badminton, and representing Australia at the 2010 World Championships. Happy Times was retired in a ceremony at Burghley in 2018 and spent the next seven happy years with Mouse Berry, who looked after him while he was eventing. “The first time I ever saw him – Sam was riding a horse for me – I fell in love. They talk about love at first sight, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. It was a real honour to have him.”

Read the full tribute

41 neglected horses removed from breeder

Breeder Thomas Nicholas of Bickerton, Cheshire, has been given a suspended prison sentence at Chester Magistrates’ Court on 26 March after he pleaded guilty to three animal welfare offences. Police, the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare removed 41 horses, including pregnant mares and foals, from Nicholas’s farm in February 2024. The court heard the charity’s field officers found the horses kept in locations including “filthy” stables, and that many of them, including some of the foals, had ailments including poor body condition, rain scald and lice infestation. World Horse Welfare field officer Rae Andrews said this is another sad case of tens of horses’ being removed rather than one or two, something that has become more common. Nicholas was given six weeks’ custody, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, with 100 hours of unpaid work, and to pay a victim surcharge of £154. He was banned from keeping horses indefinitely.

Read the full story

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:

Meet the neglected mare turned ‘rocket pony’ who’s become part of the family

£2m invested in pre-emptive crackdown on gene doping in horses

‘To win on one you’ve known from a foal adds to the whole value’ – the thrill of competing home-bred elite horses

Grand National runners and riders – your complete form guide for 2025

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Becky Murray

H&H senior news writer

Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.