The Taste of Eventing Success

What’s your favourite event to have won and your favourite riding memory? 

There are so many but winning Barbury 2008 has to be up there as one of my favourites – it is the final trial for pretty much all of the Olympic nation riders.  Going around a hunter trial in pairs in 2016 on Brit with my daughter Ellie on her pony Minky was an amazing experience and memory. It was just really cool, my favourite horse and my daughter.

What has been the highlight of your career?

Probably nailing the Rolex at Kentucky 5* with Brit because winning that event gave her her third consecutive 5* win so her own grand slam – it proved she was a horse beyond normality with an incredible will to win. To win this after flying across the world and give a  performance  like that, winning on her dressage score was the highlight of her whole career.

What was it like competing in two Olympics?

I think the dream for eventers is to win Badminton first and then win a medal at the Olympics.  The Olympics is the ultimate for any athlete in all aspects whether you are a swimmer, diver, rider etc.  Our sport has to be one of the toughest and most dangerous, even the good riders get hurt. I’ve had a lot of injuries and obviously now retired from competing due to my last knee injury.

As it’s not just you competing, the horse has to be as good as the rider so both need to be fit and be on top of their game on the day. You can’t just go and buy another horse so you have to look after six legs, not two legs and as they can’t talk to us they can’t tell us when an injury is coming on.

When you get to the Olympics it’s a huge reward for both the horse and the rider.  I feel privileged to have ridden at two Olympics and on two different horses, in Beijing, we won team Silver but at London 2012 the team missed out on a medal as unfortunately two of our team riders fell.  I was proud to have completed on a clear showjumping round to finish on a major high.

What does an average day look like for you at the moment?

It’s weather dependent but every day is different.  If it’s very hot my team of staff start the day much earlier, getting the horses ridden and worked is a priority. I fit in my teaching (home and away) and office work in between and stud visits as well. There’s always a surprise as plans change eg if we get a call from the stud to take Britannia’s Mail in we need to get him there as soon as we can.   The last two weeks have been manic as we’ve had lorry issues. Everyone has to be prepared to have their daily plans changed and everyone needs to be flexible with a smile.

I spend a lot of time helping daughter Ellie, rider/groom Oceane, yard manager Hattie, working pupil Robin and other pupils based with us. We are also bringing on four homebreds and Ellie has a couple of project horses and liveries too.

What sort of opportunities do you offer on-site for amateur and professional riders?

I offer training at all levels with pupil’s own horses.  I also do competition prep training and I can also have horses when riders go on holidays.  We also take break horses although I don’t do that often but do have two coming this week.  We can do individual lessons, group lessons, people can come and stay with their horse, day/week boarders etc. I also work with some riding clubs and have a couple of riders through term time at the local private school.

What is the most common issue people come to you about with their horse/s?

I see a lot of riders who want to improve their control with their horse e.g horses who run out, rushing or not jumping straight.  Sometimes the bitt they are using needs to be changed or something as simple as their position needs adjusting.

Two riders recently came who had had runoffs at events and so I sorted to take them up on Salisbury plain to gallop. There’s nothing worse than seeing riders out of control on cross country – it really worries me.

How do you unwind and relax after a day at the yard?

I like having a glass of cold rose wine in the garden if it’s nice weather with my partner Richard and definitely either a hot bath if it’s cold, cold shower if hot and watch tv and eat Richard’s good food that he cooks.

Where do you like to eat out?

Honestly, our friend’s Simone and Adie’s house as they are phenomenal cooks (as is Richard), The best meal at a restaurant I’ve had was at Rick Stein’s in Polzeath and I had superb meals in Jersey.

When you are out at an event what sort of things do you like to eat?

We have our own chickens who lay eggs so homemade egg mayo, cos lettuce rolls made with lovely soft rolls and butter – really good.  Ellie always likes to get a crepe or a bacon and sausage bap.

Who would be your dream dinner party guests?

Richard and I love rugby and as he is Welsh I have to support Wales or I wouldn’t get fed!   I do support England first and foremost though (and Wales all the time otherwise).   I would invite Dan Biggar – the number 10 for Wales as being a sportsperson too I could relate to him.  I would feel out of place with people in film, music or arts.

I think Princess Anne would be really fascinating too – I have met her a few times and she seems an incredibly interesting person.

Method

Heat the fish stock in a pan and keep warm.

In a heavy saucepan, add the olive oil, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, without colouring the onion, until soft and translucent.

Add the rice to the pan and with a wooden spoon, mix the rice into the onions. Once you hear the rice crack, add the white wine followed by a ladleful of stock and then the saffron and begin to stir. Make sure the rice has fully absorbed the stock before you add another ladle. Continue adding stock until the rice is tender and cooked through.

Beat the butter into the rice and add the prawns, mussels and lastly – the sliced scallops, peas and herbs. Stir with care, as you want to just warm the seafood and gently cook the scallops.