Now in its third year, the Equine Hedge school saw members of the equestrian fraternity travel from the four corners of Ireland to hear experts talk about their chosen fields at the Killashee House Hotel in Naas, Co Kildare, last week.

Presented by the Showjumpers’ Club and run in association with Connolly’s Red Mills and The Irish Field, the event covered areas such as feeding, coaching, show jumping courses and producing competitive horses.

One of the key messages that came across was the need for good flatwork in horses, with particular emphasis on polished flatwork for the American market.

Equine physiotherapist Davide Focardi gave a valuable insight into a horse’s correctness and balance. Focardi urged riders to learn to diagnose when a horse is in any discomfort as early as possible.

Dressage trainer Gisela Holstein advised on how to build up muscles with flatwork and also looked at the importance of correct saddle fitting. For Holstein: “95% of a show jumping course is flatwork”.

International course designer Alan Wade gave an insight into his role and how he goes about designing five-star courses. Everything is built with safety in mind and the aim of the design is to test a rider’s ability to get horses to the correct takeoff point with the horse focused on the top rail.

Coach Ian Fearon said coaching involves many elements, such as assessing the horse and rider’s well-being, the social structures around riders, goal-setting, nutrition for horse and rider, and a training programme.

International show jumpers Geoff Billington, Peter Charles and Andrew Bournes, along with Alan Wade, Richard Bourns and Liam Moggan, all gave their insights about show jumping now and into the future.

They discussed what the rider and horse needed to do and the requirement for each market and level of competition in Europe and the US, examining how to find the right horse for each level and customer.