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In praise of happy hackers!

Riders who choose not to compete are often looked on as inferior to those who do, writes CAROLYN HENDERSON. Even worse, they often look on themselves as second class citizens of the horse world.

We’ve all heard it: “I’m just a happy hacker.” Maybe you even say it, with the accepted tone of self-disparagement.

Please - just stop it. There’s no reason why riders who hack can’t be just as competent as those whose weekend isn’t complete unless they’ve added to their tally of rosettes. Nor are their horses necessarily less well-schooled.

Many riders, like me, keep a foot in both camps by mixing hacking and competing. In one week, my riding buddy and I have turned a corner to meet deer crossing the track just in front of us; ridden past a field of pigs who rushed at us, squealing, because they thought we were bringing breakfast; and met a convoy of tractors and trailers.

I live in what’s often called great hacking country. We’re lucky in that we don’t encounter much traffic, but vehicles we do meet are usually large, noisy and sometimes driven by people who seem blind to high-vis clothing and either don’t know or don’t care about slowing down when passing horses.

While I admire the finesse of top dressage riders, the athleticism of their showjumping counterparts and the boldness of those who power around big cross-country courses – they know what’s coming. They’ve learned the test, walked the course and (hopefully) know how their horses are going to react.

Out hacking, you must be ready for anything and everything. And that’s where some dedicated competitors miss a trick.

Horses like a change of scene, just as we do. And as show producer Allister Hood reminded participants in his brilliant clinic for the British Skewbald and Piebald Association recently, you can school on a hack as well as in an arena. Get an active walk, practise transitions, work on straightness…the list is endless.

After all, we school to help make our horses safer and more pleasurable to ride. Hacking helps and reinforces that: I know one of my horses can perform decent lengthened strides, because the ones he showed going past the pigs would have earned us at least an 8 in a dressage test.

It works both ways, because schooling can help hacking. We proved that on our Christmas Day hack, when a local farmer fastened an inflatable Santa to his gate. If it hadn’t been for our nifty bit of shoulder-in, we’d never have got past.

Some riders don’t have access to safe hacking and some riding schools can no longer take pupils off the premises. But if you can get your horse out in the open, even if you have to box up to a nearby bridleway, it’s worth the effort.

Please be a happy hacker, in the literal sense. Just don’t apologise for it.