12/21/2022
💪 TOP SHOWJUMPERS in the world are going BAREFOOT to get that extra EDGE, as Guy Williams jointly WINS the Puissance on Mr Blue Sky!
The BAREFOOT BUZZ is everywhere as top competitors are throwing away the metal as they see their fellow competitors winning BAREFOOT.
All over Europe, top showjumpers are going barefoot, led by the world’s number 1 ranking showjumper IN THE WORLD, Henrik von Eckermann, who became big news as one of the Olympic superstars of the Swedish showjumping team.
Together with Peder Fredricson, Henrik jointly took the Gold Medal at the team showjumping in Tokyo last year, on their incredible barefoot horses, H&M All In (Peder) and King Edward (Henrik).
King Edward went clear in six out of six rounds in Japan - one of only 3 horses in HISTORY to go through the Olympic Games without having a fence down.💪
The world's number 3 top ranking showjumper, Julien Epaillard (French), has also taken ALL HIS HORSES barefoot.
“All of them. Now they are all barefoot. It all started with Michel Hécart, who started sending me horses who were barefoot. It's a completely different approach. We find that the horses are better and that they need less veterinary care.”
Top competition is serious business, with serious prize money and serious sponsorship money into the MILLIONS, so anything that can give a competitor an edge, is worth trying… and what is giving these top competitors the EDGE?
Taking their horses BAREFOOT!
And now the barefoot dominoes are falling as barefoot horses are finally proving that they simply can and do perform better than their shod counterparts.
Some are even taking their horses bitless as well as barefoot too, such as top Irish showjumper Conor Swail and his horse Vital Chance De La Roque (Vinny for short).
Vinny was already barefoot when he came to Conor, so he stuck with it…
“The person we bought him from just asked me to leave them off because it was working well,” he said. “I don’t see a reason to change it if the horse is healthy and sound and doing well. The horse has stayed that way with me and it’s been over a year now.”
So there we have it folks - no more scoffing required - barefoot, and it seems now bitless, is being taken VERY, VERY seriously in top competition and there is now no turning back.
When we started this magazine nearly 10 years ago in 2013, some people laughed and told us what a waste of time it was, no-one would read it, and how barefoot was just a FAD
‘They’ said, “how ridiculous to even imagine that barefoot horses could be anything more than just a gentle hack or a paddock ornament.”
Well feast your eyes on this photo of Guy Williams and Mr Blue Sky last Thursday, 15th December, 2022, co-winning the Puissance at the London International Horse Show, jumping clear at 2.15m.
BAREFOOT!
“My daughter took the shoes off her stallion and he’s been jumping clear at 1.45m and going better, so she asked if she could take the shoes off all hers, and I said yes… I was going to put them back on (Mr Blue Sky) but thought I’d leave him; I haven’t been riding him much but he came here and jumped super.”
“We’ll play it by ear,” he said. “Everyone in Europe seems to be jumping without shoes so why not try it?”
Our case rests.
If you love BAREFOOT then don’t miss our BONANZA BAREFOOT ADVENT CALENDAR GIVEAWAY every single day leading up to Christmas on FB and IG - some fantastic prizes already won!
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We have been banging the barefoot drum for years, and FINALLY the equine world is listening!
The BHM Team ❤️
Photo Credit: Peter Nixon
