Horsey Talk

If you’re thinking about who is going to run our 2012 dressage team then maybe you should think about our, home ground talent and the best prospects for 2016.
 
Put local talent Andrew Gould in charge. Give him the budget and let him and the other leading riders get on with it.

Despite dressage’s popularity, with more dressage riders and more dressage competitions taking place in the country than any other, our lack lustre performances at an International level are nothing to shout about, so maybe something radical needs to happen.

Andrew Gould, who first hit our newspaper headlines as a young rider team medallist, followed this early success with multiple national titles as his horses progressed. Today he is possibly better known as Katie Price’s dressage trainer. Although this notoriety may be seen in a different light by some, Andrew himself is quite vocal about the sport he loves so much and how he feels about Great Britain’s International lack of success…

“We just don’t have the horse power,” he says.  “There’s no problem with the quality of our riders. We have some of the best dressage riders in the world. When we compete against riders from other countries British riders do very well. They are generally all-round, better riders. It’s the horses that let us down. We must start breeding and developing better horses or we’re not going to get anywhere.”

“I sometimes feel we’re not strict enough. We should be. We must have the power to say, `No. That is wrong. You must not breed from that horse.’ We don’t. We let people breed from whatever they like. In Germany, for example, they’re very strict. Even the Government steps in and buys up all the best stallions to ensure they stay in the country so that German riders have the best possible horses at their disposal. The German breeding programme is at least ten to fifteen years ahead of our’s.”

But it’s not just our lack of breeding policy that lets us down.

“Facilities, We don’t have the facilities,” says Andrew.” Planning rules and regulations always seem to get in the way. In Germany every yard has an indoor school. In this country it’s considered a luxury. Just imagine what we could do if every yard here had an indoor school.”

"Culture. In Germany, dressage is just massive. It’s one of their national sports.  They have at least ten Internationals a year. We have two. That’s why they’re good at it. They concentrate on it. We don’t seem to concentrate on anything.”

The under – lying problem is, of course, money. Germany has the funding. We don’t. As Andrew has experienced himself, like many talented, young riders.

As a child he was a member of the Bisley branch of the Pony Club and then Chobham Riding Club. At 13, he started riding the famous Koffee Break. At 15, he left school. For a time he wondered whether he should be a footballer, an athlete – He was a champion at hurdles – or a rider. He chose horses although he admits that maybe he should have chosen to be a footballer.

He went to work for international trainer, David Hunt, who still coaches him. It was while working with him, Andrew had what he calls his lucky break. Koffee Break took him not only to rider team level but also gave him his grand prix debut.

He had the same success with Sara Green’s Rebel-G, who he also trained to grand prix.

And the same, again, with Numero Uno,  which, Andrew jokes was a wedding present from Craig Rawlins of Stal Korenbloem, whose brother, Dane, is  the Hickstead mastermind.

Today, Andrew has two horses, Sara Green’s eight-year-old KorenBloem Quercus G and Sara Geen and Ian Gould’s seven-year-old Jazz stallion Korenbloem Varisto.

When not riding and training them he spends his time travelling literally the length and breadth of the country giving individual lessons as well as group classes and clinics to the most amateur as well as to the most professional riders. One day he may be in Norfolk giving lessons to an old lady of 70-years-old, who just wants to walk her horse up and down. The next day he can be teaching novice pony Clubbers. And the next, working  with eventing’s  junior and young rider European champions,  Emily Llewellyn and Sienna Myson-Davies.

But, unlike for many German riders, money has always been a problem. He has sponsors, who are very generous and supportive, but the large sums of financial investment that are needed are just not out there!

“Look at the costs of getting to the Olympics, “ he says.  “You need two or three horses. That’s £300,000. Then there’s the costs of keeping them, livery, vets, transport, all the usual. That’s going to come to about £50,000 a year.

“To start preparing a horse for Grand Prix is four or five years work. International Grand Prix is another two or three years. To take a horse to the Olympics is about ten years work. It all has to be paid for.

“Either you come from a family where the money, the facilities are provided or you don’t.

He had the same success with Sara Green’s Rebel-G, who he also trained to grand prix.

Otherwise everything has to be done on a shoe string. The trouble with dressage unlike other equestrian sports is that the money is not available.”

 Not that money is the deciding factor.

Andrew admits he wouldn’t change a thing. He’s glad he didn’t become a professional footballer although he confesses he is obsessed with football and even plays in Billingshurst every Tuesday evening with a group of equally football mad ex-jockeys and show jumpers.

Andrew with his Son >>

Three final questions .
Who’s going to be selected for the British dressage team?
“Laura Bechtolsheimer. Emma Hindle, Carl Hester.”

Who’s going to win?
“Germany. Holland. The United States.”

Would he like to be given a multi-million pound budget and told to guarantee we win the gold medal in 2016?
“Of course,” he laughs. “Why not? It’s possible. Except time is already getting short.”

<< Andrew ready to ride at Priory Dressage in East Sussex

Click here for photos of Andrew's
dressage to music display/clinic at Golden Cross