It’s rare to see a top-level event horse being competed in a bitless bridle, but that is the way Laura Collett’s fiery mare Bling likes it — and so a hackamore it is.
Laura explained that the mare always showjumps in this bridle, after finishing 14th at Mars Badminton Horse Trials this afternoon.
She’s just really funny in her mouth. She’s very strong, so she gets a sore mouth [from the] cross-country, and if she has a bit in showjumping, she flicks her head and comes behind [the contact],” said Laura.
A hackamore works differently to a bridle with a bit. The noseband applies pressure to the horse’s nose, chin, and poll, rather than their mouth.
“It’s something I tried once at home, and it works, so I stick with it,” added Laura.
The red mist
Bling is a 13-year-old mare who was bred by her owner, Yvonne Ferguson. She came to Laura in 2021, having been previously competed by Harry Dzenis. They finished 10th at Burghley last year.
Laura explained after their dressage test on Friday that the mare can be tricky and “when she sees red, the red mist comes”, so they were escorted to the main arena by a hunt horse.
“I’ve never been escorted up here before, but I’ve seen other people do it and I thought, yeah, let’s try that — anything to make it safe,” said Laura.
“I said to Tilly [Laura’s travelling groom], that there aren’t many horses that scare me, but she does, because when she sees red, the red mist comes, and there’s no thought process in what she’s doing, and she bolts.”
Laura confirmed that Bling, a 16.3hh mare by Kannan, will now be aimed at Burghley in September.
“It’s full steam ahead now for Burghley,” she said.
Laura is the reigning European champion and a dual Olympic team gold medallist from Tokyo and Paris with her best-known horse, London 52.
It was on this horse that she won Badminton in 2022, plus five-stars Pau in 2020 and Luhmuhlen in 2023, as well as individual Olympic bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Images by Tim Wilkinson
