JUMPING FOR JOY

Budding show.jumper Lois Logan chats to us about taking inspiration from her sporty parents, making royal connections and how her twin brother helped her find love

- MIRANDA THOMPSON HAIR

As the daughter of the new Match of the Day presenter Gabby Logan and former Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan, and with a twin brother, Reuben, who plays rugby professionally, it’s hardly surprising that budding showjumper Lois Logan is also pursuing a career in sport.

But if her mother, a former rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, had had things her way, Lois would have been lining up at Wimbledon, rather than saddling up a horse.

“My mum wanted me to be a tennis player. She was like: ‘I really, really tried, but you didn’t want to’,” she laughs. “Now I say to her: ‘I wish you'd pushed me harder to do tennis, because I could have been a really good player by now.’”

In fact, Lois’s love of horses stems from her mother. When the family moved to their home in Buckinghamshire a decade ago, Gabby issued an edict to Lois and her brother. “We had no friends, we didn’t know the area, we didn’t have anything to do at the weekend. She said: ‘You can learn to play chess, ballroom dance or ride a horse.’

“Now, my dad’s like: ‘Gabby, you created this monster.’ I think they thought I’d grow out of it, but if anything, it’s got stronger and stronger.”

Lois's natural way with horses is plain to see on this exclusive HELLO! photoshoot, where she has teamed up with her four-legged fellow model, Abbey. A Goodwood local, the grey gelding has led parades on the estate and is the spitting image of one of Lois’s own horses, Jet Stream, whom she calls “my best mate”.