Prepare For The Eventing Season - Eventing Special - Part One

Top tips for eventing part 2

Nick Gauntlett

"Don't be surprised or panicked if you & your horse are a bit rusty at first after some time off from training, with progressive practice and structured training, the rust will fall off quickly."

Nick Gauntlett Jumping

"After a winter break, don't try to work on all areas at once. Focus on a quality canter and rhythm, getting the horse to take responsibility to do their job and build up the training gradually. If you have a quality, rhythmic canter from the beginning the other elements of training will be easier to introduce back into your schedule gradually."

"My favourite pieces of equipment for the eventing season are my Premier Equine Eventing Boots and the very versatile Stratus Horse Stable Sheets”.

Tapner Eventing Team

Paul, Georgina and rising star Madison Tapner

"Currently, Georgina's horse is training towards his first PSG and the Petplan dressage championships. They are consolidating all the movements together before they head out to classes in the spring. Paul is busy training the horses and coaching rising star Madison Tapner, who is having fun competing in arena eventing classes, showjumping and doing lots of training."

Maddison Tapner Cross Country

Madison Tapner riding Twister, who she won the Pony Club Novice Championships on.

"Our top tip for training would be to only pick one or two things to work on per session to improve, and break each element down into smaller parts to help. For example if you are working on quality of circles, break this down into sections such as 'leaving the track" "bend" and "rejoining the track" so that it is broken into chunks to focus your efforts."

"We have so many Premier Equine products that we couldn't manage without, but one of our favourites has to be the Tail Guard with Bag. There is nothing worse than getting to a competition with mess all over the tail! Especially as Paul's horse has a white tail. We also love the Combo Rug Liners that we use daily under the horses other rugs to help to keep them clean as they are easily washable".

"We use the Premier Equine Magnet Boots to help circulation and to aid recovery in the legs after exercise".

Nicolas Touzaint

"My horses have a winter holiday from November to December, where they only go on the horse walker, get turned out in the field and ridden 3 times a week schooling and hacking only. In January, I began to bring them back into work seriously and gradually introduce jumping and gallop training. In February I will do one or two cross country training sessions and their first competition will be in March."

Nicolas Touzaint

"My top tip for planning a new season is splitting it into two parts. I first set myself a goal for the first half (May-June) and then another goal for the end of the season (September-October) which keeps me focused with a clear objective for each half of the season."

"My favourite Premier Equine product is my Buster Waffle Cooler which is great as a travel rug, a cooler for after exercise or for when in the stable."

Frank & Sara Algotsson Ostholt

"At the moment we do a lot of basic work on the flat, trotting out on a more solid surface along with a lot of gymnastic work over poles."

"To build up strength in the horses and to get them active from behind we recommend doing a lot of cavaletti work on circles or straight lines, in both trot and canter."

Sara Ostholt

"Our favourite Premier Equine equipment has to be the Eventing Boots

Natalie Povey

"In preparation for the new season I plan on going to a few pole clinics which will help develop Tidy's paces, core strength and fitness. It is also great to get Tidy out and about to different venues ready for the competition environment."

"I normally work Tidy five out of seven days and I always spend a good amount of time warming up on a long rein, achieving a good stretch."

"My top tips for training for the new season would be to always enjoy what you are doing and have a goal to work towards for each individual training session to keep you on track."

"Our favourite pieces of equipment has to be the Premier Equine PremTex Cooler Rug which has endless uses such as in the stable while cooling down, travelling or as an extra layer. We also love our Premier Equine Exercise Sheet which is perfect for training in the cooler, damp weather."

Natalie Povey

George Meyrick

"We start our preparation for the new season in good time so that the horses are not having to be pushed too hard to get to the level of fitness required for their first matches of the summer. They will come in on the 1st of March and build their fitness up slowly until their first games in May."

"A key point for training is to recognise that every horse is different and so will require a different type of training/ work. Tailor this to each individual horse to get the most out of their work."

"My favourite piece of equipment is probably my Premier Equine Men’s Breeches - they are really comfortable to ride in."

George Meyrick

Aurora Eastwood

"In preparation for the new season the ponies will do four weeks of steady walking if they've had six months off, and then build up gradually from there. In regards to my personal preparation for the season, I like to work on my own fitness and will probably start to play squash again, as it is fun and sharpens me up. It is important not to neglect your own fitness whilst planning your horse's return to work."

"My tops tips for training would be to learn from other disciplines, there is something to be learned from other horse sports."

Aurora Eastwood

"When training, look to improve ten things by 1%, not one thing by 10%."

"In regards to equipment, I like technical and innovative products, so I was a fan of Premier Equine’s Air Cooled Eventing Boots from the start. I also like the Infrared Boots, especially on older horses whose legs fill when stood in."

Great to hear the top tips and tricks from some of out sponsored riders for bringing horses back into training ready for a new season, fitness advice and goal setting prompts to use in our own training regimes for the 2019 season.

Check out part 2 for more advice, tips and knowledge from our sponsored riders; Matt Brown, Phillip Curtis & Sadie Lock.

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