Oliver Townend masterclass for BEF auction bidder
One aspiring eventer was put through her paces by top rider Oliver Townend after bidding for the training masterclass in the British Equestrian Federation’s (BEF) online auction.
Samantha Bowman from Tamworth bid £161 for a lesson with Oliver at his base in Ellesmere, Shropshire, which took place on Sunday 6 December.
Oliver won both Burghley and Badminton horse trials this year and was part of the British Eventing gold medal winning team at the European Championships in September.
He said: ‘We did a lot of work on the flat getting Samantha’s horse moving in the first part of the session and then we progressed to some jumping and working on her lines in the second half.’
Samantha rode her six-year-old mare Cardonagh Lass who has been competing successfully in British Show Jumping Association competitions and is hoping to take part in British Eventing competitions next year.
She said: “I was over the moon when I found out I was the successful bidder; it’s not often you get the chance to have one-on-one tuition with a British Eventing team European gold medalist!
“It was a fantastic opportunity and I really feel like I benefited from Oliver’s expertise.”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
The BEF auction site was launched to raise £500,000 to send the British teams to the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
To see the lots still available, including a whisky tasting tour in the Hebrides or a Hydrohorse treatment week for your horse, go to http://auction.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk/
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.