MARY LOW (née Gordon- Watson) won individual gold at the 1969 European and 1970 World Championships on Cornishman V, as well as three team gold medals, including at the 1972 Olympics.
I WENT straight from a 14hh home-bred pony on to Cornishman, who was 17hh. My father fell for him at a farm sale and bought him for £500 to be his hunter. We thought he’d paid too much, as the horse was wild and only four.
It might have been good if I’d had an easier “in-between” horse to gain experience on, had I realised Cornishman was going to be my best event horse. He was very big and aggressive after running in three point-to-points, but also very sensitive, and I had a lot of learning to do to adjust to riding him.
The sport was so different to nowadays, and I just had that one horse to work on. He became my whole life. We had to learn together, making plenty of mistakes on the way.
This story is from the January 14, 2021 edition of Horse & Hound.
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This story is from the January 14, 2021 edition of Horse & Hound.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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