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‘If you got her on side, she’d really fight for you’: Joe Stockdale picks the horse he wishes he could have ridden

Becky Murray Becky Murray

    • Suppose your Christmas stocking contained a ride on the horse of your dreams… We find out which superstars of yesteryear this top rider would love to sit on

    Joe Stockdale has quickly become a big name after making his senior championship team debut at the 2021 Europeans. Most recently, he was part of the bronze medal-winning squad at the World Championships in Herning in 2022, and while cricket was at the forefront while growing up, there was one mare of his father’s, the late Tim Stockdale, that caught his attention.

    “The horse I would really like to have ridden is Fresh Direct Corlato, the mare my dad took to the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” says Joe.

    “I remember she was an opinionated mare. If she didn’t want to go in the wash box one day, then there was no chance of getting her in there – she was one of those types. But if you got her on side, then she’d really fight for you.”

    Tim Stockdale and Fresh Direct Corlato in Hong Kong in 2008

    Tim and the eye-catching grey finished best of the Brits in Beijing when they were 16th individually. The year before, they won the 2007 Royal Windsor grand prix, and in 2009 were part of the British team at the European Championships, held on home soil at Windsor.

    “At the time, I was too young to ride her – I was eight when my dad was at the Olympics, but it would be nice to have the chance to ride her now. I think I’ve got a mare capable of going to the Olympics, Equine America Cacharel, and it would be really interesting to be able to compare them,” says Joe Stockdale.

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    Becky Murray
    Becky Murray

    H&H senior news writer
    Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
    Becky Murray

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