Top show horse producer Robert Walker on surviving winter and looking ahead to his next set of rising equine show stars
Many of you will agree it’s been a hard old winter. Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) seems like a long time ago now and for us once the show season has finished it’s time to think about how to get through the winter and on to the season ahead.
In the current economic climate most of our costs have tripled, so it’s been much harder for people who are trying to make a living out of horses. Despite my negative grumble, it’s a busy, exciting time, too. The show horses are coming back into work, and it gives us a bit of a lift as we know shows are on the horizon.
I have been flat out with hunting – it gets me off the treadmill of the show ring and my heavyweight show hunter Crown Star, who won the Le Mieux La Liga award for consistency in 2022, has been out with me all winter. I get to a particular point after Christmas and start to question slightly whether he should be jumping certain fences, but then I think why should I deprive him of it when he absolutely loves it!
The whole experience gives horses education – whether that’s learning to stand still, which is imperative for the ring, better manners or to go more forward. Most of all I want them to relax and enjoy themselves so they can go about their job as best they can. It gives them a better mindset and ultimately a longer career, either in the ring or on the hunting field.
“Like starting nursery”
The winter is also about assessing which rising four-year-olds are going to be ready to start in the ring this season, which is an exciting time for
us. Some of the three-year-olds came in during the 2022 season and were broken, while some were started after HOYS, and they have been working all winter.
There are some that appreciate routine and have been hacking out and are now ready to start going to a venue or standing on a lorry – all the things we take for granted with the older horses. It’s a bit like starting nursery all over again.
However, there will sometimes be a couple that are immature, and we’ll make the decision to leave them and give them a summer of grass. For example, I have a rising five-year-old who will come out this year for the first time because last year I felt he was still growing, weak and immature. He’ll make a nice middleweight, so I thought it best to give him more time before we start physically challenging him.
For the ones who will be cracking on, I’ll be aiming for the four-year-old classes, which sadly seem to be on the decline. I understand it’s hard for show organisers if they’ve had few entries in that class in previous years, but I do plead with them to put the class back in the schedule because otherwise we have nothing for the horses to show in as novices. We only get a very few outings against horses in their own age group – it’s an educational step and we need to support these classes.
Some of the babies will only do a couple of shows, just to introduce them to the ring, as I don’t like to over-show. I’d rather win a show in August than in March as I don’t want them to go sour in the middle of the summer. I always try to aim the novices at the Sports Horse Breeding of Great Britain and British Show Horse Association (BSHA) championship shows.
Board changes
Some changes have been made to the BSHA board after elections in November.
I hope this will bring a bit more stability and we can think positively and move forward. Those elected on any board are there to do their best for the members, not themselves, and we need to remember this, otherwise we’ll see people leaving this sport behind.
● When do you think young horses should start competing? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county for the chance to have your views published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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