Posted: 21st February 2017 | Back to news feed
Leading showjumper Phillip Miller is renowned nationally for numerous championships wins. With many top horses on the yard, Phillip works hard to keep them all fighting fit and ready to compete.
Based at the Hertfordshire yard, Greenacres Equestrian, Phillip started riding as a child, and despite coming from a non-horsey background he has been there ever since.
Phillip has a great reputation for winning on young horses that have gone on to compete at the top level internationally such as Talan, Je T’aime Flamenco and Marius Claudius.
Well known for his longstanding partnership with the charismatic grey Caritiar Z on whom he won the iconic Hickstead Derby in 2013 when jumping the only clear round he also has a great back-up team to rely on.
This advice follows a training session with Susses Carentino:
Sussex Caretino is Phillip’s top speed horse but she is so versatile that she also competes in Grand Prix classes.
Known as Klarins at home the 10-year-old mare owned by Brendon Stud, has been with Phillip for two years. In this time the pair has had great success on the show jumping circuit and are currently lying in sixth place in the British Showjumping Gold league.
Explains Philip: “When training an established horse, you don’t need to jump every day, the horse knows its job, it is about discipline and management.
“Over time Klarins can get quite pushy and controlling, thinking she knows the job inside out and if you don’t completely focus on her and keep to a routine when it comes to discipline it can go wrong. That said I do have to ask her nicely for her to respond positively.”
When it comes to fitness and exercise generally all the horses have half an hour on the horse walker to warm them up before Phillip rides. He tends to hack his horses around three times a week, as a way to keep them relaxed and to work on their fitness, which is vital for the older horses.
Depending on the horse, Phillip will jump them two days before a show, to make sure they are ready, focussed and prepared.
Schooling usually lasts around 40 minutes, with Phillip warming them up slowly and allowing the horse time to get use to the arena environment and settled in its paces. The horse and rider must both concentrate throughout the session.
Suppling exercises include really making sure Klarins goes into the corners of the school, maintains a balanced and consistent rhythm and focusses on the job in hand rather than what is going on around her in the yard.
After exercise Phillip always makes sure the horses are cooled off slowly with some stretching through their neck and back.
During the summer the yard is very focused on the older horses who attend shows regularly.
Winter is then a great opportunity for the older horses to have a holiday and rest so the focus shifts to the youngsters who are taken to shows and given a chance to gain experience.
Said Phillip: “It is important to look at each horse as an individual and build a programme to suit their needs. Some of the older horses flourish after a holiday, others need to stay in part-time work to help their fitness levels stay on top all year round.”
Phillip believes all his horses should have time outside, so in the spring and summer horses are out in the day, then stabled at night and in the winter the horses are stabled but continue to go outside for a few hours. This allows the horses to enjoy being horses and relax in an outdoor environment.
Phillip has an exciting team of horses to watch out for in 2017, with more than seven Grade A horses to compete on the circuit and lots of youngsters set to start their show jumping careers
To keep the yard clean and tidy, Phillip relies on the Avant tool carrier.
Said Phillip: “The Avant is essential for a busy yard, we use it every day, I don’t know how we manged without it.
“On a daily basis we use the Avant to transport straw and hay bales, unload feed deliveries, for general clean-up duties and to clean up the muck heap.”
For further information contact Avant Tecno (UK) Ltd on 01953 714896, email sales@avant.co.uk or visit www.avant.co.uk
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