Gemma Tattersall

The Olympian on embracing modern fitness methods, her dislike for sunrise starts and why she does her mindset preparation before she gets on the horse

- Alex Robinson

I ALWAYS try to be super consistent with my horses. Consistent with their work levels, training, feeding and general regimes. If you keep repeating the same routines, you will improve over time. From my point of view, I’m lucky to have a great team behind me as well as a second rider who helps me out when I’m away, but if you’re doing it yourself you can’t be afraid of hard graft. Make every hour count and use any extra time in the day to keep to a routine as much as you can.

I’m a stickler for my own horses’ morning schedules. They all go out on the walker for a leg stretch first thing, so that they can have their boxes mucked out properly. First thing, without fail, they all get their feet picked out and their legs checked. It’s a good way of ensuring nothing ever gets missed and if there’s a problem, we pick up on it straight away.