8 August 2019 Horse& Hound 27Pictures by Phil Mingo/Pinnacle, Getty Images and PA Archive/PA Images
DanJocelyn
NewZealanderwhowaspartofthe 2004
Olympicteamandrodeatthe2018 World
EquestrianGames(WEG)“ICAMEovertotheUKforthefirsttime
in 1996 tostaywithAndrewNicholsonand
endedupspendinga monthwithMark,living
inhislorryandtravellingtoeventswithhim
whileheshowedmetheropes.
“Itwasalla bitsurreal.I gottowatchthe
day-to-dayexercising,aswellastravelling
aroundEuropewithhim.I rememberhim
introducingmetohisgreatfriends—all
eventingiconstome—andI wasgobsmacked
tobemeetingthesepeople.
“Oneofthebiggestthingsaboutthattime
wasgoingtoBurghleywithhim,wherehe
hada rideona horsecalledWatkins.I learnt
a lotabouthorses’fitnessinthebuild-upand
howtheyusedthegallops.Whenyousee
Markknuckledownandstartworkingthe
horses,there’snostoneleftunturned.Hehas
thisamazingabilitytolooksorelaxed,but
underneath,there’sthoroughdetermination.
“Markcertainlypavedthewayfora few
generationsofusKiwiscomingoverhere.”WarrenLamperd
Australiancoachwhohascompetedatthe
toplevelinshowjumping and eventing, as
wellasindressage“IWASatPoplarsFarm,Mark’sbasein
Gloucestershireatthetime,forthe 1996 and
1997 seasons—it wasthebestopportunityI
couldhavehadfroma ridingperspective.On
thefirstday,I gallopedfivehorses.Itwasthe
firsttimeI’ddonethatsortofworkandI soon
realisedmylegsweren’tfit enough.
“Wehad 30 competitionhorsesin,butit
wasa prettygoodsystem.Youwereontheyard
at7amandyoujustlearntbywatching—it
wasprobablyMark’sattitudethatyoupicked
upmorethananythingelse.
“IwasthereduringtheAtlantaOlympics
—wetookthetrucktotheairportandloaded
Kayemontotheplane.Butprobablythebest
experiencefrommyperspectivewaswhen
MarkinjuredhimselfatGatcombe,sofor
aboutthreeweeksI wasridingsomeofhis
horses.Itmeanthewasabletositdownand
makesureI wasdoingtherightthing.
“There were embarrassing moments, too.MarkandCharismalandthefirstoftheirtwoindividualOlympicgolds,atLosAngelesin 1984I wasoncetakinga truckloadofhorsesto
Irelandwitha groomintheback,whileMark
flewover.WestoppedattheservicesandI
didn’trealisethegroomhadgotouttogeta
newspaper,soI wasbangingupthemotorway
whenI turnedaroundtoaskfora cupoftea
andrealisedtherewasnooneback there...”TomMcEwen
Partofthegoldmedal-winningBritish
eventingteamattheWEG 2018“WHENMarkboughtBadgerstownin
Wiltshirein2012,I wasalreadyrentingthere
andhekindlyletmestayon.I wasonly 21
yearsoldandhada fewhorsesatthetime.We
weregrowinginsizeandit wastheperfect
timetobebasedwithsomeonelikeMark.
“Markwasstuckontheleveloffitness
neededforlongformatthree-dayeventing
andI thinka lotofthathelpedhorsesthrough
injury,beingthatbitfitterandstronger.
“Whatwasimpressivewasthetimehespent
witheachhorse.Hedevelopedhorsesbeyond
theirlevel,soif thehorsewasatintermediate,
hewouldalreadybetrainingatadvancedat
home.Therewasneveranystressonthe
yardandtherewasa systemforeverything,
whetherit wasaftera showor cantering at
home.Theoddthinghe’d
saytoyouwhenyouw
ridingintheschool
withhimwasthe
equivalentofa
fulllessonwith
somebody else.”LudwigSvennerstål
PartoftheSwedisheventingteamat the
2012 and 2016 OlympicGames“MARKhasalwaysbeenaninspirationto
me—whenI was 10 yearsold,I hada poster
ofhimridingattheSydneyOlympicson
mywall.WhenI heardthatKiwieventer
ClarkeJohnstonewasmovingbacktoNew
Zealandin 2014 andtherewerestablesfree
atBadgerstown,I askedMarkif I couldmove
in.I wastherewithTomMcEwenandsome
oftheBrazilianshewascoaching,andthere
wasa greatatmosphere.Oneyearwewentto
Badmintonwith 13 horsesfromtheyard.How
oftendoesthathappen?
“Itwasbrillianttowatchhimrideevery
day—he’sa realhorsemanandI thinkthat’s
whyhe’sbeensosuccessfulinshowjumping,
eventingandracing.He’salsoa fierce
competitor,buthealwaysputsthehorsefirst
andhasa fantasticattitudetowardsthem.I
thinkbeinga horseman is something that can
getforgottentoday.”GeorgieStrang
BritisheventerwhomadeherBurghley
debutin 2010 androdeat Badminton for
thefirsttimein 2018ngmyfirstweekatBadgerstown,
k tookmeona hacktoshowme
eretogo.Hewasridingand
adingwithCampinoandLeonidas
ndI wasonmyBadmintonhorse
whowasveryexcitedaboutthe
wholething.Markwasgoing
p anddownthesehills,tearing
round,andI wasstrugglingto
epup—I rememberthinkingthat
rkhadmorecontrolovertwoofhis
s thanI didoverone.
thertime,I gotbuckedoffonthe
waslyingonthegroundwithMark
lookingoverme.Buthewasneverpanicked.
Hewasalwayscalmabouteverysituationand
that’swhathisyardwaslike.
“ImovedthereinJanuarylastyearandwas
aimingformyfirstBadminton,soI tagged
alongtohisfitnessregimewhichwasa real
help.Hewouldcanterhishorseseveryfour
days,withlotsofhackingandlong,slowhill
work,sotheyhada reallysolidbasefitness.
“IwaswarnedthatBadgerstownis a really
coldplace.Therewerea coupleofdayswhenit
wasfreezingbutMarkwouldstillbeoutthere,
soI thought,‘Ifhecandoit,I’dbetter do it’. It
was amazing motivation.”H&HIn1980,Markmakeshis
Badmintondebutaboard
SouthernComfort(pictured
andinset),takingthefirst of
his four wins there