Horse Hound – 5 February 2026

Summary

Tom Wachman's record-breaking London International grand prix at 20, Scott Brash's €453,600 January grand prix sweep, and a once-in-a-generation Defra consultation on the 60-year-old Veterinary Surgeons Act make this 5 February 2026 Horse & Hound (Volume CXLII, Issue 5) a heavyweight winter read.

Tom Wachman, the 20-year-old Tipperary rider who became the youngest-ever winner of the London International five-star grand prix on Do It Easy, anchors a strong interview-led issue. He traces his path from Coolmore Stud heritage and Cian O'Connor's yard to Ireland's La Baule Nations Cup victory and Longines FEI rising star award. The cover stories are stacked: Carl Hester recalls buying Nip Tuck for a £500 share ('technically free' after a passport mix-up), William Fox-Pitt credits a cheap part-Clydesdale called Steadfast for his career, and BEVA's James Crabtree maps vaccinations for horses travelling abroad.

News is dominated by the Defra consultation on the nearly 60-year-old Veterinary Surgeons Act, branded a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity' by RCVS president Tim Parkin. The British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association flags 50 years of potential farriery reform. Elsewhere, OLS Solicitors' Lara Davies warns of a 'significant' rise in livery-contract disputes; a Maynooth University study finds 7.5% of pet-loss grievers meet PGD criteria, similar to human-bereavement rates. Tessa Waugh's hunting diary and Pammy Hutton's case for marketing riding to older riders round out the regulars.

Reports lean heavily on showjumping: Scott Brash pockets €195,000 in Doha for a fifth January grand prix, James Smith wins Aintree with a 1986 hackamore, and Eleanor Bastian-Mason, 11, secures her Hickstead ticket on Little Emerald. Dressage winter regionals open at Addington and Onley, and the Sennybridge Farmers celebrate 75 years west of the Brecon Beacons. The classified section runs heavy on horseboxes, jobs and insurance, but the editorial core is unusually strong.

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Content Guide

▸ News & Opinion

p.4 · One chance to have a say in vet law reform

Defra has opened a public consultation on reforming the nearly 60-year-old Veterinary Surgeons Act, with RCVS president Tim Parkin calling it a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity'. The British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association warns of the 'biggest potential change to farriery legislation in over 50 years', including possible repeal of the 1975 Farriers Registration Act. BEVA's Lucy Grieve argues reform is overdue. Action: respond at horseandhound.co.uk/vets-act-consult before the window closes — owners and professionals can both shape the new framework.

p.6 · Rise in livery court cases is a reminder for good contracts

OLS Solicitors' Lara Davies reports a 'significant' rise in livery-contract disputes, most stemming from verbal agreements and poorly drafted terms. Unclear fee structures and short notice for price rises are the flashpoints. The BHS recommends an approved yard with a written contract, plus a separate non-contractual handbook covering opening times, biosecurity and yard rules. Action: ask your yard for a written contract reviewed by a lawyer, and pair it with detail forms for sharers and service providers to head off disputes.

p.10 · Animals' deaths can affect people as much as losing humans

A Maynooth University paper in Plos One shows 21% of respondents who lost both a human and a pet found the animal's death more distressing, and 7.5% met prolonged grief disorder criteria after a pet loss — comparable to rates following human bereavement. Researcher Philip Hyland argues pets provide 'the most perfect distillation of love'. Action: do not dismiss horse-loss grief; the BHS highlights its 'BHS Friend' volunteers, and Blue Cross offers free pet-loss support for those who need it.

p.15 · 'Sometimes we take riding for granted'

Pammy Hutton argues equestrian governing bodies should market riding to a much wider audience, particularly older riders with disposable income, time and health consciousness. Citing Sir John Lubbock's 1894 line that 'there's nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse', she pushes for simple messaging over complicated campaigns. Action: champion riding as physical and mental-health benefit, especially to the over-50s demographic the sport currently underserves.

▸ Cover Stories & Features

p.16 · H&H interview: Tom Wachman

Jennifer Donald interviews 20-year-old Tom Wachman after he became the youngest-ever London International five-star grand prix winner riding Do It Easy. He credits trainer Cian O'Connor and his Tabasco De Toxandria Z partnership — Tabasco bought as a six-year-old and shared with brother Max. Now balancing a Dublin commerce degree with eight horses in Florida, Wachman targets the World Championships at Geneva. Action: track the Irishman's La Baule and Aachen form this spring — he looks a clear senior team contender.

p.22 · Get set to go… Vaccinations for horses travelling abroad

BEVA junior vice-president James Crabtree walks owners through EVA, EIA and West Nile virus before any cross-Channel trip. Two French EVA outbreaks in Calvados and Pyrénées-Atlantiques were reported in late 2025, and the ICC logged 65 Italian and 57 French WNV outbreaks in the same year. There is no treatment for EIA and euthanasia is a common control measure. Action: vaccinate stallions at risk of EVA exposure and request a Coggins test plus extras before relocating any horse from the Continent.

p.30 · 'My best buy ever'

Luz Wollocombe gathers bargain-buy stories from Carl Hester (Nip Tuck, a £500 share bought with Jane de la Mare and kept by passport muddle), six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt (Steadfast, the part-Clydesdale who started his career), Amy Canavan-Smith (HOYS-winning Connemara Laburnum Richard) and Maggie Simons (Welsh section C Yrallt Mayday Surprise). Action: revisit lower-priced sales and Irish yearling markets; six-figure auction buys are not the only route to the top.

p.36 · Ditches without hitches

Ellie Hughes interviews Olympians Nicola Wilson, British team coach Chris Bartle and four-star course-designer Andrew Heffernan on building ditch confidence. Wilson advises starting with a confident lead horse, looking up not down, and using a neck strap; Bartle argues ditches need only be big enough for human legs to step over. Ivy Fisher's three-star mare Bali transformed after her father dug a ditch at home. Action: walk ditches before jumping them, repeat weekly, and save big ones for competition.

p.38 · Join the crew

Catherine Welton profiles showjumping arena crews at London International, Windsor and Global Champions Tour events. Wiktoria Wietronek (Scottish NEC) marshals start gates and clears poles; Beccy and Karen Miller run the flower team and dress jumps in wind and rain; Nick Finney handles horse crossings. Action: if you want ringside access, volunteer — be prepared to muck in, lift poles, ask if unsure, and remember you are a public-facing ambassador.

▸ Hunting & People

p.42 · 'Full of characters with a love for hunting'

Stephen Robbins marks the Sennybridge Farmers' 75th anniversary with a history of the Welsh pack, founded in 1950 when Herbert Rees stopped hunting. They keep 26½ couple of predominantly Welsh foxhounds, hunting Tuesdays and Saturdays from September to February across farmland, forestry and hills west of the Brecon Beacons. Recent challenges include the Epynt military range licence withdrawal since July 2024. Action: attend a meet if you are in Powys — they remain a small but thriving farmers' pack.

p.44 · Malachi

Trish Morley of the Chidingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt profiles her 16.1hh 'safest horse on the planet' Malachi, a New Forest-registered chestnut bought as a foal for £50 and hunted 'week in, week out' for 14 years. Daughter Rachel broke him in and gave him to Trish as a fifth-birthday present. Now rising 19, Mally still has 'moments of exuberance'. Action: do not overlook foal sales when sourcing a hunter — temperament, not breeding, can carry you through 14 seasons.

▸ Sport Reports

p.46 · Season opens on a high

Andrea Oakes and Oscar Williams report Addington, Onley and Bishop Burton Winter Regionals. Alice Begg and the Governor mare Kiolita win advanced medium silver after overcoming ring anxiety; Myles Graham tops advanced medium with 'ginger ninja' Macalena N; Samantha Smith secures medium silver on OFS Johnson's Bay after mindset work with Sean Roberts. Maisie Jensen's 15hh Cappa Rathmorrissey Lady Gertrude, 'GG', won advanced medium bronze and is qualified for Badminton grassroots.

p.48 · 'This has been her dream'

Sarah Radford covers Morris EC and Aintree. Eleven-year-old Eleanor Bastian-Mason wins the winter 138cm qualifier on Little Emerald, sealing her Hickstead ticket. At Aintree Winter Classic II, James Smith completes a one-two on Tayvale Hunky Dory and Astrade Z — a 1986 hackamore borrowed from Alan Fazakerley tipped the balance. Tahley returns after a March stroke to win a qualifier on Smartie. Action: aim your 138cm ponies at Morris EC for a clean Hickstead route.

p.50 · Scott Brash, we salute you

Jennifer Donald hails Scott Brash's five January grands prix, capped by a €195,000 win on 17-year-old Hello Jefferson at Al Shaqab in Doha. The Scot's January tally alone reached €453,600. Roger-Yves Bost wins Hong Kong's five-star on Ballerine Du Vilpion; Shane Sweetnam takes Wellington's CSI4* grand prix on Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z. Action: track Hello Jefferson at the next five-stars; he is clearly the form horse of the year.

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Editor's Take

Scott Brash's five January grands prix and Tom Wachman's London International fairytale are the issue's twin poles, and H&H uses them well: Wachman's 130-line interview traces a Coolmore-to-O'Connor journey without hagiography, while Brash's €453,600 January sweep gets the breathless report it deserves. The veterinary travel feature on EVA, EIA and West Nile virus is genuinely practical — the kind of briefing owners actually need before crossing the Channel — and Carl Hester's passport-mix-up Nip Tuck story is the bargain-hunter folklore that keeps the magazine human. Weaknesses: the dressage regional reports lean on familiar rider names with thin narrative beyond scores, and ad density is high from page 30 onwards, crowding the back half. Best for competition followers, eventers and anyone shipping horses abroad this spring.

Strengths
• Wachman interview traces Coolmore-to-O'Connor path with welcome specificity
• Vet travel feature on EVA, EIA and West Nile is genuinely practical
• Bargain-hunter folklore in 'My best buy ever' avoids auction-fatigue

Weaknesses
• Dressage reports lean on familiar names with thin narrative beyond scores
• Ad density rises sharply after page 30, crowding the back half

Verdict: Recommended — Two strong interviews and a practical vet feature carry the issue, but back-half ad density softens the punch.