Liz Halliday-Sharp

The US event rider learnt her equestrian trade in Britain – and her mental strength in a racing car. She talks to Pippa Roome

- Pippa Roome

IF Liz Halliday-Sharp makes the US team for the Tokyo Olympics, it’ll be her first major championship. But it certainly won’t be the first time the 42-year-old has performed under pressure. Because Liz is not just an elite athlete in equestrianism. At the same time as she was climbing the grades in eventing through her twenties, she was also a professional racing car driver.

“It was crazy – for a lot of years I raced and rode together,” she explains. “It was pretty cool when I was young – I was on a plane or in a car or on a horse. I just bombed around the world doing crazy stuff. It was a really fun part of my life and I’ll never regret it, even though I’m sure I would have achieved better things with horses earlier in my life if I hadn’t been racing.”

Having done some media work during her years in the cockpit, Liz was a commentator and live pit reporter for Eurosport at the Le Mans 24-hour race for 10 years after she stopped driving there.

“I absolutely love live TV,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun to be in front of the camera, knowing you can’t get it wrong.

“I’ve always been someone who enjoys pressure – of course we all get nervous, but it’s definitely where I thrive, in that real adrenaline situation. Maybe it’s because I have such a busy brain, it’s the only way I can make it focus. I think every time we’re under a huge amount of pressure – when you go into the arena in the lead – it makes you more educated and better.”

Ability under pressure is just one of the attributes Liz hopes will stand her in good stead for championships. Looking to Tokyo, she already knows about performing in “extreme heat”.