Horse_amp_amp_Hound__06_February_2018

time I have — and being incredibly organised,”
adds Sharon, who has received “invaluable”
training and support from the Mark Todd
Bridging The Gap initiative. “I plan the season
in advance, as most of our competitions now
involve weekdays, and I particularly enjoy
residential camps as I can totally immerse
myself in horses.
“My current boss went to the World
Championships to do kickboxing, so he
understands the pressures of training.”
THESE early-morning activities are not
unusual. By 5.30am, Emily Green is on
a horse at a Surrey livery yard — and
she’s not alone.
“There’ll be a few of us riding at that time,
so there’s always someone to hack out with or
to cast an eye over me in the school,” she says.
“I’m lucky to have super-flexible trainers who
are willing to get up early to teach.”
Emily’s day gathers pace as she drives
through rush-hour traffic back home to Parsons
Green in west London, before commuting
by tube for a further hour. After four years
as a corporate lawyer in the city, finishing
somewhere between 10pm and midnight
every night, she soon starts a new job as a legal
counsel with HSBC in Canary Wharf — with
the prospect of slightly more sensible hours.
Why does she put herself through this
punishing regime?
“Horses are my therapy before sitting in
an office all day,” she says. “I didn’t start riding
until I was at law school then bought my first
horse shortly before taking on my first job as
a solicitor. It’s what motivates me and keeps
me sane, paying for the horses and planning
the next competition.”
Emily evented her Irish gelding Beg To
Differ up to BE90. While he steps down
to do some unaffiliated dressage, she has
just taken a share in Sarah Gledhill’s
thoroughbred mare, Queen B.
The mind boggles at how she will fit
another horse into her day.
“It’s all planned minute by minute,” she
explains. “The challenge is never the getting
out of bed, because I want to do it, but
balancing each horse’s exercise routine. It’s in
the diary that they’ll hack and school so many
times each week, otherwise it’s too easy to say,
‘I’ll just lunge today’.
“It’s all about efficiency,” she adds. “I know,
for example, that I need 12 minutes between
arriving at the yard and getting on a horse,
and I have my warm-up time programmed
on my phone. I don’t particularly love the
fact that there’s no fussing, but fitting things
in is a fine art.”
Emily’s secret weapon is a “buddy system”
(see box, p34), a network of contacts she can
text in times of need.
“Every couple of months, you panic and
realise you can’t do it all,” she says. “But
having a hobby is important, otherwise it can
become all about work.”
CORA KWIATKOWSKI, a divisional
director at Bristol-based architectural
practice Stride Treglown, rides
mornings or evenings — sometimes both.
“I plan a week ahead to make time, treating
each riding session like a meeting,” says
Cora, who has a retired showjumper, a mini
Shetland and the loan of dressage horse
Cool Customer III (Troy). “It can be tempting
not to bother after a 12-hour day but I commit
to ride, whatever the weather.”
Cora makes work calls as she drives to the
office after morning stables, using the shower
facilities there to freshen up.
“It’s important not to go in smelling of
horses,” she says, recommending a good pair
of gloves for every yard job. “My time-saving
advice is not to chat — people at the yard know
that I’m running about in the mornings.
“I’m not usually home before 9pm, when
I have something to eat and the day is over,”
adds Cora. “I’ll occasionally go out and meet
friends, or visit an art exhibition or the theatre.
It’s like a normal life, but scaled down.”
This relentless routine is a choice, she says,
and benefits both work and performance.
“You want to be at the top of your game
when you go out and compete, so I schedule
shows early and they serve as a target,” explains
Cora, who recently rode her first prix st georges
test. “My job doesn’t suffer, as I put in long
hours to get it done, and I’m more focused on