This week in Country Life we are all about horses, from a family’s first pony to the heady heights of Olympic Dressage..
** Dressage supremo Carl Hester talks to Carole Mortimer about preparing to defend British honour in Rio
** In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores the history of Lympne Castle in Kent, a comfortable castle built on a diminutive scale
** Mark Griffiths was in short trousers when he compared notes on orchids with Roald Dahl. He traces the author’s gardening passions at Gipsy House in Buckinghamshire
** The request for a pony is dreaded by some parents, so Flora Watkins seeks expert advice to make it painless
** Wimbledon umpire Richard Haigh tells Jeremy Taylor about the highs and lows of being a match official—and facing an angry John McEnroe
** We find some truly beautiful equestrian properties in National Parks
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