I started riding when I was nine and I was breaking in my first ponies by 10. Then, I had a bad accident, where a horse flipped over and broke both my front teeth and my nose. Mum said, "You're not doing this again!"
I actually didn't ride again until I was 16. But I loved horses, so I was up the yard every summer holiday and weekend possible. I would work on the ground, and I think that's where I did most of my learning, as I was just watching horses, their behaviour and the way they are in the paddock.
We had different types of problem horses coming to us all the time. I remember I was on study leave, supposed to be revising, when we had a horse in who was throwing all sorts of shapes. I said, "I want to ride that tomorrow." I loved it. I was originally signed up to do carpentry at college, but the minute I got off that horse, I decided that I wasn't going anywhere.
When I worked for my dad, Gary, we would do a lot of breakers. I was the first person to sit on Sea The Stars, which was a great honour. I've been the first person aboard maybe 6,000 horses, but the difference between him and any other yearling was unbelievable. All he wanted to do was please and he has such a phenomenal brain, the like of which I will probably never witness again.
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin January 18, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin January 18, 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
Walking up a sweat
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Speedy Brown bags a win
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Ballaghmor Class looks sharp
Oliver Townend's veteran star is back in the game, while elsewhere horses heading to Pau dominate, as this East Anglian event defies the weather
A symphony of red and gold'
Waking with the jackals, sleeping under the stars and galloping to the world's edge in a \"true wilderness\", Eleanor Jones experiences the trip of a lifetime in the Namibian desert
'The world's toughest steeplechase'
The Pardubice is well known to be formidable. Xander Brett asks some of the British raiders how they rose to the challenge
What's the problem?
Lameness is often the first thought if a sport horse performs below par, but there are plenty of other possible causes. Imogen Johns FRCVS explains
Lewis Robertson-Carrier
The new national dressage champion and his newly-wed wife tell Oscar Williams about the highs, challenges and emotions of their unforgettable week
New technology aims to reduce equine inbreeding
The idea is to give owners of mares and stallions more information when choosing possible pairings
Half of owners cannot identify equine lameness
A study found many owners cannot tell when a horse is lame or sound
