Horse Deals – February 2026

Summary

Horse Deals February 2026 stacks its issue with the multi-voice 'Future of Equine Sport in Australia' roundtable (p8), a tribute to eventing-to-showjumping champion Bubble and Squeak, and 12-year-old cover rider Ellie Roots on Wynara Vegas, alongside 2,000+ horse classifieds across Australia.

Horse Deals February 2026 leans hard into its long-form editorial, opening with 'The Future of Equine Sport in Australia' on page 8. Professors, Olympians, breeders and Pony Club directors argue welfare, grassroots entry, venue costs and Social Licence. Brad Frankum OAM sets the tone from the Equestrian Australia Board, Dr Kate Fenner delivers equitation science, Sophia Hill flags eventing entry drops, Nicky Rockwell calls dressage 'in a crisis', Amber Fuller reports 1.20m classes now running 100 entries, and Margot Haynes lists seven concrete reforms for show horse.

The cover belongs to 12-year-old Ellie Roots (page 28), now stepping up to large galloway Wynara Vegas after winning the 2025 Grand Nationals. Across the rest of the magazine, Para-equestrian Zoë Vorenas coaches riders past 'The Rush Trap' in dressage (page 26), Tania Grantham lays out mirrored-triangle polework (page 46), and Dr Paula Williams of WestVETS starts a two-part series on joint, tendon and ligament health (page 82).

Classifieds dominate, with breed-dedicated sections for Percherons (page 96), Ponies (page 60), Standardbreds and QOTT Off The Track Thoroughbreds (pages 32-40), plus saddlery, property and transport. Highlights include Lyriq, a $150,000 Sebring yearling turned EA National Small Hack, and Cailin Bobbermen's barefoot, bitless Standardbred mare that placed at Race to Ranch in Queensland.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.8 · The Future of Equine Sport in Australia

Anna Sharpley's roundtable runs across the magazine's signature essay slot with six voices dissecting welfare, venue costs and Social Licence. Brad Frankum OAM, newly appointed to the Equestrian Australia Board, pushes zero-tolerance welfare rules and flags Tasmanian riders needing World Cup support. Dr Kate Fenner argues grassroots pressure, not elite money, will force change. Sophia Hill urges kids to 'get out of the arena'. Margot Haynes closes with a seven-point reform checklist.

▸ Feature Profiles & Tributes

p.16 · Tribute to a Champion: Bubble and Squeak

Charts 'Spud', the 23-year-old 15.2hh Warmblood Sporthorse by Stirling Sprite, across three owners. Annabel (Armstrong) Cargill evented him to three-star, Jasmine Dennison took him Junior Champion at the 2015 Australian Showjumping Championships, then the Hill family's nine-year-old Indy rode him to the 2025 VEIS Freshman Champion. Takeaway: an ageing campaigner still earns his keep with a confident child on Interschool 90cm.

p.28 · Young Rider: Ellie Roots

Twelve-year-old Ellie from Hawkesbury Heights, NSW, won the 2023 Sydney Royal Champion Junior Rider with Bond, took Small Show Hunter Pony at the 2025 Grand Nationals, and now campaigns the large galloway Wynara Vegas after spotting him at last year's show. Takeaway: she credits her years with Bond for the confidence to step up, plus practical notes on adapting to a bigger-moving horse after a smaller mount.

p.112 · Equestrian Legend: Trish Shugg

Profiles the 81-year-old founder of McDonald's Saddlery at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, still competing and still winning. Takeaway: candid story of buying a butcher's-shop saddlery in 1990, importing Circle Y and Alamo Western gear, learning by openly admitting what she didn't know, and a useful model for any new tack-shop owner who would rather ask than bluff.

p.118 · At Home With: Tyler Smith

Surfaces reiner Tyler Smith, the first woman to win the Reining Australia Open Futurity on a record score with Q Vista Step It Up (Zoe), and the first woman to take Grand Champion Steer at Brisbane Royal. Takeaway: she buys prospects sight-unseen via the AQHA database, builds them on groundwork, and has passed $100,000 in reining lifetime to enter the Reining Australia Hall of Fame.

▸ Discipline & Training

p.26 · The Rush Trap: When Faster Isn't Better

Para-equestrian Zoë Vorenas, shortlisted for the 2024 Paris Paralympics with Salmour, coaches riders past rushing. Takeaway: three transitions within gait (try trot-walk-trot with identical rein and seat feel), spiralling in and out on a circle to expose asymmetry, and raised poles to shift a horse from scrambling to carrying from behind.

p.46 · Polework Training Exercise: Mirrored Triangles

Builds on last month's mirrored-triangles setup with three new exercises for Tania Grantham (Grand Prix rider, Inspire Dressage). Takeaway: ride simple changes centred in the gap (three walk strides exactly), use 10m circles that double as trot poles for symmetry checks, and combine shoulder-in, 10m circles and half-passes to lift lateral quality.

p.82 · Foundations of Soundness: Joint, Tendon and Ligament Health, Part One

Starts a two-part anatomy-and-care series with Dr Paula Williams of WestVETS Animal Hospital in Queensland. Takeaway: tendons like the SDFT and DDFT have limited blood supply, so healing is slow and reinjury common — the article names the structures at risk, the joint types in play, and which clinical signs to flag for early diagnosis.

▸ Showcasing the Disciplines

p.22 · 2026 Summer Dressage Championships

Gathers the results from the 16-17 January Boneo Park event in one image per win. Takeaway: standout scores named — Megan Joyce and Glenyering Zenzonic 85.8% in the 5-year-old, Kylah Brewer and Princess Keikilani 71.827% in the OTT Novice 2.1, Mary Hanna and Ivanhoe I taking Big Tour, Paralympian Joann Formosa on OTT Rafiki Epic Deal.

p.52 · Inspirational Rides: Naomi Burton and Steel Cap Stiletto

Traces how Queensland rider Naomi Burton bought a bandanna for a charity promotion, won a foal in a live-streamed draw, and brought home Winnie, a 15.2hh Stock Horse x Clydesdale. Takeaway: a seven-season timeline of breakthroughs — Pan Pacific Games double gold at 70-80cm, 10th in the 80cm at the Queensland International Three Day Event — and the lesson that the horse you need often finds you.

▸ Classified Spotlights

p.34 · Off The Track: Ain't He Grand

Tracks Billy Worker's $150,000 Sebring yearling, raced 18 times for $153,650 with Ciaron Maher and Tony Gollan, gelded in March 2024, then re-homed as Lyriq and took the 2025 EA National Small Hack in December — inside two months of his first show. Takeaway: an OTT Thoroughbred can pivot to championship show ring inside one season with the right rider and prep.

p.40 · Standardbreds Beyond the Track: Bonnie's Not Bad at Race to Ranch

Follows Cailin Bobbermen's barefoot, bitless Standardbred mare as the only Standardbred in the Cowgirls Gathering Queensland field at Race to Ranch. Takeaway: a three-month prep from scratch, with two weeks lost to an eye injury, still produced spectator feedback that 'if you didn't know she was a Standardbred, you'd think she was a stock horse'.

▸ Lifestyle

p.140 · Bray-o-Neigh Farm DIY Barn: Repurposing at Its Finest

Turns her husband's bull-riding barn into a stallion-and-mule sanctuary using only second-hand finds. Takeaway: bench seating made from a college bed, a queen-bed foot repurposed as a feed-room table top, a 45-year-old harness collar turned into a clock, and a wall sign reading 'Forget the she shed, I need a bitch barn' — concrete inspiration for any barn makeover on a budget.

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Editor's Take

Horse Deals February 2026 is a marketplace title where the editorial earns the cover price and the classifieds earn the postage. The 2000-word Future of Equine Sport roundtable with Brad Frankum OAM, Dr Kate Fenner and Margot Haynes is the standout — frank about welfare, venue costs and the need to restore meaning to championship classes. The tribute to Bubble and Squeak and Tyler Smith's reining profile are the kind of buyer-relevant storytelling shoppers expect inside a listings magazine. The 160-plus pages run roughly 70% classifieds (Percherons, Ponies, Standardbreds, QOTT Off The Track), so the price tag buys you a year-round buyer's guide more than a newsstand read. Strengths: depth on welfare debate, breed-section specialisation, QOTT subsidies. Weaknesses: classified density buries features; limited event calendar outside QLD and NSW Royals. Best suited to Australian buyers, breeders and OTT retrainers.

Strengths
• Multi-voice welfare roundtable anchors the issue
• Breed-specific classifieds with QOTT subsidies attached
• Strong regional reporting from QLD, NSW and Victorian studs

Weaknesses
• Classified density buries the long-form features
• Limited event calendar beyond QLD and NSW Royal Shows

Verdict: Selective read — Editorial is exceptional; classifieds occupy 70% of the 160-plus pages.