AREA FOCUS
The people of the Borders have always been renowned for their love of horses and the region’s very own equestrian hero Ian Stark is certainly no exception, finds Morag Bootland
We chat to the Borders own horse hero, Ian Stark; find a haven of rural history in the Lammermuirs and enjoy walks for all abilities in glorious Borders countryside
Afive-time Olympian with four medals to show for it, and a former European Champion and three-time winner of Badminton Horse Trials, Ian Stark is a Scottish equestrian hero. But then he’s a Borders lad, born and bred, so perhaps his equine expertise is part of his birthright. Yet as a boy Stark lived in the centre of Galashiels and his family owned no horses, so to rise to these dizzy heights is no mean feat. Stark began his journey to the top in 1964 when he was ten years old at his local riding school, Ladhope Stables in Galashiels, when he tagged along with his big sister and her chums on a hack. ‘She was terrified but I loved it and since then I’ve just wanted to ride horses all the time,’ he says. ‘I started going to the stables whenever I could. I spent every minute that I wasn’t at school there. When I finished school I worked for the British Horse Society for ten years. During that time I produced some good horses and sold a few of them on. Eventually, towards the end of my time working there, I was lucky enough to be given two nice young horses who turned out to be Sir Wattie and Oxford Blue.’
Stark then began to work solely with his horses together with his wife Jenny, who he married in 1979. The couple had two children, Stephanie in 1980 and Tim in 1981. Ian was 30 years-old when
he fulfilled his greatest ambition, to compete at Badminton. He rode Sir Wattie and Oxford Blue, both horses were just eight years old at the time. They finished sixth and third respectively, which really brought him to the attention of the eventing world and led to him being selected to represent Great Britain at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The team won a silver medal which kick-started Stark’s eventing career, seeing him hold a longstanding place in the British event team.
‘It was a bit of a shock to the system,’ he admits. ‘One minute I was watching my heroes, people like Richard Meade and Lucinda Green, on TV, and the next I was competing against them. And sometimes beating them.’
Stark never let his nerves get the better of him, despite sometimes feeling starstruck. ‘I always felt nervous before competing, but once you’re on the horse you have to be completely focussed and concentrate on the job. I’ve always found that the more pressure there is, the better I perform. Competing against your idols just makes you want to do better.’
In a career littered with Olympic, World and European Championship medals Stark’s highlight is still riding at Badminton. In 1988 he became the only person ever to take first and second place at the trials in the same year. A record that
“One minute I was watching my heroes on TV, the next I was competing against them
still stands to this day and of which he is still rightly proud.
Throughout his illustrious eventing career Stark never left the Borders and it’s still his home today. Along with Jenny he runs the Ian Stark Equestrian Centre at Greenhill Farm, near Selkirk, with the centre offering lessons, hacking and trekking. ‘Jenny runs the riding school and we do lots of competitions here as well,’ he says. ‘When I’m at home I do as much teaching as I can. I mainly teach private lessons to people on their own horses, but a few ride ours.’
The Borders has a long history of horsemanship. From the days of the Border Reivers, renowned as the best horsemen in Europe, to modern day Common Ridings, horses have been part of the region’s heritage for centuries. Then there’s the rich agricultural past that saw heavy horses working the farmland, not to mention the hunting and horse racing.
‘I think at one point it was said that there were more horses in the Borders than anywhere else in the UK,’ says Stark. Combine that with the easily accessed, beautiful open countryside and it’s perhaps little wonder that he’s never been tempted to upsticks and move.
‘Hacking is not my favourite pastime, I’d rather be schooling horses or competing, but it’s hard to resist it in the Borders because it’s really beautiful,’ he says. ‘As much as anything I like hacking on our own farm. It’s right at the top of a hill so you get incredible 360 degree views, there’s nowhere nicer really.
‘I took my grandsons, Freddie and Alfie, to the common ridings for the first time this year. If I’m around during the summer and I’ve got a young horse then I’ll sometimes ride them too, it’s good for the horses to be out in public and it’s great fun too. I’m on the road a lot so it’s nice to catch up with people that I don’t get to see regularly.’
Stark’s latest equestrian incarnation as a course builder sees him travelling the world these days. ‘I design cross country courses at the top level, all over America and here in the UK and Ireland,’ he says. ‘I’m about to start in France too.’
Building courses to challenge other riders allows Stark to experience the thrill and adrenaline of cross country without getting in the saddle, but he admits to watching riders on his courses playing havoc with his nerves. ‘I used to just be nervous on the lead up to a competition, but now I get nervous and
“It’s hard to resist going out hacking in the Borders because it’s really beautiful
it stays with me until the last horse is finished. It’s stressful, but I love it. I love laying down a challenge, but as long as a horse understands my course then I really enjoy it. You are never allowed to ride a course that you have designed at international level. First I tend to walk the grounds, my sketches are renowned for being very bad, so I talk to the builders and we come up with the course together.
Just like there has ‘aye bin’ horses in the Borders, it seems assured that Ian Stark will also be a permanent fixture.