Horse Hound – 20 November 2025

Summary

The Belvoir Huntsman by Charles Church anchors the Horses in Art Special in this Horse & Hound 20 November 2025 issue, with Harry Meade, Will Bryer and Hannah Moody naming their favourite paintings. Inside: Joe Stockdale's Northamptonshire yard, dressage voice-aid rule change from January 2026, and the Fitzwilliam (Milton) opening meet.

Joe Stockdale opens the gates to his Northamptonshire yard on p16, explaining how a 2.13m Spruce Meadows six-bar record and BMO Nations Cup win followed the marginal gains of icing, treadmill work and four different riding surfaces. The Charles Church painting The Belvoir Huntsman features on the cover as the Horses in Art Special asks Harry Meade, Will Bryer, Hannah Moody and artist Daniel Crane to name their favourite artworks, with Munnings, Stubbs, Gauguin and Lionel Edwards in the running.

The big rule change for 2026 lands on p6: British Dressage and British Riding Clubs will allow discrete voice aids, including tongue clicking, from January, with BRC also dropping its compulsory noseband rule. Vet Edward Busuttil's two-part box-rest series begins on p26 with practical advice on sensory enrichment, stable mirrors and reintroducing turnout. Charles Owen confirms UK production will cease on 19 December (p5), with Thermatex and Griffin NuuMed understood to have shut down.

The Fitzwilliam (Milton) opening meet at Cambridgeshire (p38) gets a six-page treatment, with huntsman Shaun Parrish, the Naylor-Leyland joint-mastership and 50 riders enjoying an 18°C November day. Cheltenham's November meeting report (p54) covers Harry Skelton's Paddy Power Gold Cup win on Panic Attack and Sean Bowen's ride on Wade Out, while point-to-point debutants at Lower Machen and Badbury Rings (p58) include a £25,000 bonus series winner.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story — Horses in Art Special

p.32 · Brushstrokes of genius

Catherine Austen quizzes event rider Harry Meade, joint-master Will Bryer, dressage rider Hannah Moody and artist Daniel Crane on which paintings tug their heartstrings. Bryer picks Sir Alfred Munnings' The Huntsman and praises Charles Church's Belvoir portrait as the best contemporary sporting painting in 100 years. Moody names Gauguin's The White Horse; Crane hails Lionel Edwards' Durham Ox sketch. Reader takeaway: three horsey artists worth watching before your next commission.

p.16 · Access all areas

Joe Stockdale, aged 24 and son of late rider Tim Stockdale, walks Martha Terry through his Northamptonshire yard. He reveals his four-step warm-up checklist, why he rarely jumps above 1.10m at home, and how a routine Spruce Meadows outing produced a 2.13m six-bar record and BMO Nations Cup glory. Reader takeaway: copy Stockdale's marginal gains template – ice three times, walk daily, rotate surfaces – to keep your own horse sounder for longer.

p.24 · All in a day's work — The cartoonist

Darren Birdie Bird tells Kate Johnson how a primary-school tent sketch launched his career, why Giles of the Daily Express remains his hero, and how a tribute drawing for trainer John Berry after Roy Rocket's death made Berry's wife cry. He also reveals his Jack de Bromhead tribute that hung above the boy's casket. Reader takeaway: commission Birdie for a hand-drawn memento – his birdieracinggifts.co.uk shop takes orders via tweet.

▸ Cover Story — News & Vet

p.6 · Rules allowing voice aids in dressage are welcomed

From January 2026, British Dressage and British Riding Clubs will let riders use discrete vocal aids including tongue clicking during dressage tests, with BRC also scrapping its compulsory noseband rule. BD CEO Jason Brautigam says the change came from member feedback after the 2024 welfare action plan; Olympic rider Richard Davison calls it a step in the right direction. Reader takeaway: practise a quiet whoa or click at home now so it is ring-ready before your next BD outing.

p.26 · Boxing clever

Edward Busuttil MRCVS opens a two-part series on box rest management, distinguishing short, medium and long-term phases and warning that the three-to-eight-week window is when stereotypic behaviours appear. He recommends lavender or chamomile scents, three hours of classical music daily and stable mirrors to cut isolation. Reader takeaway: swap straw for low-dust bedding and book an in-hand walk before any turnout, easing the reinjury risk in the most dangerous final phase.

p.5 · Top equestrian brands are facing difficult decisions

Charles Owen confirms its Wrexham factory lease ends on 19 December and UK helmet production will stop, with no alternative site suitable; Jeffries Lifestyle Ltd-owned Thermatex and Griffin NuuMed are understood to have already shut down. BETA executive director Claire Williams says Brexit costs and lingering post-pandemic stock are squeezing the sector. Reader takeaway: check your current safety helmet's manufacture date and warranty before ordering next year's replacement.

▸ Hunting

p.38 · Our past, present – and future

Andrew Sallis reports from the 5 November opening meet at Milton Park, Cambridgeshire, where 50 riders followed huntsman Shaun Parrish and whipper-in Henry Warner on an unseasonal 18°C day. Joint-masters Sir Philip and Lady Isabella Naylor-Leyland, in their 40th season, hosted drinks; field-master Charlie Rearden led the pipe-opener. Reader takeaway: ask your local hunt about attending an opening meet – most welcome foot-followers with a day's notice.

p.44 · Are you hunting an ex-racehorse?

Catherine Austen highlights Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), urging hunters with former racehorses to register free to boost traceability. The piece showcases Nicky Henderson alumni Another Venture, Gold Present and Discours D'Un Roi out with the Ledbury on 27 October. Reader takeaway: visit ror.org.uk/registration to register any ex-racer you hunt and qualify for owner benefits and community support.

▸ Reports

p.46 · Dressage highlights — Sparsholt College and more

Andrea Oakes covers Sparsholt College (Hants), where Charlotte Dicker scored 68.26% grand prix on the Totilas son Timolin, while his daughter Catherston Timeless made her own grand prix debut. Fairoak Grange features Fiona Harter's clever Lusitano Diamond X Fandi, and Malou C Van De Wijdewormer wins her third prelim. Reader takeaway: try Martin's alternative warm-up of a 20-minute walk in the woods before tests – it works for laid-back former broodmares and saves energy for the ring.

p.50 · Showjumping highlights — Card Equestrian and more

Sarah Radford reports from Chard Equestrian, where Nikki Curtis won the 1.25m winter qualifier on the Diamant De Semilly mare Destination II, crediting the eight-year-old with rebuilding her confidence 15 years after a lorry-ramp accident. Flo Norris won the Blue Chip B&C qualifier by two seconds on Mila Blue. Reader takeaway: if you are restarting after injury, set a four-year goal with one trusted horse, as Curtis did with Destination.

p.58 · Point-to-point highlights — Wales Area Club and Portman

Alex Robinson covers Lower Machen's opening fixture, where Izzie Hill rode a double for father-in-law Alan Hill aboard Jongleur D'Ainay and Amrons Sage. Baron Du Brizais won the first GB Pointing Bonus Young Horse Maiden Series 4&5yo for Luca Morgan, offering £25,000 for British-bred future Rules winners. Reader takeaway: target a 4&5yo maiden this spring – the £25,000 bonus could fund next season.

▸ Regulars

p.66 · 'Do I look like a mobile bar?' — Goodnight with Tessa Waugh

Tessa Waugh recounts hosting her home meet, where sausage rolls, port and a Percy Special request almost broke the hostess. Subcontracting the baked-goods round to friendlier helpers saved the day, and a minute's silence for Remembrance Day anchored the morning. Reader takeaway: when you host, hand the drinks tray to someone warmer than you – Tessa's misanthrope moments prove the rest of us are not alone.

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Editor's Take

Strongest thing here: the Horses in Art Special (p32), where Harry Meade, Will Bryer and Daniel Crane unpick five favourite paintings with the eye of a course-walker, and Joe Stockdale opens his Northamptonshire yard on p16 with a four-step warm-up worth stealing. Weakest: Hunting Life (p44) reads more like an RoR press release than journalism. This issue is built for the field-sport reader who lives for opening meets and Cheltenham Novices; the dressage crowd gets a quiet win with the January voice-aid rule (p6) and Nikki Curtis's comeback (p50) gives showjumpers their feel-good read. A selective buy for anyone outside that core.

Strengths
• Brushstrokes of genius pairs five riders with five favourite paintings, each picked apart with real curatorial depth.
• Joe Stockdale profile (p16) gives an actionable daily yard template most riders can copy at home.
• Cheltenham report (p54) delivers the Panic Attack win with the trademark aeroplane salute fully earned.

Weaknesses
• Boxing clever (p26) recycles generic stable-mirror and music advice without new research.
• Hunting Life RoR plug (p44) reads more like charity copy than journalism.

Verdict: Selective read — Field-sport content and art special shine; dressage and racing reports feel rushed.