You grew up in France and now live in the UK, we often find riders are looking to relocate to the UK from overseas – what do you think some of the advantages the UK has for professional riders?
I'll be honest, it was never my intention to live permanently in the UK. I was very fortunate to grow up in the South of France, in one of the most beautiful parts of the country where the quality of life was something special. I actually came to the UK for university partly as my parents thought I had become far too French and I chose Nottingham because the campus looked very green. However, once I had decided to pursue eventing as a career there was no going back and that is the case for a lot of overseas riders who base themselves here. Horses are a part of the British culture; the countryside is set up for it. The sport is very professional, there are so many more actual venues running events and the numbers are far greater. The fact that the UK hosts two of the now six worldwide 5* events as well as so many iconic 4* such as Bramham, Chatsworth and Blenheim Horse Trials - all very central and accessible. As a 19-year-old, I remember thinking the opportunities in the UK were endless, the owners, the horses, the sponsors - I couldn't possibly move back to France but I would have to invest in some better winter clothing.
How would you say training and competing in France compares to competing in the UK?
Competing in France was at the time a far smaller operation - maybe 100 to 150 horses a day, probably only a third of what they run over here. It was a family affair. You had your dressage and show jumping times and then you had lunch. Not to sound stereotypical but I think the expression is the French work to live and the British live to work? You enjoyed your day, the social, your friends as well as the horses. It was more of a weekend excursion, staying away in a hotel a lot of the times with the disciplines split over two days. Coming to my first event in the UK and seeing six dressage arenas back-to-back, a scarily accurate timetable and hundreds of riders all trotting round very seriously was initially a shock. But not as much as the Tweed. It took me a while to get my head round that one, as I said I was at the time really very French. The prize money was another thing that was very different at the time in France. The events were very much supported by the government under agriculture / sport and you actually earnt a good living from doing well out competing. I believe that is something that may have changed since but is certainly a big talking point in our sport. We work very hard for very little financial reward; eventing is a career but is often treated more like an unpaid privilege.
What trainers have influenced you?
Laurent Bousquet, former team trainer of the French, the Belgian and for a long time the Japanese really taught me the fundamental basics of producing horses, being a competitor and running a yard. I've known him and his wife Blandine since the age of 12 and I based myself at their yard in Le Mans for a number of summers as well as my gap year. Both are very intellectual people, experts in their field, both passionate about the sport and meticulous about how it is done. They really set me up in so many more ways than I realised at the time. Once in the UK, Nigel and Ann Taylor who run Aston-le-Walls where I have now been based for the last 18 years have undoubtedly played a crucial role in my career. They have very much supported me with Nigel driving up and down the country for years to be there for me at all the major events, his training, experience and wisdom have been invaluable.
Tell us a bit about your current set up and how you found it?
I moved to Aston-le-Walls when I was 20. I had spent a year at Tiny Clapham's in Grantham as she was a good friend of Laurent's at the time and had been given the ride on a lovely Intermediate mare. The owner had help from Nigel and recommended the facilities; it was as simple as that, off I went with my two horses still commuting to Nottingham at the time. A year later I took the decision to attempt to do the horses full time as both being long listed for Young Riders and studying International Relations, French, Spanish and History at Uni - I was struggling to do both to the best of my ability. I am a complete perfectionist and have always been quite academic but I wanted to give it a go and thought to myself in the worst case scenario I would have no problem whatsoever picking up Uni and my year abroad to South America. Needless to say, that never happened. As for Aston-le-Walls, it is now one of the leading eventing centres in the UK - every penny that comes out goes straight back in as Nigel is constantly re investing in the infrastructure.
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