42/ JUNE 2024 THE RIDER


Biddick bidding for record fourth Speed Derby win after viral mishap


Twelve months ago, Somerset showjumper Harriet Biddick was poised to set a new record in the British Speed Derby at Hickstead.


Riding her seasoned


campaigner Silver Lift, Har- riet was nearing the end of the lengthy course and look- ing like she was about to re- tain her title from 2022. If she could win the class again, it would make her the first lady rider to win it four times, plus Silver Lift would become the only horse ever to win four times. But in a dramatic


twist, Silver Lift’s bridle slipped off his head as he landed after the Irish Bank. Amazingly, they jumped through the tricky treble of Hickstead planks despite having no bridle, and for a second it looked like Silver Lift might continue on to jump the final spread and complete the course. But unfortunately, the horse can- tered past the last fence and Harriet lifted her hands in a shrug of defeat. Instead, it was debutant Ella Dalton and her mare Quality Rubies N Diamonds who took the win.


But while Harriet did-


n’t manage to secure a record victory, the video of her incident very quickly went viral, with more than 50 million views across so- cial media. A photograph of the pair taken by Tilly Berendt was later chosen as the British Equestrian Media Association’s Mo- ment of the Year. As well as dealing


with the disappointment of missing out on a record win, Harriet did have a scary minute when a bridleless Silver Lift carried on canter- ing round the open space of the International Arena. Harriet was in the early stages of pregnancy with her second child, and wanted to avoid getting injured in a fall. Fortunately, her horse soon came to a stop at the entrance to the arena. “It was quite a daunt-


ing moment in my head, as I knew I couldn’t jump off him,” says Harriet. “It wasn’t ideal but I just let


Harriet Biddick and Silver Lift (c) Tilly Berendt


him figure it out and pre- tended nothing had gone wrong. When he started get- ting faster, I remember thinking, this is getting a bit silly now, but I was trying to talk to him and calm him down.” Harriet gives


full


credit to her trusted equine partner, who has given her so many successes at Hick- stead over the years. “I mean, it shows how honest the horse is – he’s amazing to cope with what he coped with that day and to stop at


the entrance afterwards. He’s got a heart of gold.” Harriet and her jockey


husband Will Biddick wel- comed baby Oliver in De- cember, a younger brother for their first son Archie. At this year’s Al Shira’aa Hick- stead Derby Meeting, both children will have the op- portunity to watch their mum potentially make his- tory in the British Speed Derby. But for Harriet, it’s more important to make amends for last year after an incident that no one could


have foreseen. “I feel like I owe it to


the horse because he was going so well last year, and he deserved to win it last year. He’s 19 years old now, so it’s now or never, but he feels really good and I owe it to him to try again,” she says.


The British Speed


Derby takes place on the Saturday afternoon of the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting (20-23 June). Tick- ets are on sale now.


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Supporting a Good Life for Horses


Fédération Internationale


(FEI) Sports Forum held in Lausanne at the end of April featured a major focus on welfare of the competition horse through the presenta- tion of the findings of the Equine Ethics and Wellbe- ing Commission’s final re- port (EEWC). This came hot on the heels of the 19th International Society for Eq- uitation Science (ISES) an- nual conference held in New Zealand in March 2024.


Three of the external Harriet Biddick and Silver Lift (c) Tilly Berendt


members of the EEWC are long standing members and Honorary Fellows of ISES. At the ISES annual confer- ence, 60 research presenta- tions covered topics of direct relevance to the FEI’s action plan to ensure a Good Life for Horses in sport. Thanks to the many spon- sors, including the FEI as the technology sponsor, these presentations were made available to delegates around the world. At the Sports Forum


the FEI provided an overview of their proposed action plan to address six priority areas of focus raised in the EEWC’s final report. Much of the research ad- dressing concerns in the six priority areas – specifically Priority Area 1 (Tack, equip- ment, riding and training) and Priority Areas 2 and 4 (physical and emotional stress in horses and the other 23 hours of the horse’s life) – has been carried out over the past 20 years by re- searchers who are members of ISES. [ISES] urges the FEI


to make good use of the ex-


isting evidence in making rigorous decisions in favour of the horse, and adopting the precautionary princi- ple…


ISES commends the


FEI for adopting the 5 do- mains as the underpinning framework for their welfare strategy and is pleased to learn of the evidence-based approach being taken to ex- amine the impact of tack and equipment and training methods on horses. We urge the FEI to make good use of the existing evidence in making rigorous decisions in favour of the horse, and adopting the precautionary principle to ensure that wel- fare risks to horses are min- imized where the research is not conclusive. We suggest that to make good decisions regarding equine wellbeing it is important to involve in- dependent researchers with equine behaviour and wel- fare expertise, such as that provided by behavioural sci- entists about hyperflexion. In addition, we urge the FEI to remember that knowl- edge gained through scien- tific research is always progressing – what was nor- mal and accepted previously may not be the case now. ISES has provided feedback on noseband tightness based on extensive research car- ried out by qualified ex- perts, and we hope that this information will be taken into account in deliberations regarding measurement of noseband pressure. In the same vein there have been many studies on bit design, bit use and most importantly horse behaviour and welfare – we urge the FEI to pay at- tention to these when con-


sidering Priority Focus Area 1.


We remind the FEI


that maintaining a social li- cense to operate relies on es- tablishing and maintaining trust. A key recommenda- tion of the EEWC’s to en- sure horse welfare is ongoing transparency and accountability. In support of the EEWC, ISES believes that an independent ‘voice for the horse’ must be prior- itized in all FEI decision making. This, alongside ac- ceptance and actioning of the EEWC’s recommenda- tion for ensuring ongoing independent review via the establishment of a perma- nent equine ethics and wel- fare advisory committee, will help reassure equestri- ans and the public of the FEI’s commitment to equine welfare going forward. ISES looks forward to


hearing about further ac- tions from the FEI to ad- dress an ‘equine centric design approach’ for all events and how horse inter- ests will be placed before those of the human when in- volved in sport. The International So-


ciety for Equitation Science (ISES) is a not-for-profit or- ganization that aims to pro- mote and encourage the application of objective re- search and advanced prac- tice which will ultimately improve the welfare of horses in their associations with


humans.


https://www.equitation- science.com/


Source: International Soci- ety for Equitation Science (ISES)


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