Horse Hound – 18 December 2025

Summary

Horse & Hound 18 December 2025 (Volume CXLII, Issue 51) is the festive special, with Stars of 2025 on the cover — how riders share Christmas cheer, plus the charm of a Boxing Day meet. Photography comes from Peter Nixon, Nico Morgan Media, Jon Stroud, Elliott Birch/Boots and Hooves, sarahfarnsworth.co.uk, Benjamin Clark, Lucy Merrell, Getty Images and Alamy.

Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jenkins opens on the season of goodwill and notes the double health focus, at p22 and p38, against a winter that has brought both midges and frozen water drinkers.

The issue's most serious report is the Calais warning: showjumper Alex Bishop drove home alone with five horses on 7 December and found five stowaways had climbed into his trailer while he paid for fuel inside.

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Content Guide

▸ Festive Special

p.30 · Christmas cheer — Riders on orchestrating a top-tier knees up
The cover story asks riders how they arrange the yard's Christmas. Yard celebrations are the social glue riders never write down. Plan one yard gathering before the season ends.

p.34 · Festive meets — The high point of the season
Boxing Day meets are called the high point of the season. Hunting meets are the tradition the festive issue exists for. Check one local meet's meet time before Boxing Day.

▸ News

p.4 · Warning to riders after Calais stowaways — Eleanor Jones
Showjumper Alex Bishop was returning alone with five horses on 7 December, stopping for fuel about an hour from Calais, when five people climbed into his trailer. He never parks near Calais and never leaves the lorry unattended, but the self-service pump would not take his card, so he went inside to pay, and they must have got in then. He has a dedicated sealed area for the horses at Eurotunnel, and walking to the toilet he passed straight by the trailer without knowing it was full of stowaways. Driving on the M20, a car flashed its lights and hazard lights, then pulled in front and slowed; he believes the people in the trailer were opening the horse doors to attract his attention and get out on the M20. He got home around midnight and rang Ronnie — the source truncates here. News editor Eleanor Jones is at 0330 390 6386 and eleanor.jones@futurenet.com. Report any attempt to board a lorry to the Home Office. Check your own trailer locks before any Channel crossing.

p.5 · New dog legislation welcomed but questions still remain
New dog legislation is welcomed, with questions outstanding. Legislation affects every yard with dogs. Read the detail before the next consultation.

p.8 · Eventing schemes, calendar and positivity
Eventing schemes, the calendar and positivity are reported. Calendar news is the practical story riders plan a season around. Note one scheme before entries open.

p.10 · Sisters banned from keeping horses after 30 are seized
Two sisters are banned from keeping horses after 30 animals were seized. Thirty seized is the welfare number the sport cannot argue with. Read the full report before you judge the case.

▸ Opinion

p.12 · Letters of the week
Reader letters run here. Letters are where a magazine's community shows. Send one letter this week.

p.14 · Showjumping — Carmen Edwards
Carmen Edwards writes the showjumping column. Named columnists make opinion accountable. Take one point into your next round.

▸ People and Horses

p.16 · H&H interview — Harrison Taylor
The interview covers the showing circuit's rising star Harrison Taylor. Rising stars are the reason a festive issue looks forward. Watch one showing class next season.

p.20 · All in a day's work — The sports presenter
The sports presenter is profiled. Presenter profiles are the people pages readers keep. Name one equestrian broadcaster you trust.

p.66 · Goodnight — Tessa Waugh's hunting diary
Tessa Waugh closes with her hunting diary. Her diary is the most honest writing in the issue. Read it last, as the editor intends.

▸ Health

p.22 · Seasonal shift — How the changing climate affects wellbeing
The vet clinic covers how a changing climate affects equine wellbeing. Climate is the health variable owners plan for least. Check one field's shelter and water today.

p.26 · Breathe easy — Respiratory supplements
Kit focus covers respiratory supplements. Respiratory supplements are the purchase owners make on hope. Ask your vet before you buy one.

p.38 · Winter blitz — How to keep winter-related issues at bay
The feature sets out holding winter problems at bay. Winter management is the season that breaks budgets and health. Write one winter plan this week.

▸ Hunting and Reports

p.42 · Grafton — The VAWM enjoy a day out hunting
The Grafton report, with the picture note "Grafton horses and hounds get acquainted," runs at p42. Day reports are the closest thing to being out. Read it before planning a meet.

p.48-58 · Reports
Dressage at p48, showjumping at Geneva and Addington at p52, racing at Cheltenham at p54, and point-to-point at Charing at p58. Reports are the results service readers rely on. Check one result against your own entries.

p.62 · Classified ads
Horseboxes, vehicles, jobs and insurance. Classifieds are where horses and jobs change hands. Read one advert before you answer it.

▸ Advertising — D&H CushCare Condition

The product and the claims
D&H (Dodson and Horrell) advertises CushCare Condition as low starch, low sugar, high oil, balanced and easily digested, with no molasses and no chopped feed such as chaff, to top up and maintain condition while keeping the horse calm. The helpline is 01270 782 223, helplineenquiries@dodsonandhorrell.com, www.dodsonandhorrell.com, and the page carries "PROUD TO FEED EQUINE ROYALTY" and British Equestrian Team Supplier. Pictures are by Peter Nixon and Isabel Pearce. Sponsored claims are not evidence on their own. Ask your vet before you change any feed.

Twelve user cases
Jill's Lance at Dragons Stud is prone to weight loss and holds condition well on CushCare with ad-lib hay and plenty of good forage, after groundwork, flatwork, trotting poles, jumping, showing and even eventing work. Brontë and Amy's old girl is a fussy eater who gained weight properly and has held an ideal weight for the past year. Rebecca's Millie is nearly 28, needs low starch and sugar and gentle weight gain, and after countless failed mashes took to CushCare from September, licking the floor and gaining steadily with a healthy coat. Megan's Fred at Dragons Stud, a former racer who could not hold weight, changed dramatically within months on good grazing, hay, forage and a bespoke D&H ration with CushCare, becoming a happy hunter and show jumper. Lisa Hodges was given a nine-year-old Welsh Section B in poor condition and, worried about the breed and sugar, saw a difference in just one month on CushCare. Beth's Buddy at Dragons Stud, another ex-racer, gained steadily and improved hugely in two months with extra calories without overheating. Karen's Tiki is a 33-year-old with an age-related diagnosis who maintained good summer condition without compromising health. Rebecca Maher's young, sharp, underdeveloped horse is more relaxed, focused and trainable on CushCare and has gained and held weight. Charlie and Claire's BE100 event horse holds weight and condition with the energy it needs without getting sharper. Toast and Charlotte's East looks fantastic in top condition with seal-like skin and no extra fizz. SMS Equestrian's riding school horses stay at weight without extra excitability, and a recent vet inspection praised their condition and general health. Dr Melissa Emson BVSc BAEDT MRCVS of The Equine Dental Vet says high oil, low sugar, no molasses and no chaff matter for oral health, and recommends CushCare, having seen big oral changes quickly in competition horses and retired paddock ponies alike. Twelve named cases are more detail than the features give. Check one of these claims against your own horse's needs.

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Editor's Take

The Calais warning is the reason Horse & Hound 18 December 2025 matters: Alex Bishop alone with five horses on 7 December, five stowaways in the trailer while he paid for fuel because the pump rejected his card, a car flashing on the M20, and the doors being opened from inside is a report with dates and a route rather than a travel advisory. Sarah Jenkins framing the issue as the season of goodwill, with a Christmas Eve hack and a Boxing Day meet, gives the special a shape. Weakest is the source: every page from the festive features at p30 and p34 to the reports at p48-58 survives only as a title and page number, and Alex Bishop's account truncates mid-sentence when he rings Ronnie, so no ending is confirmed. The D&H advertising, with twelve named horses, owners and yards from Millie at nearly 28 to Tiki at 33, is more specific than the editorial. Buy this for the Calais report; the festive special is a contents page.

Strengths
• Calais gives 7 December, five horses, five stowaways
• Bishop's route gives M20 and Eurotunnel detail
• CushCare gives twelve named horses and owners
• Millie at nearly 28 and Tiki at 33 give real ages

Weaknesses
• Festive features have no body text
• Alex Bishop's account truncates mid-story
• Reports and pictures are titles only

Verdict: Selective read — the Calais warning, weaker festive special.