Horse_amp_amp_Hound__06_February_2018

EXTRAORDINARY AMATEURS
‘It’s all planned
minute by minute’
Andrea Oakes meets the extraordinary amateur riders who flit seamlessly
between their wildly different lives, to find out how they juggle their
high-powered careers with riding and competing
like I lead two different
lives,” says Sharon Polding,
referring to her frankly aweinspiring
double identity.
“IT’S
There’s corporate Sharon,
travelling worldwide as a global client
director for Vodafone. Then there’s competitor
Sharon, who last year earned a Union flag
with a place on the British team at the amateur
European Eventing Championships in
Belgium. Only her husband Robert and
six-year-old daughter Poppy, at home in
Kent, see this real-world superhero switch
seamlessly between characters.
Like many extraordinary amateur riders,
her approach is nothing short of professional.
She manages her schedule with military
precision — starting with a crack-of-dawn
alarm call and finishing late each night
on the yard.
“I’m lucky to have a job with some
flexibility,” admits Sharon, who frequently
flies to Germany, Paris and New York. “If I’m
working from home, I might call Australia
at 6am, making more calls in the evening.
Another day I’ll spend an hour on the train to
the London office, or three hours on the road
to headquarters in Newbury.”
Work commitments mean that Sharon
competes just one horse at high level,
Findonfirecracker. She was there when “Dizzy”
was born and they’ve since climbed the
international ladder together.
“I’d had other good horses at two-star,
but Dizzy has taken me that extra step,” says
Sharon of the mare she calls “a quirky old cow”.
“We did Bramham CIC3* last year and were
one of only seven combinations to produce a
double clear at Blenheim CCI3*,” she adds.
Sharon regularly questions her hectic
lifestyle. Times are particularly tough at the
moment, since the family’s house burnt
down while they were at Olympia Horse Show
in December.
“I’m knackered most of the time,” she says.
“I don’t go out much and I had to buy an extra
week’s annual leave for a family holiday, as I’d
used all mine up competing. But horses are
how I de-stress — while I love being in London
and taking clients out, I’m happiest at the yard,
playing with the horses.”
Sharon lacked the finances to follow her
dreams of being a professional event rider,
so at 19 she started working in the City to
fund her hobby. Over nearly three decades
she has honed the art of combining a career
with competition.
“I’m a big one for core fitness, especially
now that Dizzy is at this level, and couldn’t
be without my horse walker,” she says. “I
also have a girl who hacks her out a couple of
times a week.
“Otherwise, it’s about making do with the
Picture by Alamy Stock Photo
32 Horse & Hound 8 February 2018