Latest from Horse & Hound in Clare-balding

Celebrity Traitor Clare Balding on heeding Jilly Cooper’s advice – and the quirky racehorse she’ll never forget

Sarah Jenkins — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:25:07 +0000

Long before Celebrity Traitors was even a twinkle in Claudia Winkleman’s eye, Clare Balding was a hero of the horse world. A former leading amateur Flat jockey and for many years the soul of British TV racing coverage, in recent decades she’s transcended the horse world to become a household name.

During that journey – via multi-discipline Olympic broadcasting, Who Do You Think You Are and, as of this week (8 October), Celebrity Traitors – she’s continued to represent an honest, likeable picture of the horse world. As a broadcaster and author she’s quietly banged the drum for horses and racing – among other passions and causes close to her heart.

When The Times journalist Caitlin Moran read Clare’s autobiography, My Animals and Other Family, she exclaimed: “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want a horse.” What an ambassador for horse sport.

And so it is in her newest role, that of adult fiction writer. Yes, she’s already engaged children with her series that includes The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop, now she’s talking to the grown-ups.

When I say “adult fiction”, and you hear it was the late Dame Jilly Cooper who encouraged Clare to write this book, you might be expecting a risqué read. Fear not, as Clare confirms: “No, I’ve not gone full Jilly.” But she has followed Jilly’s suggestion to write about dogs and horses and human emotion.

In fact, we have Celebrity Traitors to thank for part of the book coming to fruition.

“Earlier this year I was in Scotland to film Traitors, and we were not allowed the internet, but I could load the book up and then rewrite and edit,” she explains. “It was a really concentrated time. I couldn’t turn on the telly, so I could focus on severely rewriting the book.”

The plot revolves around a woman, Alex, who inherits a farm in Monmouthshire and ends up running a racehorse syndicate in an attempt to save a neighbouring trainer. Clare is passionate about syndicates, explaining: “It’s the only way that racing in this country will survive.

“Racing isn’t just a plaything for the uber rich who can own 20 horses. I wanted to promote horses in this way – and the idea of supporting smaller trainers. With shared horse ownership you share the highs and lows, it’s wonderful.

“Formula One is hugely successful, but you can’t access that as an owner without a huge amount of money. And you can’t suddenly go and buy a football club, unless you’re Ryan Reynolds.”

Clare also wanted to highlight the idea of racehorses as individual characters.

“I wanted to show the care and attention trainers can give difficult horses – they say ‘write about what you know’, and I know a lot about that,” says Clare, having witnessed both her father Ian and brother Andrew’s hard-earned successes come to be.

“Good trainers know horses can be coaxed with understanding. If something doesn’t work they’ll try something else. It’s a beautiful thing to work towards. For so many people their relationship with their horse matters more than anything else. It really affects you when you get your approach right. Plenty of people will be able to tell you about that horse – it changes you and you feel it.”

For Clare that horse was Knock Knock – a racehorse who came to her father’s having won one race some time ago.

“He was brilliant on the gallops, but on the racecourse he didn’t want to know. He loved people but hated other horses. I took him in an amateur race and gave him space – he won at 25/1. I rode him 14 times and was often in the top two. That was a real joy.

“Then he started running in good races with a good jockey, who would ask me what to do. I said, ‘Don’t pick your stick up, just leave him to it.’”

Clare Balding: “We all love to be the heroine of our own ponies”

Thinking back further her favourite pony was Frank.

“I loved him because nobody else could ride him – we all love to be the heroine of our own ponies,” she laughs.

Clare Balding and her brother Andrew had a childhood steeped in ponies (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Clare chooses a jockey called Lucy for her novel, who has a similar approach of coaxing not strong-arming her ride, and acknowledges what great women like Rachael Blackmore, Lucy Alexander and Bryony Frost have done in recent years.

“My niece Flora is a lovely rider and I see her getting the benefit I got from riding when I was young – I couldn’t wait to get home from school and go for hours and jump everything. It shapes you a lot as a young woman. In a sport where women are as good as men, and I saw Lucinda Green winning Badminton over and over, the best in the world were women and I thought that’s a world in which you can achieve.

“Lucy in the book does more homework than anyone else. I think that’s true of women in a lot of industries. It shouldn’t be gender dependent. In my world, broadcasting, you over-prepare.”

Clare Balding on effective storytelling in horse sport

In this era of questioning the ethics of everything we do in the horse world, we could do with more Clares bringing the truth to a wider audience. When I watched her Grand National preview features back in the day I would sit with a lump in my throat willing on the outsider and supporters who invariably had an emotional story to share that made them heroes of the piece.

Clare was passionate about those stories, finding them and sharing them in an accessible way. It’s a long time since she’s had that role though, and as for today she believes that “racing hasn’t got its storytelling quite effective”.

“There’s not enough about the connection between people and horses,” she says. “I still care – I’m a member of The Jockey Club and my brother has the biggest yard in the country – and so I write about it and that’s how you can influence people.”

Clare would like to see racing being more proactive, rather than reactive, using social media and the big screen at courses.

“When did you last go to a racecourse and see foals playing in a field [on the big screen]?” she asks. “Eventing does that much better. Riders are articulate – they run their own businesses and understand what it is to promote yourself in a positive light. Racing has some people that can, and some that assume that the British Horseracing Authority or The Jockey Club will do that for them, but they’re always firefighting.

Clare interviewing the British eventing team at the European Championships 2019. (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“The most effective way of telling your story is to show it. I worry for equestrian sport in general because PETA has targeted racing but if it switches its gaze there’s quite a lot to be frightened of. We’re not wanting to react to that – anticipate and tell the story with positivity.”

She would rather see bodies working together on welfare issues, challenging literature sent out by groups like PETA, who write to people who want to invest in equestrian sport.

“It should be a team effort, putting out positive literature. Put a different spin on what working with horses can do for people too. Perhaps include a report on a teenager now working with horses and less inclined to get involved in crime.

“My brother employs over 100 people. Young people come in not having structure in their lives – suddenly they have to get up early, be fit, do the physical tasks, and structure is a good thing in people’s lives. They are told what to do and when, in a community all doing the same, and treated on an equal basis. There are loads of positive examples within racing.”

Country life and London living

Clare bridges the divide between country life and living in London with ease – but understands the divide between rural and urban living. She enjoys drawing these themes out in observational writing.

“In rural areas friendship is forged through necessity,” she says. “You turn up with food. If the sheep escape you all help get them. The community in the pub in Monmouthshire [in the book and in real life] has folk who want to make your life better.” She admits her neighbour came round in an instant when her London home flooded, but adds: “In the country that happens more readily.”

The lead character in Clare’s novel is someone who hasn’t come from an equestrian background, but naturally attracts animals.

“I see people in life who are connected to animals and it happens that horses are calm around them and dogs come to them,” says Clare.

“I don’t know whether that’s inherited, or something about their smell. Animals are very sensitive to someone who is afraid – they know straight away. I’ve written before about horses and dogs reflecting the best and worst of us, kindness and understanding versus nastiness and impatience – they will bite someone they don’t want to be around.”

“Write about what you know”: dogs and horses are a lifelong theme. Clare Balding pictured with boxers Doris and Georgia. (Image credit: The Field/Millie Pilkington)

The notion of equine therapy is introduced in the book and Clare has so much left to say on it.

“We know that horses are so big and strong and could stamp all over us if they wanted to. There’s something very moving about that.”

She was influenced by visiting a centre in north London where kids who had been excluded from school, mainly teenage boys, were introduced to horses for the first time in their lives. “They were intimidated by something they couldn’t control, you saw them becoming gentler.”

For now Clare is in London, but she talks so fondly of country life perhaps that will change. As for riding, not now.

“I did it when I could, to the best of my ability. Now my knees are not up to it,” and besides, “why would I ride a horse when I can get the world number one to do it?” she laughs, referring to her and Suzy Doggett’s beloved Barrington Bear – Burghley young event horse five-year-old winner in 2022 – who is now competing with eventing world number one Harry Meade.

“I’m happy talking about it on telly, or writing about it, and I love being around horses. I love being part of the eventing world, it takes me to places and you rock up in your jeans and before long you’re carrying a bucket of water.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I was presenting at Badminton and Barrington Bear was competing – I’d be a wreck, I’d be in tears.”

We’ll look forward to watching that story being told by the master.

Did you enjoy this interview? You may also like to read…

(Image credit: The Field / Millie Pilkington)

Clare Balding sheds a tear as she discovers her family’s history on TV

Broadcaster Clare Balding delves into her history on the BBC One programme Who Do You Think You Are?, and discovers

(Image credit: The Field / Millie Pilkington)

The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop: Clare Balding releases children’s book

Clare hopes the story, which centres on a horse-mad heroine with big thighs, will boost body confidence among children

(Image credit: The Field / Millie Pilkington)

‘Horsey people just get on with it – even when dignity goes out the window’: 61-year-old rider takes on BBC’s Race Across The World

(Image credit: The Field / Millie Pilkington)

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Clare Balding: ‘It still makes me shudder and in a way it’s a good thing’ H&H Plus

Martha Terry — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:00:21 +0000

From “racing royalty”, Clare Balding has become a household name. Kate Johnson talks to her about her new book, the upcoming Tokyo Games and those who influenced her career

WHEN the young Clare Balding’s teacher, Mrs T, asked the class what they’d all like to be when they grew up, Clare’s hand shot up and she answered brightly, “An eventer.”

Mrs T responded, “Oh, that’s interesting, what do you want to invent?”

It wasn’t the only time she felt misunderstood, and it’s just one of the tales that she recounts in her new book about resilience, Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going. It’s ostensibly for children aged nine to 12, but like all good children’s books, it’s useful and entertaining for adults too and packed with inspiring case studies of successful athletes, personal anecdotes, friendly tips and advice.

Clare wrote the book because “I wanted to tell stories about my childhood that would have helped me if I could have read them; that classic thing of, ‘I wish I’d known when I was 11 or 12 that it doesn’t matter if you’re different.’”

Clare Balding On Frank Her First Love – Clare Balding personal photo from her book Heroic Animals (Image credit: creditUnknown)

She’s candid and (also in the book) she shares a prime example of what she’s talking about. Had she known that “you don’t have to change your behaviour to make yourself fit in, just stick with it, it’ll be all right, look for things you can do that make you feel confident”, she might not have tried so hard to infiltrate the cool gang, which resulted in her being suspended from school for shoplifting.

She says this was her “absolute rock bottom; the sense of shame was massive and feeling that everyone’s talking about you – not in a good way – and you don’t have a single friend in the universe and no one understands, your parents don’t understand.”

All these decades on, she says, “I still remember that, it still makes me shudder and in a way it’s a good thing – nothing is ever going to be as bad as that.”

10 Jan 1998: Ian Balding and Claire Balding at Sandown Racecourse (Image credit: creditUnknown)

It’s a mark of her own resilience that she has turned such humiliating experiences into positives, a “fantastic life”, with a fulfilling, successful career and happy home, married to Alice Arnold.

“It’s really important to be touched with that vulnerability and sense of shame,” she says. “As you get older, you do find people who understand or you work with professionals who are used to things going wrong and therefore support and help you, and you try to improve. And, there is tomorrow – you can always put it right.”

IT’S the same quality that she most admires in the world-class athletes she meets, too.

“Because of the world I live and work in, I see a lot of sports people who are by their nature resilient, and everybody talks about their talent and their drive, but they very rarely talk about their resilience, because it’s seen as the boring bit,” she says. “I think that’s the most interesting bit; being really fully committed to something and therefore you’re going to work at it whatever the results – that’s difficult and important to learn.”

With such admiration, it’s no surprise that she’s “hugely excited” about Tokyo 2021, both the Olympics and Paralympics.

“I love it for the breadth of sporting content; athletics, swimming, rock climbing, karate making its debut, surfing… and equestrian events have a very special place in my heart because that was my drive.

“When I was a kid, all I wanted to be was an eventer and represent Great Britain at the Olympics.” (As she tried to tell Mrs T all those years ago.)

Clare loves the unpredictability of the equestrian events, how they will always throw up something exciting.

“I don’t think anyone outside of horse sports understands how difficult it is to win a medal – it’ll be even harder with only three in the team – how many things can go wrong,” she says.

This sport, at this level, clearly touches a nerve for her; so much so that at the Sydney Olympics, when Great Britain won the silver in team eventing she “was in floods of tears standing watching the medal ceremony”.

When Tina Cook, the travelling reserve who was working with her, asked why she was crying, she just about managed to sob, “It’s so moving.”

“And we hadn’t even won gold!” she points out.

Tina Cook and Clare Balding at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Image credit: creditUnknown)

By the time of London 2012, tears or no tears, she correctly predicted that dressage would be the dark horse of the Olympics. The moment when she realised, “Wow, this is a different level,” was when she was going through Heathrow airport, and the security guard checking her bag said to her, “I watched that black horse dancing, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

WITH the mighty Valegro now enjoying retirement, Clare’s looking forward to seeing what Charlotte Dujardin can do next as her relationship with Mount St John Freestyle builds.

Anyone else she’s excited to see? The 21-year-old showjumper Harry Charles. Clare points out that he has new, high-profile rides since owner Ann Thompson recently announced that she was sending top-class horses including the stallion Romeo 88 and Gelano to Harry’s family stables in Hampshire.

Clare admires his “fantastic pedigree and background” – referring to his father, the 2012 Olympic team gold medallist Peter Charles, and his showjumping sisters Sienna and Scarlett – plus Harry’s understanding of the “nature of sport” and his star quality.

“There’s a dash of something special about him,” she says.

Clare Balding interviews the British team at the 2019 European Eventing Championships in Luhmuhlen, Germany (Image credit: creditUnknown)

And as for racing, she says: “I would more than anything want to see Hollie Doyle and any other female jockey get a ride in the Derby. For all that racing says opportunity is equal, it isn’t that equal. Female jockeys don’t get many rides in the best races on well-fancied horses.

“Hollie’s been working a lot on her physical strength, and because she doesn’t have to lose weight she can bulk up, muscle-wise, so pound for pound she’s stronger than anyone.”

Hollie’s good fortune in being born the right size for racing wasn’t the experience that Clare had as a fledgling amateur. She started very young, as befits being from what you could call racing royalty. Her now-retired father Ian not only trained horses for The Queen among others, but guided the legendary Mill Reef to victory in the 1971 Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe.

Jockey Frankie Dettori and Clare Balding take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge in aid of motor neurone disease at the 2014 Ebor Festival at York Racecourse, York. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Clare broke her collarbone – the classic jockey injury – in a fall from a pony aged two-and-a-half, and then a little later, fell off 100 times because Ian had said that was what made a real jockey.

Older still, and she was so desperate to make the weight for a race that she resorted to cutting her nails and hair in the vain hope it might make the tiniest difference. Now, she realises it was another lesson to learn.

“I was fighting really hard to do something that I wasn’t physically suitable for,” she says. “I wish I could have been naturally eight stone, but I wasn’t and I had to work really hard, so I had a very short career as an amateur jockey.

“It amuses me, I’m constantly correcting people when they say ‘former jockey’. I wasn’t – I was an amateur! It was so exciting for the short time it lasted, the thrill of riding in a race and getting the best out of a horse.”

It might have been a short career, but it was successful. She recalls a highlight partnering a “sweet horse” called Knock Knock.

“He hadn’t won a race for years and years, and suddenly I managed to win on him, at 25/1 at Kempton and then again,” she says.

“We were only once out of the first two. Then he started winning for other people because Dad said to them, ‘Just don’t touch him with whips, keep saying nice things to him, that’s what Clare does’.”

Clare interviewing National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson (Image credit: creditUnknown)

THE nervousness she felt as she was legged up was one of the reasons she knew that she was really well suited to live broadcasting; it meant that she cared, and therefore it was going to be all right. She had some useful mentors, too; BBC Radio’s former racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght gave her her first job and impressed upon her the need to tell the story, and make people care, and then Terry Wogan.

“In terms of kindness and warmth, very few people can match Terry,” she says. “Studio managers, producers, the receptionists all loved him.”

Still, no one is immune to an early mishap; the first time Clare presented on her own, she’d written down the name of her next guest, Richard Spring MP (“I remember it now because I couldn’t remember it then”) but she couldn’t read her writing and totally fluffed it.

“As the mic was faded out, you could hear me start to say ‘Shhhh…’. My mother sent me a text saying, ‘You were going to say sugar weren’t you?’ It was the first time understanding the mic is nearly always live, therefore don’t swear.”

And what about that childhood eventing dream? Clare has a racehorse in training with her brother Andrew, and another that she’s hoping might make an eventer, though this time she’d be watching her horse compete from the safety of the sidelines. Still, the dream lives on.

● Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going is published on 15 April

This exclusive interview is also available to read in this Thursday’s H&H magazine (15 April, 2021)

‘The first horse I ever rode was Red Rum’ and more amazing tales from Desert Island Discs

Gemma Redrup — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:24:26 +0000

BBC Radio 4’s programme Desert Island Discs is something of a national treasure, where ‘castaways’ are asked which eight records they would take with them to a desert island.

The brainchild of broadcaster Roy Plomley, the first programme was broadcast on 29 January 1942 — and during the past 78 years it has given us an addictive insight into the lives of a number of horsemen and horse-lovers.

What inspires them? What gives them their drive? What makes them laugh? And how have horses helped them during their lives?

Here’s our pick of the equestrian Desert Island Discs since the show’s inception…

Mark Johnston, recrod-breaking Flat trainer, on getting into trouble for riding

Broadcast in 2020

“Dad bought my sister a pony when we were younger, but I didn’t get one and I think that was probably a sexism thing in that he thought girls should be more into ponies than boys. I wasn’t allowed to ride my sister’s pony, so I used to climb through a window with a bridle — the window was too small to get the saddle through — and take the pony for a ride. All hell broke loose if I got caught, but that’s how I learnt to ride.”

Listen here

Jilly Cooper, author of equestrian ‘bonkbusters’, on her first pony Rufus

Broadcast in 2016

“Daddy went to get him from Cornwall and so I came back from school terribly excited — I must have been about eight — and I rushed into the field and said ‘Rufus, Rufus’ and he promptly bit me. He was a monster. He was also still a stallion and so every time I went out for a walk with him he would rush up to a mare and mount it. So sadly Rufus was sold…”

Listen here

Comedian Lee Mack on his foray into the world of racing

Broadcast in 2013

“I was thrown out of college at 16 because I’d failed all my O-Levels and I went home thinking, what am I going to do with the rest of my life? I put the telly on and horseracing was on. I’d had a mild interest in racing because my granddad had liked to bet and I used to watch the Grand National, but that was it. I’d never had any horse experience in my life. But by coincidence in my home town they trained Red Rum. So I thought, I’ll do that then. So having turned the telly on to phoning up the stables it was probably about 60 seconds. And the first horse I ever rode was Red Rum. He was retired and my mate who was working at the yard said ‘right, it’s about time you sat on a horse,’ and so I jumped on a horse. And he said: ‘You know who that is don’t you?’ They all looked the same to me but he said: “That’s Red Rum’.”

Listen here

Broadcaster Clare Balding on showing off her Shetland to The Queen

Broadcast in 2013

“My father trained racehorses for The Queen for his whole career, and my grandfather had done and my brother does now, and the Queen Mother had horses with us too. And as owners want to do, they wanted to see the horses and talk to the people who look after them. Everything would be spotless, and the horses would be gleaming and they would be all ready for morning gallops or evening stables. And [when The Queen came] I used to go and get the Shetland pony Valkyrie that we used to ride, that had been a present from The Queen, and bring her down from her yard to line up with the racehorses for The Queen to look at.”

Listen here

Jockey Frankie Dettori on the day in September 1996 when he rode all seven winners at Ascot

Broadcast in 2006

“That day the Queen Elizabeth Stakes was the big race and basically I was focusing on trying to win that, and I knew I had another couple of chances on the card. But never in a million years did I think I was going to win the seventh race. I was actually so relaxed about it, I was joking about it — I could not see the horse winning. Crossing the line with Fujiyama Crest I remember being exhausted, because of the mental pressure of a day like that. By the time I’d won the seventh, I didn’t even remember the first three.”

Listen here

Three-time champion jump jockey Ricard Dunwoody on one of his first ever rides on a donkey called Seamus

Broadcast in 1999

“My father put me on a donkey one day and we were walking through some fields. He went to shut a gate and let me go and the donkey bolted — I hung on for sa long as I could, but eventually fell off. My father came up to me, expecting me to be in floods of tears, but I had a big smile on my face and got up and said ‘daddy, I fall off like a jockey’, and I think I’ve been doing it ever since!”

Listen here

Fifteen time National Hunt champion trainer Martin Pipe on his late start to riding

Broadcast in 1999

“I was very mollycoddled as a child — I wasn’t even allowed to ride a bike to school and I wasn’t allowed to ride a horse. The first time I got on a horse, I was 17 and was put on a racehorse, with no clue what I was meant to be doing — I used to fall off every day.”

Listen here

Former jockey and best-selling author Dick Francis on hand delivering his work to royalty

Broadcast in 1998

“I hand deliver each new novel I have written to the Queen Mother each year. I have it ready in time for when we go to Royal Ascot, and my wife Mary and I are invited up to the royal box so that I can hand over the new copy. The next time I see the Queen Mother she remarks about it, so I know she has read it.”

Listen here

The late racing commentator Peter O’Sullevan on the pressure of the Grand National

Broadcast in 1997

“The Grand National isn’t necessarily the hardest race to commentate on, but it’s the most fraught. It’s the one that one is most anxious about. [After the first one I ever did back in 1947 when there were 57 runners, and I just had a basic pair of binoculars], I promised myself, and it’s a promise I broke, that if I got through the next year’s National I wouldn’t subject myself to this ordeal again. I found it so devastatingly inhibiting and frightening, that one could get it wrong, and that it would be the most appalling thing to misinterpret the race.”

Listen here

Former top National Hunt trainer Jenny Pitman on riding as a child

Broadcast in 1995

“People would send us ponies to break, handle or ride when we were growing up. Occasionally dad would be driving along and see a camp of travellers on the side of the road and he’d stop and do a deal with them, buy a pony and we’d take it home.”

Listen here

Jockey and eight-time National Hunt champion Peter Scudamore on his mother’s will for him to have an alternative career

Broadcast in 1994

“If my mother had had her way, I would have ended up as an estate agent. Even when I was going well as a jockey, if I went round for Sunday lunch with her, she’d still ask when I was going to get a proper job. She wanted me to be an estate agent so much that she used to feed me plenty so that I would be too heavy to be a jockey, but by the time I was a teenager, I’d cottoned on to what was happening.”

Listen here

Eventer Ginny Elliot on how riding helped her overcome an eating disorder

Broadcast 1986

“When I was at boarding school I went on a diet and just didn’t stop. I used to put bricks in my pocket when I was weighed and take doggy bags into school meals and drop the food in them. I did everything not to eat anything. It wasn’t until my mother came back on leave that she discovered what had happened because I’d obviously got very thin, but with the school uniform it was difficult to actually notice. And she took me home and she said either you eat or you don’t ride, and it was the fact that I wanted to ride that made me eat again.”

Listen here

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Former showjumper David Broome (pictured, top) on how he started out in the sport

Broadcast 1981

“I remember going to my first hunter trials when I was about nine — and my one memory of that was that the following day, the local daily rag showed a picture of a Mr D Broome riding Coffee, but unfortunately the caption carried on to say that on landing he departed from his pony. And I’ve never been allowed to forget that.”

Listen here

Continued below…

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(Image credit: Future)

Showjumper Harvey Smith on never having had a riding lesson

Broadcast in 1971

“A riding lesson is one thing I’ve never done. With riding lessons you would have been riding somebody else’s style, whereas when you’re self-taught you’re riding your own style. You’ve got to work together with the horse, to get both your minds together. I’d say it’s 60-70% the rider and 30-40% the horse. But a good horse will make up for a lot.”

Listen here

All of the episodes above can be downloaded from the BBC’s Desert Island Discs archive. Visit www.bbc.co.uk

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

Clare Balding sheds a tear as she discovers her family’s history on TV

Madeleine Silver — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:23 +0000

Broadcaster Clare Balding delves into her history on the BBC One programme Who Do You Think You Are?, and discovers some emotional revelations

If anyone knows about upholding the stiff upper lip, it’s broadcaster Clare Balding. Whether she’s fronting Badminton Horse Trials or the Olympic Games, she’s resolutely upbeat, the definition of no-nonsense. She is after all, from good horsey stock: her father is the Flat trainer Ian Balding, and her brother Andrew has followed in his father’s footsteps as well.

But when she delved a little further into her family’s history last night (20 July 2017) on the BBC One television programme Who Do You Think You Are?, the 46-year-old showed a softer side.

“It’s unusual for me to be looking backwards,” she says. “I’m always about the next thing — the next winter Olympics, the next Commonwealth Games, the next [summer] Olympics. So actually to be reflective about anything is rare for me.”

On her mother’s side, Clare descends from the Earls of Derby, one of whom, the 12th Earl (1752-1834), founded the Derby.

In a quest to find out more about her great-grandparents Sir Malcolm Bullock and Lady Victoria Stanley, Clare heads to Knowsley Hall near Liverpool, the family seat of the Earl of Derby and where Lady Victoria Stanley was born and grew up.

“I’d love to know how this marriage came about between Sir Malcolm [who was an MP] and Lady Victoria, and whether it was a marriage of convenience [Clare earlier looks at evidence to suggest that Malcolm may have had relationships with men as well as women].”

She discovers that her great-grandparents met in Paris, when [Victoria’s father] Lord Derby was the British ambassador there and Malcolm was working for him. But she then finds out that everything was to change for the family in 1927.

In November that year, Lady Victoria struck her head on the brickwork of a low bridge while riding side-saddle out hunting and had a fatal fall. The accident was reported in what appeared to be all the newspapers of the day, and Clare is choked looking at the correspondence following the accident.

A letter from Winston Churchill to Malcolm reads: “My dear Malcolm, you and Victoria were so suited to one another, so devoted to each other, that this separation and destruction of your happiness seems doubly cruel.”

Malcolm replied: “Victoria and I had eight years of perfect happiness together without a cloud or anything to regret. I cannot yet believe that it is all over.”

On reading these letters, Clare says: “Where I had wondered whether her marriage to Malcolm was one of convenience, I actually think now they were really happy.”

A letter of sympathy from Lord Derby to Malcolm reads: “My dear Malcolm, I send you a photograph of our darling. I can’t talk to you or write about it, I’m too greater coward — but I loved her as no man has ever loved his daughter. And with her has gone all joy from my life.”

Continued below…

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The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop: Clare Balding releases children’s book

Clare hopes the story, which centres on a horse-mad heroine with big thighs, will boost body confidence among children

As well as heading to Kingsclere to talk to her father Ian as they watch the horses on the gallops, the programme also sees Clare travel to the Rumson Polo Club in America to find out about the life of her professional polo-playing grandfather Gerald Balding, the last English 10-goal player.

Watch Clare Balding on Who Do You Think You Are?

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop: Clare Balding releases children’s book

Rachael Turner — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 05:55:00 +0000

Clare Balding has released a book that centres on a horse-mad 10-year-old with big thighs.

“The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop” is the presenter’s first children’s novel.

The plot follows the adventures of a girl called Charlie who dreams of owning her own pony and is thrilled when she accidentally manages to buy a racehorse.

The horse she buys, Noble Warrior, looks the part, but there is one problem — he won’t gallop.

In fact, he won’t even leave his stable without his best friend, a naughty palomino pony called Percy.

Charlie is convinced Noble Warrior has what it takes to be a champion.

The story follows the build-up to Derby day, when only a win can save the family farm from being repossessed.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” reads the blurb. “Can Charlie turn her chaotic family into a top training team? Can Noble Warrior overcome his nerves? Will Percy the pony ever stop farting?”

Clare hopes that the novel will help children feel more positive about their bodies.

She said she “always wanted a heroine with big thighs” in an interview with Woman&Home.

“There are not enough of us in the world!” she said.

“I’m very aware of the body image issues that young girls face so I wanted to include a positive message in my children’s novel.

“One that says ‘It’s not about how your legs look, it’s about what they can do for you’.”

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Clare added that she would like to write a series of children’s books in the future.

“I wanted to create a book my nephews and my niece would enjoy reading, so the decision to write fiction for children rather than adults was because of them,” she said.

“The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop” will be published on 22 September by Puffin Books

Challenge Anneka revisits riding centre 21 years on

Rachael Turner — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 06:25:05 +0000

Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre will be celebrating 21 years since they featured on BBC1’s Challenge Anneka later this year.

The west London Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centre was helped by Anneka Rice and her team to build an indoor school at the centre.

To mark the anniversary of the programme, the centre will be holding a reunion party on Saturday 26 September.

Anneka and Clare Balding will host the event. It will feature a special screening of the original programme, a display from current riders at the group and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque.

Anneka and Clare will also ride around a recently completed outdoor trail at the centre.

“When I heard that it was 21 years since the programme was made, it seemed like a great opportunity to bring everyone together to celebrate the amazing work of RDA centres like Wormwood Scrubs,” said Clare, who is an ambassador for the RDA.

“[RDA centres] provide riding, carriage driving and hippotherapy to around 28,000 people with disabilities every year.”

The Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre was founded in 1989.

It has grown from having just three ponies and very basic facilities, to housing an indoor school and stables for the 20 horses and ponies they now own.

“I am thrilled that so many Challenge Anneka projects are celebrating big anniversaries this year,” added Anneka.

“Most of the 60 or so projects are still going strong and this is a busy year for me, going to visit projects up and down the country.

“We had a 25th anniversary party for all the original production team at my home the other week and raised a glass to everyone involved over the years.”

For more information visit: www.wormwoodscrubsponycentre.org

Charlotte Dujardin and AP McCoy reveal all with Clare Balding [VIDEOS]

Horse & Hound — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 14:55:31 +0000

Las Vegas World Cup winner Charlotte Dujardin will be appearing alongside champion jockey AP McCoy on The Clare Balding Show this week.

Joining them will be Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton, who is currently training to become a jockey, with the aim of riding in the Cheltenham Foxhunter next year.

The show airs tonight (Thursday 23 April) on BT Sport 2 at 9.30pm and tomorrow (Friday 24 April) on BBC 2 at 10pm.

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Dressage editor Alice Collins was at the filming on Tuesday night.

“Three sporting greats on the sofa all at once — and now being aired on prime-time TV is a real boom for horse sport,” said Alice.

“Charlotte came across incredibly well and revealed a lot, including that she’s considering training ‘cob’ Valegro to pull a cart in time for her wedding to fiancee Dean (sadly I think she was joking), that Valegro is likely to retire after Rio and that she paid ‘Elvis’ to get her photo taken with him in Vegas recently.

“Similarly, AP McCoy was uncharacteristically frank and even admitted to having had ‘a moment’ in the car on the way back from the races when the reality of his impending retirement really hit home.

“The jockey revealed his love for Gold Cup winner Synchronised and said he was crying for days after the horse’s death in the Grand National.

“He still has no idea what he’ll do in retirement, but has ruled out being a trainer, and — prompted by Clare [Balding] — a few other more unusual career moves.

“As ever, Clare does an incredible job of coaxing insight from her interviewees — and she also revealed that the offer on Valegro after London 2012 was in the region of £8.5million.

“It’s well-worth tuning in.”

7 horsey books to curl up with this January

Horse & Hound — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:55:28 +0000

Whether you’re in the market for a coffee-table picture book that you can flick through once you’ve flopped on the sofa post-riding, or fancy a good autobiography that you can get your teeth into — H&H has picked seven recent releases which are sure to perk up the dark January evenings.

1. If Horses could Talk

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Author: Gary Witheford

Published by: Racing Post Books

Price: £20

ISBN: 9781909471696

If Horses Could Talk tells the story of world-renowned natural horseman Gary Witheford in his own words. The autobiography gives an honest account of his remarkable life, from his troubled childhood shadowed by abuse to the salvation he finds through horses.

Although most famous for his work in the racing world, Gary has transformed problem horses across the disciplines. I was left in awe of Gary’s work, from “starting” — a term he prefers to breaking — a young horse within 30min, to putting zebras through their paces. This captivating and moving book is punctuated with colourful photographs and will resonate with any animal lover, with a helpful “Tack Room” glossary to assist those less acquainted with equestrian terms.

2. Focused: My Life in Pictures

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Author: Andrew Nicholson (with Catherine Austen)

Published by: Racing Post Books

Price: £20

ISBN: 9781909471580

Andrew Nicholson’s latest dabble into literature takes the reader on a fascinating personal journey of hard graft and true horsemanship, illustrated with many unseen photographs cleverly documenting his rise to the top and his life with horses. We discover the horses — and ponies — who played pivotal roles in making him the rider we know today, from his first pony to the wonderful Avebury. The kind of “autobiography” I prefer — plenty to look at and short, interesting snippets of text, peppered with Andrew’s witty anecdotes. There are some great one-liners, one of my favourites being, “No-one told me not to gallop to an upright gate — I learnt by doing it.” I think this sums up Andrew’s early years very well.

3. Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles

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Author: Clare Balding

Published by: Viking

Price: £20

ISBN: 9780670921478

Two years after her bestselling My Animals and Other Family comes Clare Balding’s Walking Home, a book that will delight fans of her BBC Radio 4 series Ramblings. It all began in 1999 with a phone call from radio producer Lucy Lunt. Would Clare present a new series during which she would interview walkers while following various scenic footpaths around the UK? “I had no idea there were people who walked for the sake of it,” she writes. Happily for us, she accepted, and Walking Home is an account of some of the more hilarious and moving episodes, with anecdotes and personal asides woven in. Along the way we learn how in 2006 she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer; that while working with Willie Carson — with whom she had a 14-year on-air partnership — he had to stand on a box (Balding at 5ft 7in towered over the 5ft Carson). She is brilliant at conjuring imagery — “The seahorses were jumping imaginary fences, landing in a bath of North Sea foam”. This is a funny, warm and entertaining read.

4. Little Book of Cheltenham

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Author: Catherine Austen, with a foreword by Nicky Henderson

Published by: G2 Entertainment Limited

Price: £9.99

ISBN: 9781782812517

Any Cheltenham-fanatic should find space for this pocket-sized book in their downstairs loo — it will prove a handy source of trivia to impress other racing fans or fill an awkward silence. To give you a taste: did you know that Arkle’s daily feed contained six eggs and two bottles of Guinness? If you have longer to enjoy the book from cover to cover, H&H’s former racing editor Catherine Austen takes you from the very first race meeting held in 1815, to the modern masters, amateurs, women, a look behind the scenes and much more.

5. McCoy in the Frame

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Author: Edward Whitaker

Published by: Racing Post Books

Price: £20

ISBN: 9781909471702

Racing photographer Edward Whitaker captures the 19-times Champion jockey in a variety of environments, giving a behind the scenes look into his life. McCoy In The Frame is split into different eras of his career, starting off as the fresh-faced young jockey in the 1990s and culminating with a champagne-soaked 39-year-old celebrating a record 4,000th winner. The photos show his fierce determination during a race, pain and anguish during and after falls, sharing a joke with trainers and friends and more tender moments with his family. A fantastic range of striking photographs that will interest any racing fan.

6. Courtney’s Quest

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Author: Courtney King Dye

Published by: Words In The Works

Price: $17.50 (£10.80)

ISBN: 9780991036448

In 2010 American dressage rider Courtney King Dye suffered a serious head injury in a schooling fall. She was in a coma for a month, and her accident led to global promotion for safety headwear. Now competing in paradressage, this book tells Courtney’s story of life before and after her accident in an open and honest manner, and conveys her fierce determination. It recounts her life — growing up fighting with parents that didn’t believe she should focus on a career in horses, meeting her husband Jaso competing at the 2008 Olympics and her life-changing accident. Courtney writes in an engaging and moving way — aspects of the book are described in heartbreaking detail, though there are moments of humour. The book includes extracts from her journal through the years, which adds personality. It gives a revealing insight into the world of an athlete at the highest level — and how she coped when life changed.

7. Making it Happen: The Autobiography

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Author:Carl Hester

Published by: Orion

Price: £20

ISBN: 1409147673

A rip-roaring trip through Olympic rider Carl Hester’s early days on the car-free island of Sark and his rise up the global dressage ladder, culminating in team gold at London 2012. Packed full of vibrant stories, this 288-page book catalogues Carl’s life in dressage’s fast lane in his usual irreverent, impudent style. The book is revealing, insightful and witty and a must for any dressage fanatic. However, some passages are confusing as they chop and change between real names and nicknames of the huge cast involved. As one Amazon reviewer put it: “Truly wonderful story, but was there ever an editor involved?”

Star-studded RDA awards raise £25,000

Amy Mathieson — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 15:55:02 +0000

Gold medal-winning Paralympic riders Sophie Christiansen and Natasha Baker (pictured left) were among the stars out for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) annual awards earlier this week.

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The awards, held in London on Tuesday (30 September), raised more than £25,000 for the charity. They were presented by Clare Balding.

The most improved participant award went to six-year-old Gabriela Machado-Hayden.

“The brave six-year-old was referred to RDA in November 2013 in the hope that her profoundly hypermobile joints and lack of muscle stamina might be improved through hippotherapy,” said an RDA spokesman.

“The story of Gabi’s gradual development over the past year, from apprehension and instability to improved core strength and confidence moved everyone present, earning her the biggest applause of the night when she took to the stage.”

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“Our gala awards evening is a time for us to recognise and celebrate success — in all its forms — throughout the organisation,” said RDA chief executive Ed Bracher.

“The progress made by riders such as Gabriela is a reminder of the power of horses to change lives for the better.

“We are hugely grateful for the support of our celebrity guests — particularly Clare Balding — as well as our sponsors, without whom the event simply couldn’t happen.

“The fantastic total raised on the night will help to ensure that even more riders like Gabriela can benefit from RDA’s activities.”

Others winners on the night included:

The Unicorn RDA for brilliant idea of the year

Sainsbury’s Watchmoor Park branch for best business partnership

Harvey from Lowlands Farm for RDA horse of the year

Jane Jackson for vet of the year

Ruth Urquhart from Brae RDA for volunteer of the year

Frankie Dettori joins Channel 4 Racing for Royal Ascot

Amy Mathieson — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:00:45 +0000

Popular Flat jockey Frankie Dettori will be joining the Channel 4 Racing team for Royal Ascot next week (17-21 June).

The 3-times champion will be presenting alongside Clare Balding. He will also be joining the team throughout the rest of the Flat season.

The jockey has ridden 47 Ascot winners — including going through the card and scoring 7 in one day in 1996.

He will be combining presenting with riding at Royal Ascot.

The jockey said he was “thrilled” to be joining the team.

“I’ve been talking to Channel 4 about this opportunity for a while as I have always enjoyed their racing coverage and I am delighted to be able to give viewers an insight into the great thrill of our sport,” he added.

Clare Balding added: “Frankie is a great communicator and personality and would be an asset to anyone’s coverage. He’ll bring energy, insight and enjoyment.”

Meanwhile style guru Gok Wan will be taking on the fashion coverage.

However, Channel 4 came under fire earlier this week, after figures it released for the Derby showed a massive drop off from past years.

3.3m people tuned in in 2012 when the meeting was televised by the BBC.

Last year 1.95m watched on Channel 4. This fell to 1.55m on Saturday (7 June).

H&H columnist Ralph Beckett recently suggested that Channel 4’s team needed a revamp.

All 30 races will be broadcast live with coverage each day starting at 1.40pm.

Find out how to watch Royal Ascot

Clare Balding backs Retraining of Racehorses

Martha Terry — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:30:14 +0000

TV presenter Clare Balding is a new patron of Retraining of Racehorses (RoR). Her association with the charity is said to be “a huge boost” to the growing organisation, which recorded an increase of 20% in registered horses last year.

RoR chairman Paul Roy said: “As the charity’s database expands and awareness of its work increases to have a patron as well known and respected as Clare is great news.

“She is a great ambassador for all equine sports and will be a great asset to RoR and help take the charity to new levels of success and influence.”

Clare, whose appointment coincides with the first day’s coverage of the Cheltenham Festival (11-14 March), will provide a short interview during the RoR parade of stars such as Kauto Star and Denman before the Festival opener on Tuesday (11 March). She described her new role as “an honour”.

“I have followed [RoR’s] work for many years and have been impressed at the range of equestrian pursuits in which former racehorses can find a happy and meaningful second career,” she said.

“I look forward to becoming more involved, discovering more about the versatility of the thoroughbred and actively helping to retrain racehorses whose racing days are behind them.”

Clare Balding to receive a BAFTA

Amy Mathieson — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:02:37 +0000

Sports presenter Clare Balding is to be honoured at year’s BAFTAs.

The award is for “outstanding achievement in factual presenting” — for her work on last summer’s Olympics on BBC and the Paralympics on Channel 4.

The award marks her “incredible dedication to presenting across entertainment and sporting events”.

Clare, who is also the lead presenter for Channel 4 Racing, will receive her BAFTA at a ceremony in London on 12 May

Previous recipients of the factual presenting special award include Jon Snow, Andrew Marr, Jeremy Paxman and Kate Adie.

“Clare’s body of work over the past 13 years speaks for itself, but it was through her expert coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that she became a national treasure, who with her warmth and charisma helped bring the country together as we celebrated in Team GB and Paralympic GB’s success,” said Andrew Newman, chairman of BAFTA’s Television Committee.

“She is a trusted and intelligent live presenter with an ability to transcend genre, and we’re delighted to honour her contribution to television at this year’s BAFTA ceremony.”

Clare is currently in America promoting her book My Animals and Other Family.

John McCririck sues Channel 4 for “ageism”

Flora Watkins — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:26:16 +0000

Former Channel 4 Racing pundit John McCririck is seeking damages of £3 million from the broadcaster for “ageism”, after he was dropped from the presenting team.

McCririck was one of several faces dropped in October, when Channel 4 awarded the production contract to IMG Sports Media, ending a previous agreement with Highflyer.

IMG Sports Media took over on 1 January, with former BBC racing presenter Clare Balding and Racing UK anchor Nick Luck heading up the new team.

Popular Derek Thompson and Alastair Down were also dropped from the new line-up, while John Francome stood down. McCririck’s former sidekick, Tanya Stevenson — whom he often referred to as “the Female” — now provides information on the betting markets on her own.

In a statement, McCririck said he hoped his litigation would “prove to be a watershed”.

He said: “After 29 years with Channel 4 Racing, I have been sacked without any consultation or cogent explanation.

“I am 72. Ageism is illegal. For tens of thousands of employees it has become the feared scourge of our society.”

He is seeking £500,000 for loss of future earnings, “public humiliation, stress and mental anguish.

He continued: “I am seeking a further exemplary, punitive £2.5m, part of which will be donated to charitable organisations helping to prevent negative prejudice in the workplace.”

With his outrageous views, whiskers and eccentric dress sense, McCririck is a controversial figure. Although Racing for Change — which seeks to broaden the sport’s appeal — identified him as the presenter that resonated most with the public, he had been marginalised in Channel 4’s coverage in recent years.

Reaction on Twitter from racing fans had little truc with McCririck’s ageism argument.

“More popular presenters have gone than you McCririck, maybe it’s your opinions that got you the sack. Ageism my arse,” said one.

Another said: “It’s nothing to do with your age John, more that you’re an arrogant, sexist, out-of-touch dinosaur.”

New Channel 4 racing coverage starts tomorrow

Horse & Hound — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:57:26 +0000

Channel 4’s new racing team is to start work tomorrow (Tuesday, 1 January) with a visit to the yard of top trainer Nicky Henderson. Originally the show was due to be broadcast from Cheltenham racecourse, but racing has been abandoned due to the ongoing wet weather.

With its team headed by Clare Balding and Nick Luck, the channel — which is now the sole terrestrial broadcaster of the sport — will show 88 days of racing a year, with Clare as the lead presenter for 40.

Channel 4 has suggested changes to the show, which may include moving the major Saturday race to 3.50pm, to fit in with the half-time break in football. Exceptions will include the Derby and Grand National.

There are also plans to make photo finishes more exciting to the viewer and to run an onscreen stopwatch during races.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (28 December 2012)

Clare Balding to be lead presenter for Channel 4 Racing

Amy Mathieson — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:07:20 +0000

Clare Balding is to head up Channel 4’s racing coverage from next year.

“I am absolutely thrilled,” said Clare.

“Racing is my ‘home’ sport and I am delighted that I will still be part of its coverage on TV. I am excited by Channel 4’s plans and the way in which they have committed to expanding the profile of jockeys, trainers and horses.”

Earlier this year the channel won a bidding war reportedly worth £15m to be the sole terrestrial broadcaster of racing after the BBC put in as “competitive a bid as possible” to keep the rights.

It was announced today (Monday 13 August) that Clare, who previously anchored the BBC’s coverage, would be the lead presenter for the channel.

IMG Sports Media, who also cover Wimbledon and golf’s Ryder Cup, has been awarded the four-year production contract for the channel’s racing coverage, which will include all major meetings including the Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National meeting, the Derby Festival, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood.

The deal, in operation from January 2013 till December 2016, runs alongside Channel 4’s four-year media agreement with Racecourse Media Group.

“The winning bid hails the arrival of a new era in broadcasting for the sport at a time when the industry is moving forwards with real momentum. The hard work starts now as we head towards 2013 and the exciting challenges ahead,” said Jamie Aitchison, Channel 4’s sports editor.

“Clare’s arrival is superb news for Channel 4 and the production team. Quite simply she is the sports broadcaster of her era and for her to be heading up our coverage across the year is extremely exciting. Racing fans have a lot to look forward to.”

Olympic blog: horses are still horses and media judgement calls

Pippa Roome — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:43:02 +0000

Four days on from Britain’s eventing team silver, the dust has settled a little for me. I’ve worked on some non-Olympic pages for Horse & Hound and I’m starting to get into the non-equestrian Olympic sports.

It’s back to normal for riders too – I see on twitter that William Fox-Pitt is at Purston Manor today and Aussie Clayton Fredericks is heading off to Malmo, Sweden, for their World Cup event.

Watching the Olympic dressage and showjumping on TV over the past few days, I’ve been struck by an obvious fact which it’s easy for us all to forget. Horses are still horses. Sounds silly, but these Olympic equine athletes are so well trained, so primed, so close – in the nicest possible way – to being machines, that sometimes I think we lose sight of the fact they all have a brain of their own. And that they don’t know this is an Olympics, they don’t even know what the Olympics is, and they have no idea what rests on them.

On Thursday, Canadian dressage rider David Marcus’s Chevri’s Capital became upset in the arena and was eliminated for resisting for too long. In seconds, the Canadian team’s hopes of any kind of result were over, because in dressage all three scores count – a fact which frightens me with horses’ propensity to get injured and three clear days between the two tests which count for the team medals. Let’s not even think about that.

And now today, we’ve already seen three showjumpers eliminated from the first round of their contest, a pair for two refusals and one for a fall. I’m a little hazy on the showjumping rules, but I understand this isn’t disastrous for their teams, but it certainly ain’t good.

Each time something like this happens, I’m triply grateful for our eventing team silver. Because more than any other sport, anything can happen in horse sport and the margins were so fine in the eventing contest that a shiny medal could have turned to nothing if one horse had refused to play ball.

On a related note – bear with me – I felt for BBC presenter Clare Balding last night, when she got some stick on twitter for not “appreciating” British swimmer Rebecca Adlington’s bronze in the 800m freestyle. Clare felt obliged to apologise on twitter and on telly for not getting the tone quite right after the race.

I don’t think Clare had to do that. I’ve blogged before about the fact that riders’ reactions to their performance depend on their expectations and that’s true in every Olympic sport. Of course it was great for Rebecca to get a bronze, but it wouldn’t have been good reporting for Clare to pretend this was everything the swimmer had hoped for when she started favourite for gold.

The media have a duty to put results into context to make coverage interesting and truthful – that means making it clear whether a bronze is an out-of-this-world performance or a slight disappointment.

It’s a line we’ve had to tread in this week’s H&H and I hope we’ve got the balance right between celebrating the fantastic achievement of a British silver, but not ignoring the tinge of disappointment that it wasn’t a gold. We didn’t have much time to make those judgement calls going to press on Tuesday night, but I imagine in broadcasting it’s 100 times harder.

Like everyone else, I’m now desperately hoping the Brits can give us the all-out delight of the team gold in the dressage. I’m lucky enough to have a ticket to go to Greenwich on Tuesday – and I just can’t wait.

Pippa

Full coverage of the Olympic eventing in the issue on sale now (dated 3 August). Reports on the Olympic dressage and showjumping team contests in the issue out FRIDAY, 10 August.

Tom Symonds’ diary: Clare Balding is simply the best

Horse & Hound — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:49:30 +0000

Royal Ascot was a multidimensional celebration of talent and tradition. These combined made for a spectacular event. While the horses made their own headlines, the BBC presentation was made in immaculate fashion by consummate professional Clare Balding.

Clare is a relatively unsung hero and one with an embarrassment of riches in the knowledge department. The void that the BBC has left has been enlarged by the fact that Clare will no longer adorn our screens. Her attention to detail and intense enthusiasm is captivating. Ascot is somewhere she particularly excels, as there is so much that needs explaining and so many personalities to interview that one needs extensive knowledge of the intricate details.

Peter Dimmock was right when giving Clare so much credit for being the special headline act. In addition, in her Racing Post column Hayley Turner describes her as “in a class of her own”, which basically confirms that if presenters were handicapped like horses, Clare Balding would be pounds higher than her rivals – rather like Frankel. A British presenter to be proud of.

Who shone at Ascot?

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune made Ascot the best sporting saga.

The highlight for me would be Frankel. My sister Lydia – who actually spent the week on the BBC team – suggests that racecourse vets and doctors will have to start using Ferraris to keep up with this horse. This may be the best way to try to describe the indescribable.

Willie Mullins once again carried all before him with his runners and Simenon simply sauntered home with the Ascot Stakes and Queen Alexandra Stakes.

John Gosden had his team in ferocious fettle and, if you describe the ambitious young as “hungry”, then William Buick is starving. One had to feel for him unfortunately getting nutted on the line by Ryan Moore in his gallant effort for the top jockey award.

More is what we would like to see of Black Caviar, but sadly not on our shores. One would have to admit to there being a hollow aspect to her victory. She did look demure walking round the paddock before the race and tired afterwards. For Australia it wasn’t just about winning a race; it was about maintaining its sporting pride. Celebrate the Aussies did, but most likely after removing their hearts from the mouths. She came, saw, didn’t annihilate but won and, as trainer Peter Moody said, he would settle for an inch.

One must spare a thought for my former boss James Fanshawe, who not only lost a potential sprinting star to injury in Deacon Blues but also lost valuable lengths at the start of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes when Society Rock sat down in the stalls. While one never knows what might have been, he was eye-catching when finishing late and fast.

A royal revival

Ascot brimmed with pride at The Queen’s horse Estimate impressively winning the Queen’s Vase and, appropriately, it saw a resurgence in the fortunes of trainer Sir Michael Stoute. He was unlucky to be doing battle with another Aussie ace in So You Think with Carlton House, but he also added to the Juddmonte racing and breeding operation’s prize haul with Sea Moon.

Both Sir Michael and Frankie Dettori let the horses do the talking, and former champions they may be but has beens they are most certainly not. The finish to the Gold Cup couldn’t be written if you had tried.

Frankie had the choice between Colour Vision and Opinion Poll. In addition, with heir apparent Mikael Barzelona rumoured to be enthroned as number one in Godolphin’s also resurgent kingdom, then a lot was at stake. Mikael is definitely snapping at Frankie’s heels – well, he literally was on Opinion Poll – but to no avail. Like Black Caviar, it wasn’t just a race, but also represented the old brigade reasserting their authority.

What’s happening at Dason Court?

At Dason Court the Doncaster Sales store purchases are all broken in and hacking up the gallop. It is a hair-raising time and not for the faint-hearted, but great fun. As I have been reminded, they are all dreams at the moment with potential to be realised.

It has been rather quiet, other than King’s Apollo disappointing at Uttoxeter. It is back to the drawing board as he took regressive, rather than progressive, steps. He jumped right all the way and lost valuable ground. He has never shown a tendency to hang at home, but he is still so mentally immature that I won’t judge him too harshly just yet. There are a few things I will change that may help him.

While I was delighted to see my view confirmed, I wasn’t quite prepared for it so soon with ex-pat Ballybough Gorta winning at Hereford on Sunday. He is a horse who I thought would appreciate the summer ground and fences. All his siblings’ wins have come on good going or faster. Sadly for me, with the weather not helping and pressure to run before his sale date, he is a winner now but for Peter Bowen, whose team are in cracking form.

The remaining thought is with John Gosden, who described racing as a game of vicissitudes. While he sadly lost one potentially good horse in The Nile at the Royal meeting, the winners then started to flow. They do say this game can tame lions.

Clare Balding to publish childhood memoirs this September

Horse & Hound — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:10:27 +0000

Sports presenter Clare Balding will be publishing her childhood memoirs later this year.

“My animals and other family” will be available to buy on 13 September.

It records Clare’s childhood growing up on the Hampshire Downs, with a champion trainer as a father (Ian Balding), a household full of dogs and The Queen dropping by for breakfast.

“By the time I was 10 I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss,” said Clare. “I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and let myself be loved.

“All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and friends. This is their story as much as it is mine.”

Clare became the face of BBC’s racing coverage in 1998 and has worked across a wide range of sports for television and radio, including at the Grand National and Wimbledon.

She will be presenting coverage from this summer’s Olympics.

Former trainer Toby Balding improving after stroke

Horse & Hound — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:56:34 +0000

Former trainer Toby Balding and uncle of sports presenter Clare Balding, is reported to be recovering after a stroke.

The 74-year-old who trained two Grand National winners — Highland Wedding and Little Polvier — had a stroke last week.

He was admitted to the Royal Hampshire Hospital last Monday (4 April) but was yesterday (Monday 11 April) reported to be improving, though the stroke has impaired his sight.

It is unclear how long he will remain in hospital.

Clare Balding gets the all clear following cancer treatment

Horse & Hound — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:52:26 +0000

Racing presenter Clare Balding is looking forward to 2011 after being told she does not need any further cancer treatment.

Clare’s doctors said earlier this week that, following a successful operation to remove a lymph node in November, no more treatment is required.

“I had to have another little operation at the end of November — you’d never have known as I was back to work as soon as poss — to remove a lymph node,” she wrote on Twitter.

“There was much discussion as to whether I would need further radioactive iodine or even radiotherapy but the good news is that I need no further treatment. Not taking too much for granted but very, very relieved and can sing into 2011 with glee.”

Last year she was treated successful for thyroid cancer.

Clare is currently presenting Famous and Fearless — where celebrities perform dangerous stunts — with Chris Evans on Channel 4.

Grand National to become first UK horserace shown in HD

Amy Mathieson — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:38:15 +0000

Racing fans will be able to feel closer to the action at this year’s Grand National (Saturday 10 April) as it is the first UK horse race to be shown on television in high definition (HD).

As well as broadcasting in HD two new high-speed cameras will be used at the course’s two most famous, and imposing fences — The Chair and Becher’s Brook — capturing the race for high speed replays.

There will be comprehensive live coverage from all three days of the Aintree festival across BBC One and BBC Two, Radio 5 live, BBC Sport online and red button, with the entire meeting shown in HD.

Clare Balding and Rishi Persad will be fronting the BBC’s television coverage and will be joined by former Grand National winning jockeys Mick Fitzgerald and Richard Dunwoody who will provide top class analysis from the paddock.

Clare Balding in the running for Cheltenham Ladies’ Day Award

Amy Mathieson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:53:50 +0000

Grand National winning-trainer Venetia Williams and broadcaster Clare Balding are among six women up for the Cheltenham Ladies’ Award this year.

The award recognises “the outstanding contribution made by a lady to jump racing”.

Trainers Sally Alner and Jessica Harrington are also up for the award as is Belinda Cullen, an equine physiotherapist, and Irish racing stalwart Joan Moore, who is grandmother to last year’s winner, Nina Carberry.

Nominations from the public have been whittled down to the final six and the winner will be decided by an all female panel from the racing world, which will be announced on Friday 12 March.

The successful lady will then be presented with her award at Ladies’ Day at the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday 18 March.

“We were delighted to receive so many nominations covering a wide cross-section of the industry and the make up of the final six sums up the hugely significant contribution ladies make across the whole spectrum of jump racing,” said Cheltenham’s managing director Edward Gillespie.

“The judges do not face an easy task.”

Previous winners include Heather Atkinson, who has been the senior nurse in the jockeys’ hospital at the racecourse for over 30 years, Lady Chicky Oaksey, from the Injured Jockeys Fund, Ann Saunders from the Professional Jockeys Association and Nina Carberry, leading female jump jockey.

Host of top racing names to sing on charity “Cheltenham” single

Amy Mathieson — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:19:05 +0000

A group of faces familiar to racing fans might be topping the charts in March when the charity single “Cheltenham” is released.

Clare Balding, Paul Nicholls and John McCririck are among 20 racing personalities who have been signed up to the charity single, which will be a song about the Cheltenham Festival put to the tune of Petula Clark’s 60s hit “Downtown”.

Clare told H&H: “My singing is not very good but I’m hoping I’ll be able to fit it in before I head to the winter Olympics.

“Anything that encourages more people to get interested in racing is a great thing.

“The more people who can become passionate about Cheltenham and the clash between Kauto Star and Denman the more we can get passionate about the rest of the sport.”

John Francome is also set to be showcasing his vocal abilities.

“I’ll probably end up singing as it’s for charity, but I’ll most likely have to mime,” he told H&H.

“I’ve never done anything like this before and for good reason — I could sing the national anthem at you for three hours and you wouldn’t recognise the tune. I can’t talk let alone sing!”

AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh, Richard Johnson and Sir Alex Ferguson are also reported to have been approached to sing.

The idea for the single came from point-to-point trainer Richard Guerney and has been approved by Downtown writer Tony Hatch.

Apparently the stars’ singing quality is “immaterial” as they’ll only be singing the chorus which can be “tuned’ digitally.

The single will be released as a download and a CD in the week before the Cheltenham Festival (16-19 March). There are also plans to release a mixed version for nightclubs.

It is in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, Racing Welfare and the Riding for the Disabled Association.

So sing along: “We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares, so go to Cheltenham — things’ll be great when we’re at

Cheltenham — don’t wait a minute boys

Cheltenham — the Festival’s waiting for you….”

Clare Balding to present FEI Awards in Copenhagen

Amy Mathieson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:59:28 +0000

BBC sports presenter Clare Balding is to present the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Awards in Copenhagen tomorrow (Thursday 19 November).

Former amateur jockey Clare heads live horseracing coverage for the BBC and also presented at the Olympics, FEI European Jumping Dressage Championships at Windsor and HSBC European Eventing Championships from Fontainbleu.

More than 1,200 competitors, organisers and grooms from around the world have been nominated for awards which include:

Athlete of the year — for a rider, driver or vaulter who has shown exceptional sportsmanship and ability

HSBC rising star — for a rider aged 14-21 who has not only demonstrated significant talent but also a love of the sport and great commitment

Alltech development award — for a development project, individual or organisation which has shown exceptional skill, dedication and energy in expanding the sport

Against all odds — for a disabled rider of any age who has demonstrated that disability is no hindrance to sporting proficiency

Groom of the year — for the often uncelebrated yet vitally important person who works behind the scenes

The awards have been judged by a panel chaired by FEI president Princess Haya and includes top event rider and Olympic medallist Mark Todd, Dominican Republic dressage rider and judge Diana Ramos, Italian show jumping organiser Eleonora Ottaviani and German vaulting champion Kai Vorberg.

Check www.horseandhound.co.uk for the results on Friday

Clare Balding’s treatment for thyroid cancer a success

Horse & Hound — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:09:12 +0000

BBC sports presenter Clare Balding has announced her treatment for thyroid cancer has been successful and that the disease has not spread.

Clare had her thyroid gland and cyst removed earlier in the year and underwent radioactive iodine therapy.

“I received the results from my post-treatment scan and it looks as if the radioactive iodine has done its job and zapped all the nasty bits that needed zapping,” she said on her website. “There are no signs of the thyroid cancer having spread anywhere else so all is looking happy and rosy in the world.”

Clare underwent surgery for thyroid cancer in April after she noticed a lump in her neck while watching herself on television over Christmas.

She had it drained but a further check up revealed she needed to have a cancerous cyst removed.

Clare underwent two throat operations, one after the Grand National to remove the cyst, and a second in May to remove her thyroid gland.

The presenter and former amateur jockey also expressed her gratitude to her fans.

“I am hugely relieved and very grateful for all your support particularly to those people who have had thyroid cancer and got in touch to share their experiences with me,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much this helped me get through the treatment process.”

Clare is now looking forward to covering the European Eventing Championships in France and the European Show Jumping Championships at Windsor.

Clare Balding presents BBC Derby coverage after surgery for cancer

Horse & Hound — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:18:02 +0000

BBC presenter Clare Balding was back in front of the camera for the first time since April last weekend (5-6 June) after undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer.

Clare shocked fans by announcing she had cancer the previous week (28 May). But she said she was determined to not to miss Flat racing’s biggest meeting, the Derby.

“It looks like I have had my throat slit, but it won’t stop me being at the Derby,” the 38-year-old said last week.

Wearing an oversized necklace on Oaks day (Friday 5 June) and a high collared dress and coat on Derby Day (Saturday 6 June) to hide the scar, Clare presented from Epsom Downs racecourse.

The presenter said she noticed a lump when watching herself on television over Christmas.

She had it drained earlier this year but a further check up revealed she needed a cancerous cyst removing.

Clare Balding underwent two throat operations, one after the Grand National to remove the cyst, and a second last month to remove her thyroid gland.

Next month she will undergo radioactive iodine therapy.

Clare has been recovering at her parents’ home in Berkshire, but returned to London last week to prepare for the Derby meeting.

“It is lovely to be back among my family, my friends and with all of you at home,” she said on air on Friday.

And writing a Derby preview on the BBC she concluded: “Obviously this is the first meeting I have presented at since the Grand National and I am very pleased to be back.

“While I have the opportunity I’d like to thank all those on the BBC website who have sent me their best wishes. I’m glad to say I’m doing fine, my voice is back to normal and I’m really looking forward to Epsom.”

Clare Balding to open Aintree International Equestrian Centre

Horse & Hound — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:20:42 +0000

BBC sports presenter Clare Balding will officially open the Aintree International Equestrian Centre on Sunday (28 October, ’07).

The 56,000 square foot international standard arena features a 70×30 metre main area, in addition to a 55×20 metre collecting ring, offices and lecture rooms.

Located in the grounds of Aintree Racecourse, it was built with £4.6 million of investment from the North West Regional Development Fund Agency (NWDA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Steve Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: “Aintree Racecourse attracts 200,000 visitors to the region every year. The new centre is an exciting addition to this venue, as there is nothing else like it in the region.”

Richard Nutter, head of European programmes at the Government Office for the North West said: “This latest EU investment towards the equestrian centre will further enhance it as one of the most familiar brands in world sport and provide another great legacy for local people and visitors alike”.

Since its completion in April, the centre has already hosted various events, including show jumping, dressage, and a ‘taster week’ offering children from Liverpool schools free riding lessons.

The opening is part of Aintree’s October Race meeting on Sunday 28 October.

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Clare Balding sheds a tear as she discovers her family’s history on TV

“It’s unusual for me to be looking backwards,” she says. “I’m always about the next thing — the next winter Olympics, the next Commonwealth Games, the next [summer] Olympics. So actually to be reflective about anything is rare for me.”

In a quest to find out more about her great-grandparents Sir Malcolm Bullock and Lady Victoria Stanley, Clare heads to Knowsley Hall near Liverpool, the family seat of the Earl of Derby and where Lady Victoria Stanley was born and grew up.

“I’d love to know how this marriage came about between Sir Malcolm [who was an MP] and Lady Victoria, and whether it was a marriage of convenience [Clare earlier looks at evidence to suggest that Malcolm may have had relationships with men as well as women].”

She discovers that her great-grandparents met in Paris, when [Victoria’s father] Lord Derby was the British ambassador there and Malcolm was working for him. But she then finds out that everything was to change for the family in 1927.

In November that year, Lady Victoria struck her head on the brickwork of a low bridge while riding side-saddle out hunting and had a fatal fall. The accident was reported in what appeared to be all the newspapers of the day, and Clare is choked looking at the correspondence following the accident.

A letter from Winston Churchill to Malcolm reads: “My dear Malcolm, you and Victoria were so suited to one another, so devoted to each other, that this separation and destruction of your happiness seems doubly cruel.”

Malcolm replied: “Victoria and I had eight years of perfect happiness together without a cloud or anything to regret. I cannot yet believe that it is all over.”

On reading these letters, Clare says: “Where I had wondered whether her marriage to Malcolm was one of convenience, I actually think now they were really happy.”

A letter of sympathy from Lord Derby to Malcolm reads: “My dear Malcolm, I send you a photograph of our darling. I can’t talk to you or write about it, I’m too greater coward — but I loved her as no man has ever loved his daughter. And with her has gone all joy from my life.”

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