Horse Rider UK – August 2026

Summary

Horse&Rider August 2026 (Issue 687, £4.99, 9 July to 5 August) goes behind the scenes of the World Class Programme at page 20, with Louise Kittle noting the World Championships at Aachen, Germany marked the midpoint of the Olympic cycle and the first gathering of most disciplines since 2018 — endurance excepted, held in Saudi Arabia.

Hoof boots are the cover's second strand: the editor tries them for the first time, with the expert guide at p112 and entry-level boots at p116. Kynren's animal stars give the news its best detail — a grey Shire called Marshall Bugsy, one of fewer than 200 grey Shires worldwide, standing 18hh and still growing, and Phantasma, a 32in spotted miniature.

Training opens a new polework series at p36, with jumping straightness at p42 and angles at p46. Confidence covers hip and back pain at p54, six principles for building trust at p58 and sleep at p64. First aid, fussy eaters and artificial intelligence fill the rest.

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Content Guide

▸ Exclusive

p.20 · The team behind the team — An exclusive insight into the World Class Programme
The World Class Programme gets an exclusive look at the people behind the riders, timed to the World Championships at Aachen, Germany. Louise Kittle frames Aachen as the midpoint of the Olympic cycle and the first time most disciplines came together since 2018, with endurance in Saudi Arabia, and Los Angeles 2028 qualification in view. Ask what your own support team does that you never see.

▸ Hoof Boots

p.112 · All about hoof boots — Everything you need to know from our expert
The hoof boot feature covers everything an owner needs, the cover's rise of hoof boots. Louise Kittle admits trying hoof boots for the first time and points here. Compare your horse's hoof shape with a boot's sizing chart before buying a pair.

p.116 · Buyer's guide — Entry-level hoof boots
Entry-level hoof boots get a buyer's guide in the shopping section. Entry-level does not mean one size fits all. Measure your horse's hoof width and length before ordering online.

▸ Training and Confidence

p.36 · Making progress — Part one of our new polework series
A new polework series opens with part one, the cover's inspiring polework plans. Series work builds a horse rather than filling one session. Lay out part one's poles and ride it twice a week for a month.

p.42 · Great guidelines — Improve your jumping straightness
Jumping straightness gets guidelines for riders who drift. Straightness over fences is cheaper to fix than height. Place a pole either side of a fence and ride the middle.

p.54 · Pain management — Make hip and back pain a thing of the past
Rider hip and back pain gets its own page, the cover's rider back pain. Riders tolerate pain they would never accept in their horse. Do one hip stretch before you mount this week.

p.58 · Fight fear — Build your horse's trust with six key principles
Six principles for building a horse's trust answer the cover's teach your horse to trust. Trust is built in small, repeated exposures. Spend five minutes on the ground doing nothing before your next ride.

▸ Care and Science

p.70 · Emergency vet visits — How to deal with illness and infections
Emergency vet visits cover illness and infections. Knowing what an emergency looks like saves time and money. Take your horse's temperature today so you know its normal.

p.100 · Help at hand — First aid essentials
First aid essentials get a page in the care section. A first aid kit is only useful if you can find it in the dark. Check your kit's contents and dates this weekend.

p.76 · All about artificial intelligence — How it's improving equine health and welfare
Artificial intelligence and equine health get a feature, one of the more unusual pieces. AI is arriving in equine medicine whether owners notice or not. Ask your vet what monitoring tools they already use.

▸ News and Regulars

Short story meets tall tail — Kynren's animal stars
Miniature pony Phantasma and Shire horse Marshall Bugsy star at Kynren – The Storied Lands, which opened on 18 July at Bishop Buckland. Yard manager David Turner Richardson and deputy Lucy Watson have been involved since Kynren began in 2016. Bugsy is a grey Shire, one of fewer than 200 believed to exist worldwide, standing 18hh and still growing, and is training to join the display team with another grey Shire, Cosmo; Phantasma is a 32in spotted miniature turned out with a flock of sheep. Look up Kynren's show dates before you visit the area.

p.12 · Step aside — Discover the side saddle exhibition in Nottinghamshire
A side saddle exhibition in Nottinghamshire gets the good reads slot. Side saddle is the discipline most riders have never tried. Book one side saddle lesson if the exhibition interests you.

p.128 · My life with horses — A busy week in the life of Alice Goring
Alice Goring's week closes the magazine. Real weeks tell you more than profiles do. Write down your own yard week and see where the time goes.

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Editor's Take

The World Class Programme exclusive is the reason to buy Horse&Rider August 2026, and Louise Kittle's framing of Aachen as the Olympic-cycle midpoint with endurance in Saudi Arabia gives it proper context. The Kynren news is the best short page: fewer than 200 grey Shires, 18hh and growing, beside a 32in spotted miniature, is reporting with numbers. Weakest is the hoof boot double, where the expert guide and the entry-level buyer's guide cover the same ground in one issue, and the artificial intelligence feature promises more than it delivers. The polework series opener is sound but slight. Buy this for the World Class access and the Kynren story.

Strengths
• World Class Programme access with Aachen context
• Kynren page gives fewer than 200 grey Shires
• Trust and pain pages are practical
• Hoof boots get an expert and a buyer angle

Weaknesses
• Two hoof boot pages overlap in one issue
• AI feature promises more than it gives

Verdict: Recommended — the exclusive and the Kynren numbers earn it.