Louise Saywell

The new national showjumping champion tells Sarah Radford about her “eat, sleep, repeat” routine and how she maintains her relentless focus despite the pandemic’s disruptions

- Sarah Radford

DESPITE nearly three decades in the saddle, Louise Saywell had never broken a bone until a few weeks ago. The bandage she is wearing on her left-hand marks not only her first “serious” injury – albeit a small one – but also the first enforced break from riding she’s had in a career that’s kept her busy since the age of eight.

“I didn’t even fall off!” she informs me over FaceTime. “I was on a five-year-old and it spun round and my hand went into its neck. Normally I would stay on but I had to get off because of the pain.

“When I think of some of the falls I’ve had where I’ve thought I must have done something, but nothing has happened... and then I broke my hand like that.”

ALTHOUGH Louise, 30, secured her first international successes half her lifetime ago, her approach remains unflinchingly workmanlike. It’s been seven years since she’s had a holiday, she admits, and taking a risk riding the young horses is still as much a part of her daily remit as competing the top ones.

“I’m not in a position not to,” she observes, “but then I’m usually quite happy to get on and give the difficult ones a go.”

The Nottinghamshire yard she shares with her partner of nine years, fellow showjumper Graham Lovegrove, has a mix of all ages in. Louise rides predominantly for owners and at the top shows, while Graham produces their own horses that will ultimately be for sale.

“It’s always good for the horses to have a bit of a change, and two riders’ ideas are always better than one,” she says of the set-up. “If I am going to a four- or five-star then Graham will come and help me – it’s useful to have someone on the ground.”