‘I’m 52… I’ve probably made a bad life choice coming here!’ – meet Burghley’s oldest first-timer
Anthony Clark talks about why he’s a latecomer to five-star level and how he came to ride his Burghley horse
Anthony Clark has spent his career buying, producing and selling horses which have gone on to be successful at the top level – but never ridden at five-star himself until this week, when the 52-year-old makes his debut at Defender Burghley Horse Trials.
“I’ve done loads of four-stars and it was never that I didn’t want to do a five-star. I just needed to sell horses on to pay my mortgage, pay bills because it costs money to keep afloat, doesn’t it? Life gets in the way,” said Anthony after his dressage test at Burghley today.
“It’s amazing to be here. The people down the stable yard can’t be nicer, more helpful. It really does make me almost well up because I just feel so privileged to be here.”
Anthony has sold 11 horses which have gone to compete at the top level with other riders, including Jollybo, who went to two World Championships with Canada’s Hawley Awad, Bolytair B, a five-star horse for US-based Australian Dominic Schramm, and Figaro Van Het Broekxhof, who won the Grantham Cup at Belton with Tom McEwen.
Anthony said he feels proud when he sees horses he sourced and produced being successful with other riders.
“I like buying horses. I’ve got 14 horses at home and my partner recently was like, ‘You know, this has to stop some time…’,” he laughed.
Anthony, 52, recently represented Britain for the second time in the veteran European Showjumping Championships – for over 45s – and won his second team bronze.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Anthony Clark’s Burghley horse
Anthony Clark’s Burghley ride is the 15-year-old grey Ballinaguilkey Fortunus.
Anthony explained: “A great friend of mine had him as her horse – she bought it from Vere Phillipps – and then she had a life change and had to sell him. He came to me to be sold and he was jumping like 80cm, but I really liked him. I liked his cheeky nature and I got a group of friends to buy him alongside me.
“We produced him up to three-star and he was worth quite a lot of money. Another lady was going to buy him and own him outright, but she got put off because he got a slight arthritic change in his knee, and she was like, ‘Oh, I can’t have a horse that’s not perfect.’ The vet frightened her to death and said he could go lame tomorrow.
“So in the end, I said I’ll just take him on and run him as mine, so I’ve run him now for the past two years. I always said he’d be a five-star horse in my mind and he’s been very good at four-star. And I’m very old, so I thought now’s my chance to try a five-star.”
Burghley wasn’t the original plan
Although their results are not particularly eye-catching, Anthony and the grey have a solid record, with three jumping clears at CCI4*-L. The rider never intended for Burghley – perhaps the toughest five-star in terms of cross-country challenge – to be his first five-star.
He explained: “I entered him for Pau Horse Trials last year and he got a boot rub about two weeks before travelling that needed antibiotics. Then I entered Badminton Horse Trials and he got cellulitis about three weeks beforehand.
“I think the terrain makes Burghley really hard. I have some guidance from Caroline Powell and Louise Bell and they know my horse. He’s a really good jumper.
“If it doesn’t pan out, I'll just pull up, go home and rethink things. But I’m going to try. I only live in Cambridge, so at least I haven’t travelled a million miles to get here. And it’s not like going to Pau in the wet and the mud. This is actually nice ground.
“I’ve probably made the bad life choice, but I think it’s a good life choice for me.”
- To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout Defender Burghley Horse Trials, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and enjoy our Burghley live news service throughout the event
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.