IN the white-hot furnace of supremacy that is the Olympic Games, it is easy to forget that for most of the modern Olympics’ 128-year history they were, at least in principle, confined to amateur competitors. The “three values of Olympism” are excellence, respect and friendship, as embodied in the Victorian ideal of the Corinthian: the gentleman amateur sportsman, who competes to test himself and for the love of it.
Perhaps nowhere in horse sport have these attributes been better personified than by Chris Collins, whose exploits in first racing and then eventing while a highly successful businessman in the 1960s and 1970s made headlines far beyond Horse & Hound and the Sporting Life.
Very little is missing from his résumé, which starts with third in the 1965 Grand National and includes being the first Englishman since World War I to win the Pardubice, twice champion amateur jockey, triumphs in both the Aintree and Cheltenham Foxhunters, fourth at Burghley, four top-10 placings at Badminton and five championships as part of the British eventing team. But riding at the Olympics is one box he was never able properly to tick.
“My final competition was on the British team at the 1980 substitute Olympics at Fontainebleau,” he says – an “alternative Olympics” being arranged as then prime minister Margaret Thatcher had ordered all athletes to boycott the main Games in Moscow. “Eventing immediately obeyed without any consultation with the riders, whereas the likes of Seb Coe and Steve Ovett did go.
“Fontainebleau went badly – I had a fall and got knocked out, so didn’t complete. It wasn’t a glorious ending to my riding career,” he says with a smile that still bears a hint of competitive regret 44 years later.
Chris did go to the next Games, in Los Angeles (LA) in 1984, as chairman of selectors, a role he took on after retiring from riding in 1980.
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin August 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin August 08, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Household Cavalry Sculptor-in-Residence - After years in a city job, Zoë Carmichael was destined to devote herself to the antique discipline of sculpture and immortalise her favourite subjects - horses - in bronze
I’ve hunted all my life. Growing up, I hunted with the Cotswold and VWH and I’m lucky to have been out with lots of packs, from the Teme Valley in Wales where I learnt the name of almost every hound, to days out with the Beaufort with a field of 200-plus. My greatest moments have been following my best friends over Ledbury hedges. Eventually, I focused on eventing – I did juniors and under-21s. Then I got a four-year-old, Bertie, and took him up to what would be four-star today.
Understanding What Affects Acceptance of Equestrian Sport - New large-scale research is aimed at digging deeper into what goes into forming public opinion.
New World Horse Welfare research involving more than 5,000 people has aimed to distil what drives public acceptance in horse sports.The project, supported by The Racing Foundation, moves the conversation around public acceptance forward.World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers presented the project at The Racing Foundation conference at Ascot racecourse on 2 October.
Mental Health Professional - Mike Delaney helped to introduce equine facilitated psychotherapy to the UK in 2004 and describes how this work feeds his soul besides benefiting people suffering following severe trauma
Mike Delaney helped to introduce equine facilitated psychotherapy to the UK in 2004 and describes how this work feeds his soul besides benefiting people suffering following severe trauma
Moonshine on best behaviour
The county of Cornwall fields a clutch of champions, while a veteran horse earns his 11th title
'My bone was shattered'
A working rider bouncing back from serious injury and a busy farmer are among those securing coveted Badminton tickets
Home-bred takes two
From Star Wars to Harry Styles, riders celebrate music victories, while one amateur has to move her office for the week - but the effort pays off
Genetic susceptibility
A certain number of inherited disorders are limited to specific breeds. Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS explains the what and why of such cases
'The change was refreshing to watch'
H&H's showing editor on the new judging format at HOYS 2024
Actions rather than words are needed for horse sport's future
The 2024 Racing Foundation conference considered how to help maintain public support
We must change worming habits before it is too late
New guidelines on worm control have been published to try to fight the growing threat of anthelmintic resistance