Following on from Nativeponies' thread

Slightly Foxed

Slightly Foxed

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Just out of curiosity, how many people no longer buy/have cancelled their subscriptions to H&H mag. I cancelled my subscription when I realised I hadn't even bothered to open the previous week's copy.

It seems to me that the mag is sycophantic in the extreme to a few top riders and news coverage is minimal. There are important issues in the horse world that are crying out to be covered but H&H is too busy aping Heat magazine!
 
Slightly Foxed said:
Just out of curiosity, how many people no longer buy/have cancelled their subscriptions to H&H mag. I cancelled my subscription when I realised I hadn't even bothered to open the previous week's copy.

It seems to me that the mag is sycophantic in the extreme to a few top riders and news coverage is minimal. There are important issues in the horse world that are crying out to be covered but H&H is too busy aping Heat magazine!
Click to expand...

My duaghters (11 and 13) buy it sometimes. Which is telling, I suspect.
 
I don't have it anymore. H&H used to be the place to go for top info and all the coverage for top shows and events all over the country. Now its write ups cover just a selected few for each sport and really lack any depth. They don't seem interested in pushing relevent stories from the equestrian world and keeping us up to date with issues that affect us all. Where is the good quality journalism? With their adverts they are happy to take money from whatever shyster offers it, taking in their readers doesn't seem of any concern to them. Not to mention the rather large cost, for (when ads are taken out) a v v thin mag of little value. Not what it was I'm afraid.
 
I never buy it now. However I will admit to buying it a few weeks ago as there was a picture of my lad in there twice!
 
Yes, amazing really, the old style magazine didn't have any competition, it was unique in its coverage. Now, as someone else has said elsethread, it's become like Horse or Your Horse, therefore competing with these publications for readers.

I think it finished me when H&H carried an article on Katie Price!
 
My subs are in serious doubt. What used to inform and entertain and took most of the weekend to read through now takes half an hour and leaves me flat. Plus it keeps arriving late and I cant blame the snow as our postie trudged through the bad weather every single day to make his deliveries.
 
I've been reading it since the late 50s when it was a treasure trove of information, articles and hunting reports. There would be the full results from the sales sometimes going into half a dozen pages, not just the top lots, where more than a couple of times I was able to trace relatives of my horses (believe it or not before internet was dreamed of!) There would be race reports from all meetings and so on and the hunting reports were amazing; if you felt that way inclined, you'd be able to follow on a map where each hunt drew and ran, they were excellent. It really was THE bible for anything to do with horses, hounds and anything else connected. Sadly, since long before Michael Clayton gave up as editor, the writing was on the wall as to how tacky it was going, both with the content, presentation and correctness. If there had been a typo there would have been hell to pay and I actually remember at least once, that they apologised in the next issue for it; imagine that happening now, there are usually half a dozen in each issue now, that's not even including the adverts!
Stopped having it except for rare times about four years ago and can't say I miss it at all; I do miss the original paper, that was worth having and keeping, nowadays I wouldn't even use it to light my fire.
 
Subscription cancelled 6 weeks ago after approx 10 years faithful service - don't like new layout and same 'reworded' articles repeated

Edited to add - haven't missed it in the slightest!
 
when friends and relatives came to visit me they would automatically bring me a few tins of Heinz Baked Beans and a couple of copies of the HH . I now ask them to bring the beans only. My parents were here in November-the HandH they brought is still lying there, unread and unopened. Down in my cellar are loads of copies from way back in the 80s so whenever I feel horseyhomesick, I read a few and feel so much better! I can remember the HandH when I was a child back in the 60s and it was every horseowners weekly 'must'. How sad that everything is cheapened in the name of modernisation and profit. If its not broken, why fix it?
 
Have to agree with you all. Have read it for years and have noticed how it has changed if I want articles on training etc. then I look in other mags. I only get it because OH insists on getting it for me every week! I have a copy of the Jubilee edition which is taken out quite often and looked at. I used to like the old Riding Mag as well, was sad when that folded.
 
I still get it on subscription, but as someone else said, half the time I haven't read one weeks issue when the next arrives. I think I will cancel in the New Year, can always flick through in Smiths and buy the odd copy if its worth having.;)
 
Cancelled subscription for all of the reasons above. I've bought the odd couple of issues here and there if something on the cover has caught my eye. 9/10 times I have regretted it as there has been such limited content and the articles don't seem to say very much at all.
 
Haven't bought it for years. A friend, who had it on subscription, used to pass hers on to me (and then I passed them on to someone else) but she cancelled her sub a couple of years ago for pretty much the reasons already given by others. It's far too much money for pages and pages of advertisements
 
Same as all the above stopped buying it about 8 years ago, it was my weekly bible then gradually it took less and less time to read, more ads and nothing that i found informative.
There used to be good reports from al the county shows where you got to read about all the up and coming riders now it seems if there is not a whittaker at the show it dont get covered.
Now all ads and no information, they must be losing so many readers and yet they wont sit up and listen to what people want
 
That's kind of why I started this thread, to give readers the opportunity to say what they want. I wonder what H&H's circulation is now compared with, say, 10 years ago?
 
Dear readers and forum users

As editor of Horse & Hound I hope you will allow me to address some of your points.

We pride ourselves on gathering, exploring and breaking important equestrian news that affects all of us. This is why, across our magazine and website, we have a bigger readership than ever.

Our news desk used to have just one news editor – now we have a three-man news team that is completely flat out researching and breaking news stories for a news section that holds more stories per week than at any time in the past.

This year we have also begun carrying out in-depth News Investigations, the most recent of which involved sending our deputy news editor to Ireland for a week to explore the true scale of equine overproduction there and the associated welfare implications.

Last Friday we hosted top vets, epidemiologists and senior representatives from places like the Animal Health Trust, Horse Trust, World Horse Welfare and DEFRA for a round table lunch and discussion (which will be written up as an article in the New Year) to discuss the greatest dangers in terms of the spread of equine diseases in Britain and how we as horse owners need to respond to these threats.

If this is not exploring “important issues in the horse world that are crying out to be covered”, what is?

We are very conscious that people feel we focus too much on top names – they are quite hard to avoid as they are the ones who win everything! So we charge reporters with celebrating achievements lower down the ladder, including prelim level in dressage – and have introduced this year the ‘Starting Box’ page in eventing to celebrate the successes of hard working amateurs who are doing great things at the lower levels.

Our weekly racing reports from former Grand National winning jockey Marcus Armytage are usually singled out for particular praise – his interpretation of results and races, riding and training performances are both extraordinarily insightful and fabulously entertaining.

This year we have expanded our hunting report plans to include both regular hunt visits (which by necessity, since the ban, involve a little more hunting history and a little less hunting detail) to include occasional series in which two regulars from very different packs swap countries for a day; we charge a correspondent with keeping up with some of the great fieldmasters of the modern field (‘On the tail of’) and much more besides.

If anyone would like to discuss concerns with me in more detail, please feel free to phone me on 0203 14 84562. I will be more than happy to do so.

Yours sincerely

Lucy Higginson
 
Thankyou for replying. I think the general concensus is...we would like our old 'Horse and Hound' back, please. It worked, this one doesn't.
 
Thank you, Lucy, for replying and for the invitation to discuss our concerns further. I would be interested to know what the circulation of H&H is now compared with, say, 10 years ago. Are you, like The Archers, trying to attract a younger audience/readership?

Thanks again.
 
Haha SA, I know to whom you are referring but, alas, no, merely a poor imposter.

Result eh, a communication from Ed.

I now can't find NP's original post. Did that get a response?
 
I used to buy it as a child when it was 2/6d, every friday on my way to school . I do buy it now as we have horses out doing dressage so I like to read it when they are mentioned and pictured, but I also like to see whats out there winning, I also like to see whats winning in the natives and riding ponies, no interest in showjumping or racing - but other people have, I also like the hounds. I was offered a subscription for xmas, but said no, we just pick it up at the local supermarket , even if Katie Price is in it - I have no problems with her whatsoever , or anyone else for that matter - We do however need more coverage for Scotland!!!!!!!!!!! if you pay me enough I'll cover some shows !!!!!
 
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