*Exclusive* ‘I start them at five, everything hacks and we jump more in the winter’: Tom McEwen’s training ethos for young horses

In this exclusive, subscriber-only interview, Tom McEwen shares what he looks for in a young horse, why thoroughbred “blood” isn't that important to him and how he trains his horses, including favourite exercises and the importance of hacking and turnout for every horse in his yard

Riders, no matter whether they are professional or amateur, have a preference on the type of horse they like to have in their yard and ride. British double eventing Olympic team gold medallist Tom McEwen is no different.

“When sourcing a young horse, I look out for two main things. Like with any athlete – human or horse – and no matter the equestrian discipline, soundness is the most important thing, which comes down to conformation,” explains Tom. “Within that, you can overlook some things but not others and sometimes things that put you off conformationally can then not affect a horse for years.”

Toledo De Kerser, the horse with whom Tom picked up team gold and individual silver at the Tokyo Olympics, has been somewhat of a flag bearer for Tom in recent years.

“Until his final event [where Toledo injured himself on the flat across country at Burghley in 2023], Toledo was the soundest horse I’ve ever had – the only time he missed an event was the Europeans in 2019 when he ran loose on the gallops and fell over onto some concrete. His soundness really contributed to him being such a special horse in that, year after year, he could compete,” states Tom.

Trainability is key

The second key component Tom looks for in a young potential top event horse is “trainability”.

“This encompasses their personality; can you work with them? Do they listen? There’s a million things associated with trainability but it basically comes down to whether or not you’re compatible with each other as everyone rides in slightly different ways,” explains 33-year-old Tom. “I’ve always been used to a slightly sharper type that takes a little bit more time and I really enjoy the bond that that creates and then they really trust you.”

You often hear event riders talking about the amount of thoroughbred blood a horse may or may not possess and for some, this is a deal-breaker. However this isn’t the case for Tom.

“For me, the one thing that’s changing over time is making sure you have a jumper. Blood isn’t a massive deal for me – I wouldn’t go off the percentage a horse has – if they have got the right stride, the right heart and correct approach in their mind, blood isn’t the biggest problem for me,” he says.

“Toledo De Kerser and CHF Cooliser don’t have high percentages of blood, for example, and those two have both shown that they can eat up big courses and actually find it quite easy. That has been down to me developing their stride and rhythm across country, because neither of them were naturally gifted with a long, easy galloping stride.”

Tom McEwen’s Gatcombe base

Tom credits his base at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire as being key to being able to develop his horses to become elite eventers.

“We’re really lucky being based at Gatcombe as we have lots of grass and that helps to develop a horse’s stride. We do a lot of longer, slower canter work, which means that over time, horses start to relax into it and stretch their stride out,” he explains. “We do a little bit of fast work every now and again, but we don’t do too much of it. I find that giving them more time and doing the longer, slower work teaches them to relax and breathe.”

Although they have been few and far between, Tom has taken on a couple of more experienced horses during his career, such as JL Dublin (“Dubs”), who he rode at the Paris Olympics, and more recently, Isa, who he took on at the start of 2024 and culminated this season by finishing seventh in the CCI4*-L at Blenheim.

“I was very lucky to be given Dubs later on in his career and also Isa,” says Tom. “I find taking on established horses trickier, because you have to try and work out your compatibility with them. You still want to look for the same things as you would with a young horse though, such as a good jump and the right temperament for the job.”

Tom McEwen on starting young horses

In terms of starting young horses’ careers, Tom says he has changed tactics over the years.

“When I was younger, I was very lucky to be able to go and work at The Billy Stud, which was great to learn more about starting a young horse. Back then, we started horses off at a younger age and did a lot of long reining, but now we don’t tend to start them until they are five.”

Tom explains that, as he generally has more time during the winter months to focus on training as he isn’t away competing, he utilises that time accordingly.

“We do more jumping in the winter than in the summer. All of our horses hack as I think it’s a really good way for them to relax – they go off into the woods on a long rein. Flatwork-wise, our six-year-olds are already working on shoulder-in and a bit of half-pass, but that’s as a training aid, rather than focusing on the dressage tests themselves.”

One of Tom’s go-to exercises at home features fillers in the arena.

“I like to put fillers on an S-bend – the younger horses will jump just two of those, while the older, more established horses will jump three – and I repeat that exercise for a couple of weeks before moving onto something else, such as a bounce grid.”

Cross-country schooling-wise, it once again depends on the horse and their character.

“If we have a young horse that isn’t quite so confident across country, depending on their nature, we would perhaps take them hunting, but also we’re so lucky at Gatcombe that there’s loads of little logs in the woods that we can go and pop as much as we need to.

“Oxstalls cross-country is also just down the road and I go there quite often to build confidence. The older ones I’ve started cross-country schooling more frequently than I used to and we often go to the Dumas’ facilities at Rosamund Farm to do more technical lines and build up from there. We also use the skinnies and brushes from Jump4Joy at home in the arena. It comes down to making it fun and easy for horses who learn to look for the flags.”

It’s clear from our chat that Tom is a big believer in hacking.

“Every horse’s routine is tailor made to suit their needs, but in the winter, every horse has Sunday off, and in the summer, they are all hacked before and after doing any work in the school. During February, we do a lot of long hacks, which are up to an hour and 40 minutes,” he explains.

“All of my horses hack and every horse gets out in the field every day, even throughout the winter, and I think that’s super-important.”

There is one key component, though, that Tom really drums home, and that is the importance of having a good team around his horses.

“Having a good, constant team of staff at home, who really love the horses, is also really important to me – the people that spend the most time with them are the most important people. It’s the day in, day out, knowing that everything is in a routine for the horses that really counts.”

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