Horse Hound – 26 February 2026

Summary

La Biosthetique-Sam FBW died at 26, and Horse & Hound 26 February 2026 opens with the horse EquiRatings calls the highest-rated since 2008 — the only eventer to hold European, world and Olympic titles at once with Michael Jung. Kit guide cooling boots take the cover, with Feroza Nieumoed at Badminton 2025.

Sarah Jenkins' letter points to Pippa Roome's feature on what she would change about eventing at page 32, as Badminton approaches. News also carries Czech research reported by Becky Murray: stress behaviours rise with competition level, with mouth conflict appearing in over 70% of grand prix tests while judges' marks stayed unaffected. Barry Connell takes the cover interview ahead of Cheltenham, with 17 horses in work at his Co Kildare yard.

Regulars include Graham Fletcher on showjumping, Tessa Waugh's hunting diary at page 74, and reports from the Para Winter Championships, Kelsall Hill, Kempton and Badbury Rings. Nostalgia remembers Secretariat. The vet clinic reads horses' shoes, and features cover soil care and hunting in Portugal. Eventing and showing readers get the most here.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.16 · Access all areas: Barry Connell ahead of the Cheltenham Festival
Martha Terry visits Barry Connell's Co Kildare yard, where 17 horses are in work under customised management, including open woodchip pens with partial shelter for horses with airway sensitivity. Connell aims at the Champion Chase with Marine Nationale after strong recent form. Look at how he gives airway horses space before redesigning your own turnout.

p.30 · Chill out: Cooling boots
The cover's kit guide tests cooling boots for horses after fast work or competition. It sits in Property and Kit alongside homes with bedrooms galore and spacious accommodation. Compare boot coverage and cooling time before buying for the summer season.

▸ Legacy

p.4 · Farewell to horse who rewrote eventing history
La Biosthetique-Sam FBW has died at 26 after a career that made him, with Michael Jung, the only eventer to hold European, world and Olympic titles simultaneously. He won Luhmühlen in 2009, Kentucky world gold in 2010, London Olympic individual and team gold in 2012, Burghley in 2015 and Badminton in 2016, retiring in 2018. EquiRatings rates him the highest since 2008. Watch his 2012 London test and note how little he was asked to do.

▸ Health and Welfare

p.5 · Stress behaviours rise with competition level
Becky Murray reports Czech research published in Animals that assessed over 200 horse-and-rider combinations and found noseband fit largely met FEI standards. Stress behaviours changed with test difficulty: at lower levels horses showed more variety, while at grand prix mouth conflict appeared in over 70% of the test with marks unaffected. Swedish crank nosebands were linked to fewer mouth problems than plain English nosebands at lower levels. Check your noseband fit with two fingers before your next test.

▸ Features

p.32 · Abracadabra! What changes would you make to eventing
Pippa Roome asks what she would change about eventing, flagged by Sarah Jenkins as the issue's leading feature with Badminton approaching. The piece sits between the cooling boots kit guide and the soil care feature. Write your own one change before reading hers.

p.38 · Down to earth: How to care for your soil
The features section turns to soil care, treating grazing as the base of horse management. It follows the eventing feature and precedes hunting in Portugal. Walk your fields after rain and mark the poached gateways first.

▸ People and Regulars

p.22 · All in a day's work: The sport psychologist
The day-in-the-life column follows a sport psychologist, sitting between the Barry Connell interview and the vet clinic on horses' shoes. Hunting pages and reports follow later in the issue. Take one pre-ride routine from the piece and use it this week.

p.74 · Goodnight — Tessa Waugh's hunting diary
Tessa Waugh closes the issue with her hunting diary at page 74, after reports from the Para Winter Championships, Kelsall Hill, Kempton, Southwell, Newcastle and Badbury Rings, plus nostalgia on Secretariat. The classified ads follow. Read her diary before booking a meet.

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Editor's Take

The Sam obituary is the strongest writing in Horse & Hound 26 February 2026, because the career facts — Luhmühlen 2009, London 2012, Badminton 2016, EquiRatings' highest since 2008 — say more than any tribute could. Barry Connell's Co Kildare interview is the best practical piece, with 17 horses and open pens for airway cases giving owners something to copy. Weakest is the cooling boots kit guide, which the cover fronts but delivers as a short product list, and the property pages on bedrooms and accommodation have nothing to do with the rest of the issue. The hunting pages run long. Buy this for eventing readers and Badminton followers; showjumping-only readers can browse the reports.

Strengths
• Sam obituary carries a full titled career with dates
• Connell interview gives 17 horses and airway pens
• Stress research links noseband type to mouth conflict
• Roome's eventing feature asks a real question

Weaknesses
• Cooling boots kit guide is thin for a cover promise
• Property pages on homes sit oddly in a horse title

Verdict: Recommended — strong eventing content, weaker kit and property filler.