IT’S 6.30am on a dank grey morning and Laura Collett is already aboard her first horse of the day. There will be 14 more. This one, a smart bay three-year old, is one of a trio of William Haggas’s Flat horses Laura has in for schooling at Penhill Farm near Cheltenham. Already a winner, he has recently been gelded and is learning how to behave. He’s trotting smartly in circles, on a contact, looking more like a young event horse than a potential star of the Turf.
A thick drizzle has set in, but Laura is on a roll. The bay goes on the walker, and Laura hops aboard another Flat racer, a dark bay with a stripe.
“I like riding the Flat horses, they’re easy to mould as they’re so young – they haven’t had years of going the wrong way,” Laura says.
This one is less amenable. Few birds are hardy enough to brave this wintry dawn, but their sporadic chirrups set off the three-year-old. Any little noise propels him into orbit, but Laura waits for the antics to stop and resumes trot. Once he’s settled, she swaps onto an elegant filly here for rehabbing and heads out for a hack round the hills on the Salperton Park estate, where the yard is based. Next up is Creggan Quality, a novice eventer who needs a jump before a prospective buyer comes to look at him the next day.
This is the reality of life as a five-star event rider. Laura, 33, may look to have the world at her feet with an Olympic gold medal and Badminton trophy in her cabinet, but it’s the daily grind that got her to this point, and she’s not stopping now.
“People ask how my life has changed since winning Badminton, and I find it hard to answer because it hasn’t changed at all,” she says. “I’m still here riding horses all day, just as I was before.”
Denne historien er fra March 30, 2023-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
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Denne historien er fra March 30, 2023-utgaven av Horse & Hound.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
'Sorry, but I wasn't feeling it'
Fresh from the opening meet, Tessa Waugh hasn't quite yet been bitten by the hunting bug. Without the crisp autumnal air and cheek-pinching cold she hoped for, it's a sluggish start
New pair pull off a win
A former European Championships pony is on form with his new rider, while elsewhere former showjumpers and eventers take ribbons
Lording it over the rest
Horses who have returned from injury, a second generation homebred and a long format specialist score on the final weekend of the British season
Smith hits flying form
A \"her way or no way\" mare helps Zoe Smith to an impressive ribbon haul and a rider beats his own boss to the top spot
Jankorado hits the jackpot
Paul Sims is triumphant despite his interrupted jump-off preparation and a borrowed horse comes up trumps
Peanut
From \"dangerous, scary\" to hedge-hopping brilliance, hunting has been the making of this unstable but very lovable equine character
She's a corker
Communication, says long-standing and highly respected Belvoir master Lady Sarah McCorquodale, is the key to all, as Catherine Austen discovers
Access all areas Cavalier Centre
The Cavalier Centre is a fully accessible, state-of-the-art equestrian centre designed to improve lives through horse-based activities. Ellie May Forrester pays a visit
'Use it or lose it'
Not everyone wants to reach for the pipe and slippers at a certain age. Becky Murray speaks to some veteran horse-and-rider combos for their secrets of human and equine longevity
A new way forward
Worm control in horses is vital, but established methods will not remain effective for much longer. Tim Mair FRCVS explains why and how we need to change
