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‘She made the puissance look like a garden fence’: how Rachel Proudley scaled London’s big wall – and can she do it again?
Rachel Proudley’s puissance triumph at London International last year shone a spotlight on this talented young showjumper, who is now gearing up for the big wall at HOYS. Earlier in the season Briony Reed caught up with Rachel, discussing horses, hay bales and what makes Easy Boy a puissance star
“She has ridden down to a 6ft 11in wall and made it look like the garden fence!” So observed the commentary team as Rachel Proudley won the puissance class in London last December.
The then 19-year-old rider and Easy Boy De Laubry Z had, indeed, made clearing the imposing red bricks look easy. Riding quietly and in beautiful balance, Rachel showed no sign of nerves as she and “Boy” hit the ideal spot and flowed over the giant obstacle.
When Jack Whitaker and Equine America Q Paravatti N nudged the top row of bricks out of place a couple of minutes later, Rachel had claimed the crowd-pleaser class and a rising home talent had earned herself an expanding following.
“Everything about that was amazing,” Rachel says. “To win on home turf in front of everyone, with the crowd behind you – it was a full house – makes it even more special. I would never have dreamt it would happen! It was a really good competition.
“My phone went mad after that win,” she muses, reflecting on her suddenly magnified exposure to the wider equestrian audience. But her level-headedness and self-assurance are reflected in recognition of the fact that reality returns with a bump. “Afterwards, though, you just carry on as normal – yes, that was a very good result, but the next day I had Quality Street jumping in the under-25. You just get on with it.”
Rachel made it look almost straightforward.
“To be fair, it’s a big fence,” she says, with a healthy dose of Yorkshire understatement. “You’ve got to have full concentration, but I suppose when you’re in the zone, you don’t really feel anything. You’re just focusing on one thing and one thing only.”
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She acknowledges the part played by Easy Boy’s courage, which is honed in the hunting field, in their pre-Christmas triumph.
“When you’re sat on a brave horse, you don’t really feel it, and he’s very, very brave. We hunt him quite a bit, which helps with the bravery. My dad trail-hunts him during the week and then we go to shows at the weekends with him.
“He’s just a lovely horse – a big gentle giant really.”
Her fondness for him is clear. And it turns out that Easy Boy is, like Rachel, also a naturally talented prodigy. Graham Ward’s 11-year-old gelding by Elvis De Putte had not tackled a wall until last autumn.
“He had never actually jumped a wall before until just before Horse of the Year Show [HOYS] last year,” says Rachel – Easy Boy had, until then, largely competed in national 1.30m classes. “We just thought we would try him and gave it a go down at HK Horses – over some shavings bales! We made a wall out of bales and just kept going higher and higher – and he seemed to be very, very good.
“That was the only time we tried it before going to Birmingham, so the next time he saw a big fence was at HOYS. We did a little practice before London and that was it. So he hasn’t had much experience at puissance, but he just seemed very good at it.”
He certainly does – he cleared 2.10m at HOYS for third and 2.12m in London to win in his first two tilts at the big wall. In his two attempts this summer, at Bolesworth and Dublin, he’s also finished first.
Rachel Proudley: “Mum and Dad weren’t horsey at all”
Given the young age at which Rachel is reaching the top level of the sport, one might assume that she has had all the benefits of growing up in a ready-made equestrian environment. Not a bit of it; it’s all down to talent and hard work.
“My mum and dad were not horsey at all,” she says – although with her father now trail-hunting her top horse, it does seem that her enthusiasm is contagious and talent is latent in the family. “I don’t really know how I got into it to be honest, but I was always obsessed with horses when I was younger. I went on and on about wanting a pony so much, eventually I got my first, who was given to me by a friend of my next-door neighbour.
“My first proper jumping pony, a coloured cob called Painted Lady, was a Christmas present from my parents, and it went from there. She’s about 24 now and I still have her. She won about everything going. She has her quirks – she would buck in every round, every time and all the time. Her trademark, I guess! But she taught me so much.”
Rachel and her super pony Painted Lady at Olympia in 2017 – “She won everything going.”
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
Fast forward to 2025, and Rachel partners a string of top-class mounts. Alongside Easy Boy, the big hitters for her this year were John Chadwick’s Petitfour VD Wareslage, a 10-year-old gelding by Corydon Van T&L, with whom she claimed the speed horse of the year crown at HOYS last year. And then there was Obos Quality 004 daughter Quality Street, with whom Rachel won individual gold and team bronze at this year’s young rider European Showjumping Championships, and who has since been sold to Qatar.
Clearly Rachel can handle fast tracks and meaty courses as well as puissance heights.
“We have a good string of top horses who are jumping in international classes,” reports Rachel. “They’re all very different, with strengths in different classes.”
“They all have good personalities, too,” she adds. “They are easy to work with, which is very nice for me!”
Many of Rachel’s horses are owned by Richard Howley and Morgan Kent’s HK Horses, who play a significant part in Rachel’s set-up. She is based with them in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, and trains with Richard. But, as with any top rider, the foundations of success are laid on many people’s shoulders.
“It’s a massive team,” says Rachel. “Owners, trainers, grooms, my parents – everyone. There are so many people you can’t do without. It’s hard to name everyone, but alongside Richard, my mum Angie and dad Paul have been a huge support. Toby Parsons, too – he’s head groom at HK Horses and is a very big influence behind the team.
How Rachel Proudley trains for elite success
“The time in the ring is almost the smallest part. All the training done at home and everyone looking after the horses – that’s the most important bit.”
Day-to-day life for Rachel involves a variety of horses and riding.
“When I’m down at HK, I ride all day – jumping, on the flat; general training and gymnastic work,” she says. “The schedule varies depending on which horses are in the stables at the time and which need what work. Plus Richard has a collection of up-and-coming youngsters, who also join the roster.
“I do think it’s good to vary the work. Easy Boy does a lot of hacking at home and goes hunting quite a bit – it’s good for them to have a bit of downtime to relax and enjoy it a bit, so it’s not too much intense training all the time.
“They have a gallop and a canter track around the woods at HK and it’s good for the young horses to do a bit of cross-country schooling, to let them see and experience something different. It keeps them interested. And it’s good for me, too – I find the variety refreshing as well.”
“All the training done at home and everyone looking after the horses – that’s the most important bit,” says Rachel.
(Image credit: Events Through A Lens)
Onwards and upwards feels set to be Rachel’s trajectory.
There is plenty of discussion currently about encouraging greater and more equitable participation in equestrian sport – Rachel Proudley’s story is an inspiring one for hopeful riders and for the sport in general, and she surely has a bright future ahead of her.
She has scaled the heights of the puissance; next up, the giddy heights of the top leagues of the sport.
“Would that be something?” ran the commentary on Rachel’s potential win as she prepared to jump at ExCeL.
Yes, it was, and this young rider is herself quite something. We look forward to seeing where she goes from here.
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