Are you a fan of John Whitaker? Do you admire Olympic rider Richard Davison?
Alongside showing supremo Jayne Ross and eventer Oliver Townend the pair are to guest edit special issues of Horse & Hound this spring.
“I’m so grateful to these esteemed equestrians for giving up their precious time to each edit an issue of H&H,” said H&H content director Sarah Jenkins.
“The feature ideas they have compiled are as intriguing as they are timely and I’m looking forward to reading their editing debuts.”
The four top riders have all agreed to guest edit the special issues of the magazine focusing on their disciplines and are putting their heads together with the H&H team to come up with features and news stories that tackle the burning issues in their sport.
“The legendary John Whitaker takes the helm at Horse & Hound sharing his insights into the sport he’s competed in for over 40 years — what he doesn’t know about showjumping isn’t worth knowing,” said showjumping editor Jennifer Donald.
Dressage editor Alice Collins added: “Richard is a former H&H regular columnist, multiple Olympian and is well connected in the sector. He’s also highly opinionated, which makes him an excellent candidate for guest editor.”
Jayne Ross was picked following her fantastic season last year — including winning her fourth supreme title at the Horse of the Year Show in October.
“I was very happy when she agreed to guest edit the showing special,” said showing editor Aimi Clarke.
“Our initial meeting to plan its content went well and and she had lots of ideas and avenues that she wants to explore.
“Jayne knows the sport so well, which ensures that the content is timely, useful and informative. We have made sure there is something of interest for everyone — from amateur competitors to professional producers and judges alike — including a piece about securing the future of the sport. Jayne has been great to work with and I am excited about the final product.”
Oliver Towned was the number one rider in Britian in 2014, so an “obvious choice” for our eventing special, said eventing editor Pippa Roome.
“Who could be better to guest edit our eventing special?,” she added.
“In addition, I’ve always got on well with him — from interviewing him for Eventing magazine back in 2005 after his first Badminton through to a recent interview for H&H after he was selected for the World Equestrian Games last summer — and I felt like he would be someone who would have good ideas that would interest our readers and who I would enjoy working with.”
> Oliver Townend will edit the eventing special, out on 5 March. The showing special (19 March) will be taken over by Jayne Ross, Richard Davison will edit the dressage special out on 26 March and the showjumping special on 2 April will be edited by John Whitaker.
