EquiRatings Eventing Podcast

The Eventing Podcast inbox has been overflowing, and since we couldn't get to them all during the last episode, here's a full listener-powered question episode for you. From season plans and LA 2028 predictions to Badminton memories, German dominance, and the rising stars reshaping 2026, nothing is off-limits. It's opinions, insight, and a few unfiltered tangents from the people who see every side of the sport.

Highlights

• What 2026 could mean for the world number one battle
• Who the team are backing for LA (and why the case isn't straightforward)
• Early-season plans for Rocket, Goldman, and the horses coming through
• The British vs German storyline heading into Aachen Worlds
• Rising nations, U25 strength and the next generation of medal contenders
• The big events they'd actually choose to spectate this year
• Plus a few listener curveballs… from profile pictures to strange foods

Guests

• Diarm Byrne, co-founder of EquiRatings and data analyst for elite sport
• Sam Watson, five-time senior championship rider for Ireland
• Spike Milligan, FEI team vet with decades of championship experience
• Hosted by Nicole Brown

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The A-Team is back and somehow January already feels long. Between Diarm's medical misadventures, Spike's family odyssey to Cape Town and Sam getting ID'd at 40, it's a suitably unhinged reunion… before we finally get to the sport.

From why flag penalties moved from 15 to nine, to what really separates a championship horse from a five-star horse, to Ireland's new high-performance era under Sam Griffiths, it's a state-of-play start to 2026 with perhaps more questions than answers...

Listeners sent in plenty of those questions, so this is Part One - the Q&A show follows next!

Guests

• Nicole Brown (Host)
• Sam Watson, five-star rider and EquiRatings co-founder
• Diarm Byrne, EquiRatings co-founder
• Spike Milligan, FEI team vet with decades of championship experience

EquiRatings Eventing Podcast:

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On today's episode of When Nicole Met, supported by Bedmax, we sit down with five-star rider and producer Kate Rocher-Smith to unravel a career built as much in the sales yard as in the start box. From a first Badminton to eight- and nine-year-olds at Aston le Walls and a stable full of rising prospects, Kate explains how Dassett Eventing has become one of the sport's most influential pipelines for top horses and top riders.

Highlights

• Badminton 2025 and the first-five-star learning curve
• How Dassett Eventing reshaped the sales + production model
• The traits that matter most in young horses today
• Why team culture drives performance and longevity
• Ones to watch for 2026 and the next generation

Guests

• Kate Rocher-Smith, five-star rider and founder of Dassett Eventing
• Hosted by Nicole Brown

This show is kindly supported by Bedmax, purpose-made, natural horse bedding designed to protect respiratory health, support hooves, and provide a clean, comfortable stable environment.

On today's Connolly's Red Mills Special, we've got a brilliant double act: former European Champion Tina Cook and one of the most exciting young names coming through, her daughter Izzy. With the 2026 season in sight, we look back on a year that included Boekelo, Young Rider medals and a first full run at four-star, and ahead to under-25 Worlds, Bramham ambitions and the next crop of homebreds coming through the yard.

From the call that cost an individual medal at Strzegom to the seven-year-olds they both hope to take to Le Lion, the Cooks open the door on what's to come.

Highlights

• Four-star lessons, Boekelo and the Young Rider Europeans
• Team orders, pressure and delivering under championship conditions
• Under-25 Worlds: why the pathway matters and how riders get selected
• Breeding, bloodlines and the next generation of Cook horses
• Horses to follow in 2026: Mexican Law, Moony and the seven-year-olds

Guests

• Tina Cook - Former European Champion & Red Mills Ambassador
• Isabelle Cook - U21/Young Rider medalist & Red Mills Ambassador

Presented in partnership with Connelly's Red Mills

Sponsors:

Connolly's Red Mills are offering 15% off Foran Equine products to Eventing Podcast listeners! Use the code EquiRatingsPodcast15 to receive your discount. View the full collection here.

Note this does not apply to the already discounted Pre-Fuel & Refuel combo packs.

If you have any other questions regarding feeding click here to ask the Connolly's RED MILLS experts.

Welcome back to the Eventing Podcast. We have teamed up with the USEA and for this New Year special, we're taking on one of the biggest conversations in equestrian sport: social license. What it is, why it matters, and how every one of us plays a role in the future of eventing. Olympic champion, five-star winner, USEF Chief of Sport, and USEA EA21 Director of Coaching David O'Connor joins the show to unpack trust, education, safety, and responsibility, and how the sport can evolve while keeping its core values at the center.

For the latest in U.S. eventing, competition highlights, rider interviews, expert insights, and more, follow the USEA and subscribe to the USEA podcast channel to stay up to date!

EquiRatings Eventing PodcastDon't forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Andy Heffernan steps into the stable and we go well beyond course plans and CV lines — from winter escapes and family life to AI fence drawings, Olympic dream seats, and why Bramham still means everything to him.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Why winter never really slows him down
• Using AI to turn fences into drawings
• The advice from Andrew Nicholson that shaped his career
• Why Bramham is still his favourite event
• Olympic finals, jump racing, and skiing envy
• "More tolerant than I used to be" - summing himself up in a few words

GUEST

• Andy Heffernan - international course designer, coach, and rider

To find out more about Strawmax bedding and how it could work in your yard, head to: https://www.strawmax.co.uk

EquiRatings Eventing Podcast Follow the EquiRatings Eventing Podcast for more data-led insight, top-tier guests, and everything you need to keep up with the 2026 season on Instagram and Facebook.

Today on When Nicole Met, supported by Bedmax, we meet someone whose life has touched every corner of eventing. From growing up in a family steeped in eventing history to carving out her own path in advertising, creative production and now commentary and podcasting, Annie Bishop talks storytelling, sport, and why fresh voices matter. She also gives an inside look at the US Equestrian Open podcast, working alongside riders across dressage, jumping and eventing, and how the Open format is helping develop combinations and build fans in the lead-up to LA.

Highlights

• Parents who rode at Olympic and World Championship level
• Advertising, production and crisis comms, and what eventing can learn
• Commentary, data and storytelling as gateways to the sport
• The rise of the US Equestrian Open and why the series matters
• Representation, female voices and growing US commentary talent
• Hopes for 2026 and building new fans for equestrian sport

Guest

• Annie Bishop – Producer, commentator and host of the US Equestrian Open Podcast. Part of the EquiRatings team, working across eventing, jumping and dressage.

This show is kindly supported by Bedmax, purpose-made, natural horse bedding designed to protect respiratory health, support hooves, and provide a clean, comfortable stable environment.

After closing out 2025 as world number seven, Sam Lissington sits down to unpack the season that changed everything and the road ahead. She reflects on the pride of consistency across Luhmühlen, Burghley, Blenheim and Strzegom, the satisfaction of finally showing what long-term horses like Sooty can do, and the analytical approach behind improving weaknesses and speed through the winter.

Sam also tackles the tougher side of the year: Badminton heartbreak, late injuries to key horses and rebuilding horsepower for 2026–27. Plus, an inside look at Lucas Stone's rise and what data, instinct and market context really mean when buying for championships.

Highlights

• World number seven and a year built on consistency
• Sooty's Luhmühlen podium and Billy Alberto at Burghley
• Injuries, resilience and refocusing for 2026
• Lucas Stone, New York and future championship horsepower

Guest

• Sam Lissington – International event rider for New Zealand and 2025 world number seven.

Team Lissington Open Farm Day 2026

Team Lissington is opening it's doors on the 18th Jan! Bring a friend and watch some Winter horsey action with mulled wine and nibbles 🍷🐴 They will run through training priorities, plans for the year ahead and a no-strings-attached overview of the various ownership opportunities and models in eventing. Please RSVP for catering purposes ➡️ link in Sam's bio

Want to find out more about EquiRatings Horse Sales? Visit the website here.

In this Red Mills Feed Room episode, Spike is joined by Louise Jones from Red Mills to tackle one of the most misunderstood topics in horse nutrition: protein.

Does protein really make horses hot? Can you underfeed it without realising? Is soya actually a problem, or just another internet myth? From muscle development and rehab to allergies, topline and performance, this is a straight-talking myth-busting conversation that separates fact from long-held stable lore.

Highlights:

• Why protein is so often blamed for excitability
• What actually happens when horses are under-fed protein
• The truth about soya, fertility and inflammation
• Protein requirements for young horses and horses in rehab
• Why supplements can't replace a balanced diet

Practical, evidence-based and refreshingly clear, this one is for anyone who's ever second-guessed their feeding program.

With thanks to Red Mills for their continued support of the Feed Room series.

📲 Stay Connected This episode is brought to you by Connolly's Red Mills. For expert advice, forage analysis, and feeding support, visit redmills.com or connect with their nutrition team directly. Proud partners of the podcast, Red Mills are here to help you feed your horse with confidence.

On today's When Nicole Met show, supported by Bedmax, we are joined by someone who has become one of eventing's most recognisable personalities and a firm favourite with so many. Adam Short takes us from the heart of Newcastle, where ten riding lessons at Stepney Bank Stables changed the course of his life, right through to grooming at Olympic level. He reflects on the years learning under the incomparable Jackie Potts, the leap to Tom McEwen's team and the reality of managing horses and riders through the pressure of major championships. Adam also shares the emotion behind Dublin's journey to Paris, the power of riding schools to transform young lives and why the eventing community means so much to him.

• How Stepney Bank Stables shaped Adam's childhood and future
• Lessons from Fox-Pitt Eventing and working closely with Jackie Potts
• Moving to Tom McEwen's yard and settling into championship life
• The pride and emotion behind Dublin's performance in Paris
• Why community, opportunity and access matter

• Adam Short - Head groom to Olympic medallist Tom McEwen. Adam has groomed at the world's biggest stages and is a passionate advocate for Stepney Bank Stables.

This show is kindly supported by Bedmax, purpose-made, natural horse bedding designed to protect respiratory health, support hooves, and provide a clean, comfortable stable environment.