French Olympic team gold medallist Kevin Staut has spoken frankly about a change in mindset that has enabled him to be successful at the very highest level without allowing disappointing performances to have an impact on those closest to him.
“At the beginning, when I started to reach the top level, it was just about results and it was so difficult also for the people around me, the family,” he said. “When success was there, it was normal, when it was a bad weekend or I didn’t perform at the level I wanted, I closed myself and I didn’t speak. It was really something I don’t want to do again because of the people around me – they still have to enjoy life and not everything is dependent on results.
“So I had to change my mind and how to approach the performance. Now, performing is not just being at the prizegiving or whatever. The only thing I have really control of is the quality of my riding. The results are out of your control. Now for me performing is about being close to the quality of riding I want to produce. It’s easier for me to manage mentally and for people around me, it’s much more comfortable to have me smiling more than before.”
Long-standing H&H columnist Mark Phillips said he was “sad” that the under-25 championship at Defender Bramham Horse Trials has been reduced from CCI4*-L to CCI4*-S, describing it as “a retrograde step”. Previous winners of the class include Mark’s daughter Zara Tindall, Piggy March, Tom McEwen, Yasmin Ingham, Will Coleman and Astier Nicolas, who have all gone on to success at the very highest level. He added: “I hope the longer-term consequences were taken into consideration when this decision was made.”
World champions Lottie Fry and Glamourdale will fly the flag for Britain at the 2025 FEI World Cup Final in Switzerland (2 to 6 April). It will be Lottie’s third appearance at the final, but her first with her Paris Olympic medal-winning partner. After securing her ticket to Basel with victory at the Dutch Masters in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on Saturday (15 March), Lottie said: “I actually cried a few tears. I don’t get emotional often, but he was so amazing today, when I did my salute and heard the crowd it really got to me. It’s always in our minds to combine perfect harmony with so much power and it felt like today we started to create that.”
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.
