Mike Jackson

Eventing

Background

We have been based at Manor Barn Stables for just under two years, in the picturesque village of Nether Westcote on the Oxfordshire / Gloucestershire border.

We have 40 acres of turnout, ten stables and a 20/ 60 metre m?ge, which is set on the side of hill overlooking one of the best views in the Cotswolds. We are planning to expand the yard with three new boxes in the next few weeks.

This year has been extremely busy year for us - not only have we had an action packed time with the horses, Ellie and I also got married in September.

Ellie and I met in 1999, while she was a working pupil at Gill Watson’s yard and I was training with the Young Rider squad. We ended up working together at Owen Moore’s yard in Lynham in Oxfordshire, coincidently not far from where we are based now. Ellie now works as a journalist and also events to intermediate level on her mare Katie.

My Horses

I am extremely lucky to have a very promising string of young horses. Some I ride for owners and others we have bred from my retired advanced event mare Ladies First and Ellie’s old event mare Kangaru.

Billy Bird

Billy is a 6 year old bay gelding owned by Sarah and Tommy Gallagher. He was bought to race but never really took to it and so ended up with me to bring on as a four year old. He is extremely talented and is now competing at intermediate level and heading for Le Lion, the 6 year old World Breeding Championships.

Up With The Lark

Max is a 6 year old bay stallion by Welton Apollo and was bred by Sarah Taylor. As a four year old he won the Pavo British Eventing Breeding Championships and has been very successful in Burghley Young Event Horses classes and the British Breeding Young Horse Evaluation series.

He now competes at intermediate level and has also qualified for this year’s 6 year old Breeding Championships. He covered 30 mares this year and his first foals were born in the spring. We also have two foals by him, and they are not only lovely foals, but very pretty!

Larking About

Merlin is a 4 year old chesnut stallion by No Complaints out of an advanced event mare Magical Lark. He is half brother to Up With The Lark and is also part-owned by Sarah Taylor. He has successfully competed in Burghley Young Event Horse classes and the British Breeding Young Horse Evaluation Series this year. He has also qualified for the Breeding Championships at Tweseldown.

Grey Rebel

Rebel is a 6 year old grey gelding and although he has only been with us for 2 months he has already won and been well placed at novice. Rebel is a huge horse standing at nearly 17hh and is owned by Caroline Muhlencamp.

Jagganath

Jack is a 4 year old bay gelding by Jumbo. He is owned by Carole Mortimer and has been with me since the spring. He was 8th in the Burghley Young Event Horse final this year. He is a very handsome horse with a big jump and I have high hopes for him next year.

Kangasong

Joey was bred by Ellie’s father Chris and is a real family pet. He is by the dressage stallion Donnersong out of Ellie’s talented but slightly crazy event mare Kangaru. He has fantastic loose paces and is very scopey. He has also been well placed at pre-novice and novice this year and came 7th in the Burghley Young Event Horse final. He has real star quality and a lovely temperament.

The Honeymonster

I was lucky enough to inherite Cornflake when I moved to the yard. He is a 16.2hh, palomino and was originally bought as a hunter. He is owned by Clare Neate-James and has been well placed at novice level.

Apart from the main squad we also have horses in for schooling, breaking and selling.

Feeding

Keeping a string of event horses happy and healthy can be a tricky business!

Most of mine are thoroughbred types who are generally not good at maintaining condition (apart from Cornflake, who is what I would call a good-doer!). So in the summer they get turned out as much as possible but mostly at night when it is cooler. Not only does this help to maintain their condition it also makes them much more relaxed to ride.

Their diets all vary slightly but all of them get fed lots of fibre. We feed haylage and they get two hard feeds a day consisting of Alfa-A Original or Hi-Fi Original and then if they need extra sparkle we add competition mix for some quick release energy or conditioning cubes for weight gain if they are poor doers. They also have cod liver oil and electrolytes if they have been competing.

Below is an example of Up With The Lark’s diet during the competition season:

Morning feed - Alfa-A Original, sugar beet, conditioning nuts
Evening Feed - As above with oil and electrolytes.
Ad-lib haylage in the day and turned out at night during the summer.

Up With The Lark can get very full of himself so we try and keep his diet fairly non-heating with lots of fibre as this is a great way of providing slow release energy without making him fizzy.

Fitness

Throughout the season most of my horses compete a couple of times a month so it is important they are kept fit. A typical week’s exercise would be:

Monday – Day- off
Tuesday – Hack or flat
Wednesday- Galloping
Thursday- Hack or flat
Friday- Jump or flat
Saturday – Jump
Sunday - Gallop or Event

We are lucky enough to be able to use the gallops at David Bridgewater’s racing yard five minutes from our place. It is very handy to have the gallops especially when the ground is hard in the summer, although nearby we have some great hacking and grass gallops which we use in the spring and autumn.

The length of time that they are galloped for varies depending on how old they are and what level they are competing at. We try to hack our horses as much as possible to let them stretch and relax and it also helps to keep them interested in the job.

Training

I have been taught by a number of different people over the years. However, I would say Katie Meacham and Owen Moore were the greatest influences with my riding in the early years.

I am now taught by dressage rider Spencer Wilton, who is also a great friend, and show jumper Simon Nicholson.

On a day to day basis, I work most of my horses on my own but I think it is important to have regular lessons with someone you respect to make sure bad habits don’t creep into your riding. Fine tuning can make the difference between winning and losing.

IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE – PREPARE TO FAIL!!!!

My Team

I have two working pupils, Jenny who is at Warwickshire College and Elaine who has just joined us for her gap year. Julia Reed owns our yard and has two event horses with us. She is a great laugh and is hugely generous with her time and belongings!