Best of my fun... Event rider
The event rider on cheese, The Beatles and having mind blanks in the dressage
Hazel Towers
My secret weapon...
A neck strap — I ride most horses in one. It’s not just the young horses, the advanced ones can leave the ground on the way back from the dressage and you need to be able to hang on.
Best tip for the warm-up...
Just stay relaxed and don’t look at anyone else. Concentrate and stay in the bubble of just you and your horse.
My first pony...
He came from a riding school and was hot, naughty and spotty — we called him Yttops (Spotty spelt backwards) and I used to ride him in the field in just a headcollar.
Worst trait...
I sometimes have complete mind blanks in the dressage, even though I know the test, and come down the centre line thinking is it track left or right?
Watching...
I’ve loved watching the Event Rider Masters online this year. On TV, it would be Game of Thrones.
Settling down with...
It has to be H&H. I’m not a big reader but if I need a book on holiday, I’ll take a Jilly Cooper.
Getting away from it all...
I like a beach and an all-inclusive holiday, preferably Thailand.
Remembering when...
The elastic on my girth broke two fences from home in my first two-star at Belton. The girth was around my horse’s stifle and I was hugging her neck, but was determined to finish — which I did, but it probably wasn’t advisable.
Funniest advice...
It came from a showjumper, who will not be named. They said: “Strides are like men. Don’t go for the first one you see.”
My biggest indulgence...
Cheese, any type. We take a huge cheeseboard away with us when we’re competing.
Listening to...
The Beatles. We have all sorts of music on in the lorry, but The Beatles has to be the favourite.
Competing at...
Bramham — it’s just the best. It’s my local event, and apparently when I was five I said I wanted to ride there, which I’ve done. The estate is beautiful and it has true Yorkshire spirit about it. The party is also the best because, as it’s local, all my friends are there.
What I’d tell my 15-year-old self...
It’s OK not to win, and you learn by your mistakes. You have to see mistakes as opportunities to improve.
Most memorable win...
Blair CCI3* this year — at my first attempt at the level.
Eating out...
I tend not to eat out a lot as I finish late, and turning up in smelly jodhpurs is a no-no. But I did enjoy Yorkshire tapas in Harrogate recently and if I were going out as a treat, I’d probably go into Leeds to Gauchos, an Argentinian place which does the best steaks. Having said that, I hate cities. I’m a country bumpkin at heart.
Most embarrassing moment...
Calling Simply Smart an Irish bog pony in the heat of the moment when being interviewed by H&H’s Pippa Roome at Blair. The breeder texted me next day to say she’d got good breeding on her dam side!
Biggest mistake I’ve learnt from...
Getting on something unrideable just to prove you can. I’ve learnt to say no to riding horses who clearly do not want you on board. H&H
‘A showjumper once advised me that strides are like men — don’t go for the first one you see’