Joe Clayton

The showjumper talks to Stephanie Bateman about moving back home to Yorkshire, being part of the Whitaker dynasty and what the future has in store

- Stephanie Bateman

IT’S got to be one of the hardest decisions to leave the comfort of a successful job and go it alone, especially when your boss (and first cousin once removed) is Michael Whitaker and you’ve had five-star facilities for the past 10 years.

But for 27-year-old Joe Clayton, it “just felt like the right time” and this autumn, he and his girlfriend, fellow rider Georgina Stirling, packed up their belongings — and a few nice horses — and headed back up north to his childhood home in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

“A couple of people had started asking me to ride their horses, plus Michael’s son Jack had just left school to join the yard,” says Joe in his soft Yorkshire accent. “I’d learnt a hell of a lot and it was the perfect time to take what I’d learnt and set up on my own.”

Although the facilities at his mother June’s livery yard are “fairly basic” compared with Michael’s stunning Nottinghamshire yard, Joe is happy to be home.

“It’s a lot different to Michael’s, which had every luxury, but it’s everything I need,” says Joe, who playfully admits there are still posters of Milton on his bedroom walls at home. “And it’s actually great to be back home and enjoying Mum’s cooking again.”

We’re sitting in the café at Keysoe Equestrian Centre on a bitterly cold November evening. Joe has just trotted up his horses due to compete over the weekend in the two-star show. There’s no groom just yet, so it’s just him and Georgina taking care of the four horses he has there to compete, while his mum helps out at home.