“I’m taking the Jerry Maguire approach”

EARLIER this year, dressage rider Nikki Barker decided to reassess her team.

“Lockdown highlighted to me the lack of time I usually have when I’m racing off to shows,” says Nikki. “After asking myself whether I was really getting the best out of every horse I had, I decided to sell three – downsizing to seven – so that I could spend more time on each individual.

“It was a real Jerry Maguire ‘less is more’ moment,” she adds, referring to the ‘quality over quantity’ epiphany of a hotshot sports agent in the 1990s big-screen blockbuster. “It’s very easy to get caught up in thinking more, more, more, as you’re searching for the next megastar.”

Nikki aims to make a better job with the horses she has left, building in time for woodland hacks and occasional beach rides as well as tailoring work to suit each character.

“With a difficult horse, there’s then time to bring him around to your way of thinking, or to do 20 minutes of walk with a quirky one,” she explains. “I’m always saying that my stallion, Durable, is such a dreamboat, but the sensible horses do seem to be pushed to the back.

“I’ll also be more selective about which shows I do, but it’s mainly about the ability to be consistent with the input.”