Sometimes it is the most unlikely looking horses who go on to become the biggest stars. That was certainly the case with grand prix dressage rider Steph Croxford’s horse of a lifetime, the charismatic and hugely popular chestnut gelding Mr President. 

Steph and Mr President competed all over Europe at the highest level, including three times at Olympia in 1007, 2009 and 2010. But when she went to look at “Mr P”, who was by a Gelderlander/hackney stallion out of a Dutch warmblood mare, for the first time, dressage could not have been further from her mind.

“I wanted to do hunting, eventing, jumping – I thought why would I want to ponce around in a 20x60m arena,” laughs Steph on episode 50 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, currently supported by Frosti-Tap. 

“I had an ex-hurdler who got kicked in the field and ended up having to be semi-retired. He went to a hacking home and I was so upset to see him go. So I looked in the local paper at the time, the Yorkshire Post, and said I was just going to pick something for sale and go and have a look.

“All the advert said was, ‘Four-year-old chestnut gelding’. But he was £2,500 and I could afford that, so I drove up to Ian Smith’s in north Yorkshire to have a look. When I arrived, Ian showed us this little horse in an old-fashioned Victorian stall. I said, ‘What else have you got?’ 

“He showed us all the ones he had for sale – all driving-bred – but then said, ‘You really do need to see this little chap out’. So out he came, and jumped virtually a five-bar gate from a standstill. I thought he had a funny trot – at the time I didn’t know that was passage!”

A way with the mares

Steph brought the little chestnut gelding home to her livery yard at the time, where he was turned out in a huge herd of mares and geldings. 

“He would separate out all the mares – his girls. It was the time of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair, and that was how he got his name: Mr President,” she explains.

But dressage was still the last thing on Steph’s mind – that is, until she booked on to a cross-country clinic with Sonia Berry, who was also a dressage trainer.

“I was galloping around all these fences, and Sonia said, ‘I’m not sure why you’re jumping that horse round here; he should be in a dressage arena’,” recalled Steph. “So I went and did a couple of unaffiliated dressage shows. I think I won, at prelim, and thought I’d nailed it, then realised that when you did dressage properly you needed to know what you were doing,”

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From that point Steph and Mr P’s dressage career took off, and they progressed fast through the ranks up to grand prix. Looking back , it wasn’t all that surprising that Mr P became such a star.

“He always liked posing and showing off,” said Steph. “I just didn’t know that what I called his goose step when we went past the pigs was in fact called passage! It was the blind leading the blind, but I always felt he was a reincarnated grand prix horse because if I put my leg in a certain place, he knew it meant sideways, or flying change. I owe him everything and he owed me nothing.”

Mr President was retired from competitive dressage in 2013, and enjoyed almost seven years of happy retirement before being put down in late 2019, at the age of 25.

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Steph Croxford’s former grand prix star Mr President, 25, was put down on 20 November, following a happy retirement after his stellar career.

‘Rim Rim’, who stood at 16.1hh and was by a Gelderlander-hackney stallion out of a Dutch warmblood mare, was deemed an unlikely dressage legend.

The driving-bred Rim Rim cost just £2,500 as a newly backed youngster and was named after former US president Bill Clinton for the way he would round up and court the mares in his field.

He detested pigs and allegedly learned to passage by “goose-stepping” past the them while hacking.

Ever the crowd-pleaser, he would frequently receive standing ovations and winning the Saumur CDI grand prix freestyle in 2007 stands out as one of his greatest achievements. He retired from competition at the BD national championships in 2013.

Here we round up just some of the highlights from Mr President’s incredible career…

2007: Hickstead

2004: Hickstead

2006: National Dressage Championships

Steph Croxford at home with Mr President

2009: National Dressage Championships

2013: National Dressage Championships

2013: National Dressage Championships

Flying at the Summer National Championships

2010: National Dressage Championships

2011: Steph Croxford and Mr President at home

2010: Hickstead

2009: National Dressage Championships

Showing off flying-changes at Addington

Showing off at Olympia

Showing off his expression and character

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Reaching the very top takes time, so it’s not unusual to see horses in their mid-teens riding high in the international rankings. While maturity and experience can give these older mounts a winning edge, the inevitable “miles on the clock” after years on the competition circuit can take their toll. Yet some horses — like Mr President — just seem to keep on going. Find out how

Nickname: Rimmer

Age: 20

Height: 16.1hh

Sire: unknown

Competitive career: after starting novice affiliated dressage aged four, Rimmer contested his first grand prix five years later.

He competed internationally for GB, scoring more than 70% in his first World Cup qualifier in 2006. Officially retired last year, he still competes at grand prix.

“Rimmer was bred for driving, by a Gelderlander-hackney stallion and out of a Dutch warmblood mare,” explains his owner and rider Steph Croxford.

“He’s built to last with the strong bone structure of a driving horse.

I didn’t buy him for dressage and he really shouldn’t find it so easy. But, like a circus horse, he could do the all the tricks. We weren’t overstressing anything with the grand prix movements.

“I have only ever schooled him three times a week, for 40min, even when he was at the top of his game. We’ve always hacked, as I think it’s so good for tendons and ligaments. Perhaps this work over mixed terrain has added to his longevity.

“Until he was 15, Rimmer never had a day’s lameness. Even when he developed suspensory desmitis in 2008, it didn’t make him lame. [GBR team vet] John McEwen always said you must never take an old grand prix horse out of work, because if one wheel falls off, they all do. So rehab involved walking and trotting on the roads, in wind, rain, sun or snow until, a year later, he was back competing.

“He then slipped while competing in Saumur and suffered collateral ligament damage, which took 12 weeks to heal. I think the travelling caused the problems in later life — the stop-start journeys across Europe in a herringbone-pattern lorry. He was never lame before we started competing internationally.

“Rimmer can go into a dormant state in competition, as if he knows he must rest, like a proper athlete. It’s not until we do grand prix movements that the sparkle comes back, a bit like pressing the ignition switch. I used to give him a few holidays a year, but he got so restless that we ended up hacking for a couple of weeks instead.

“He’s a freak of nature.”

The vet’s view: “Mr President was one of those characters that had a huge joy of life,” says John McEwen. “He loved doing everything and had a great capacity to cope in any situation.

“He might not have had the classic dressage physique, but he was incredibly strong in every way. With another rider he might have been ordinary, but Steph brought him to life. Horses can last a long time in the right hands — in my opinion the way Steph looked after him and managed his training and fitness regime made all the difference.”

When is the right time to retire your horse? [H&H VIP]

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Steph Croxford’s charismatic gelding Mr President was retired from major competition at the National Dressage Championships last week.

After leaving the arena for their grand prix, Steph dismounted from the 19-year-old hackney-gelderlander, ran her stirrups up and burst into tears.

The pair received a standing ovation from spectators.

Mr President has been a much-loved competitor over the years, with wins including the Saumur CDI grand prix freestyle in 2007.

Read 5 things you didn’t know about Mr President

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Amateur star Steph Croxford reveals the secrets of a most unlikely dressage legend.

Fact file

Stable name: Mr P or Rimmer

Age: 18

Height: 16.1hh

Breed: By a Gelderlander-hackney stallion out of a Dutch warmblood mare

Sire: unknown

Owners: Steph and Simon Croxford

Rider: Steph Croxford

Best ever result: winner Saumur CDI grand prix freestyle in 2007

Five things you didn’t know…

1 The driving-bred Mr P cost just £2,500 as a newly backed youngster and has since amassed 674 BD points.

2 He was named after former US president Bill Clinton for the way he would round up and court the mares in his field.

3 Mr P is genuinely petrified of clippers and squeals like a pig off to slaughter unless sedated.

4 He detests pigs, too, and learned to passage by “goose-stepping” past the hated creatures while hacking.

5 Ever the crowd-pleaser, Mr P has received standing ovations at Olympia and loves strutting his stuff to his Blues Brothers freestyle routine.

To read the full interview with Steph Croxford about Mr President see the 15 March issue of H&H

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Looking for your own Mr President? Browse the latest dressage horses for sale

Just three weeks after giving birth to her second child, Stephanie Croxford won the grand prix special at Hartpury international, Gloucestershire (16-18 July).

She rode crowd favourite, her own part-Gelderlander Mr President.

Steph told H&H: “I was so happy to get him back out competing again – never in a million years did I expect to come here and win. He does it all, I just have to sit here and let him know what’s coming up next.”

Steph is now looking forward to the nationals, which she qualified for while five months pregnant.

In the small tour, Michael Eilberg took the honours riding his former showjumper Torino. As a reminder, he let the horse jump the dressage boards on his way out of the prize-giving.

“He’s really found his niche at this level,” said Michael. “In his past five tests he’s been scoring over 70%, he finds it easy.”

Michael had to withdraw his grand prix special ride, Marakov, as he didn’t have time between the intermediate music and Premier League prix st george.

Don’t miss Horse & Hound 29 July for all the news, views and gossip from Hartpury festival of dressage.

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International dressage rider Steph Croxford has given birth to a baby boy

Benjamin Lewis was born last Friday, 25 June, at 10.35pm.

He weighed 7lbs 5oz and both mother and baby are doing well.

“We’re all fine,” Steph told H&H.

“We’re now just adjusting to having Annabel (Steph and Simon’s three-year-old daughter), the horses and now a new baby and juggling everything. Plus we’re having to get used to sleepless nights again. It’s amazing how much little sleep you can actually survive on!”

Steph is hoping to be back in action at Hartpury (14-18 July) and Hickstead (26 July-1 August) and is getting back in the saddle for the first time since Ben was born tomorrow (Saturday 3 July).

“I’m hoping to get riding as soon as possible,” said Steph. “Mr President has been ready to compete for the last few months and can’t understand why we’re not out there. Simon has been riding the horses in the morning before work to keep them going, he’s a great stable jockey!

“I rode right up until the last minute, I was schooling a youngster and I had some funny pains and realised I was going into labour. When he’s affiliated I’m going to call him The Inducer!”

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Arko III has been crowned KBIS British Equestrian Insurance Show Jumper of the Year for an unprecedented fourth year.

The stallion, ridden by Nick Skelton and owned by John and Lisa Hales, is currently number one in British Show Jumping Association rankings.

Oliver Townend’s European team ride, Flint Curtis, was named KBIS British Equestrian Insurance Event Horse of the Year.

The grey, owned by Edward and Robert Nicholson, secured the title after a consistently good year, including a first at Thirlestane Castle, second at Chatsworth and second at Punchestown CCI***, as well as a team gold medal at Pratoni.

The KBIS British Equestrian Insurance Dressage Horse of the Year went to Mr President, owned and ridden by Steph Croxford.

This 13-year-old chestnut gelding was originally bred in Ireland by an unknown Gelderlander-Hackney stallion out of a Dutch Warmblood mare.

All three horses received their awards at Olympia, the London International Horse Show.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (28 December, ’07)

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Britain’s top amateur dressage rider Stephanie Croxford beat the professionals at Saumur CDI, France (20-23 September) by winning the grand prix kr.

Stephanie, a geochemist, was riding her driving-bred Gelderlander Mr President.

The pair were second to Julia Chevanne of France in the grand prix on 68.58% and improved for a 74.7% to take the kr from Denmarks Anders Dahl on Afrikka.

I couldnt believe my result, said Stephanie. I never expected to do that well. My horse was on fire though. He went into the arena on a mission.

Stephanie had a break from competing Mr President when she had her first child, Annabelle, in June. But she feels confident.

Weve had a few competitions with little mistakes where weve misunderstood each other but in Saumur we had our old partnership back, she said.

British national champion Spencer Wilton was fifth in the grand prix and second in the grand prix special on 70.88%.

Read Horse & Hound’s full report from Saumur in next week’s magazine, on sale 4 October, ’07)

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