Single focus

A full-time job is usually incompatible with campaigning a string of competition horses. Becky Murray tracks down some elite amateurs to discover if it’s possible to reach the top with just one ride

- Becky Murray

“TWO hearts” was the iconic campaign in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to illustrate the interdependence of horse and rider. The bond between the two athletes is as important as each individual’s innate talent, but if there’s only one horse in your life, is it enough to get to the top?

Completing Badminton, representing your country down the centre line, or jumping an international track can be tough, even for the seasoned professional with a string of horses. For an amateur, striving for success with one horse can undoubtedly bring more challenges as they balance a career with nurturing a partnership, securing qualification, and not to mention keeping their horse (and themselves) in peak physical condition.

Equine vet Katie Preston bought her event horse Templar Justice, known as TJ, as a four-year-old while she was still at university. Together they made their five-star debut (formerly four-star) at Luhmühlen, Germany, in 2018 – before completing their first Burghley Horse Trials the same year.

Katie has to balance attending out-of-hours emergencies with training while keeping herself and TJ at the top of their game.

“Time is definitely at a premium,” says Katie. “It’s about finding that horse you want to ride, then it’s not a chore.

“You’ve got to want to ride late at night – or be happy to have a 6.30 am dressage lesson.”

ASIDE from getting that one horse up to five-star level, the pressure then comes to preserve them.