Localrider Magazine
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April/May 2018
Interview with Top Trainer & Dressage Rider
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April/May 2018 • VOLUME XVIII NUMBER 3
Andrew Gould
SHOW REPORTS & NEWS from Across the Region www.localrider.co.uk
We visit the new Sussex Equine Hospital
COVERING KENT, SUSSEX, SURREY, HAMPSHIRE, BERKSHIRE & THE ISLE of WIGHT
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SPOTLIGHT Andrew Gould and Esquire competing in the Prix St Georges at Hickstead
Andrew & Eventing meets Hannah Gould Dressage at Highview
the first time, living in staff accommodation with colleagues who were in some cases twice his age. David didn’t entertain fools and Andrew recounts being sent to see if he wanted a cup of coffee and taking several minutes to build up the confidence to ask the
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Pics by Spidge Photography, LRG Photography and Lucy Mohr
W
atching Andrew Gould schooling a magnificent black An all-round sportsman, Andrew dressage horse it easy to forget the years of hard work, determination and the sheer number of extremely Gould grew up in London keeping naughty and quirky horses he has ridden during his lifetime. his passion for riding a secret from Listening to his daily routine (he rides ten horses a day, and his team-mates on the rugby pitch, teaches), little of the above has changed, he still works hard and of there are still those talented yet quirky horses to ride, but this single-minded determination course with age comes experience, the ability to set clearer goals and be not to give up on his dream has more selective about which quirky horses to ride. served him well, even when faced Captain of rugby with riding some of the quirkiest Andrew grew up in Twickenham, an all-round sportsman, he was horses in the country. captain of the rugby and athletic teams at school and was Borough of London hurdles champion three years in a row. Fearless on the Based at Highview, a small but rugby pitch Andrew didn’t care who he tackled. A trait which I has weaved its benefits throughout his career with horses. purpose built yard, in Bolney, he suspect When Andrew was 15, his coaches suggested that he could take married his wife, Hannah, last both rugby and athletics further, but Andrew had a secret, there another sport he was excelling in, riding. Andrew had started September and together they run was riding aged eight and never told his friends of his hobby, knowing the yard as well as growing their full well the relentless teasing he would endure for enjoying a considered to be ‘girly’. When he was 12, he started riding a Foxy Horsebox business. sport five-year-old horse called Koffee Break, who his aunt, Anne-Marie, as a three-year-old. When he was 13, Andrew started With some exciting young horses bought training with international dressage judge and trainer, David Hunt. in the wings, Fiona Rafferty went Having spoken with David and his other sports coaches Andrew to concentrate on riding, over athletics and rugby. along to find out what the future chose Andrew had spent all his holidays working for David, so when holds for this enterprising and he left school aged 16, it was a natural progression to work for full-time. One would imagine the job of dreams, but for a determined couple. him young Andrew it was an unsettling time. Away from home for
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SPOTLIGHT Hannah and Andrew run the Foxy Horsebox and hire business together
Andrew and Koffee Break competed at five European Championships
Andrew working Feinstern in the large outdoor arena, there is an indoor one too
question. Those days are long gone and Andrew has continued to train with David ever since, valuing his input on the horses and their competition plans.
Just kick it! It may be 25 years since his first lesson on Koffee Break with David, but Andrew retells the story as if it was only yesterday. Setting the scene Andrew explained that David’s garden is his passion. There was a white post and rail fence between the school and the garden and at one point during the lesson Koffee Break reared up, put his feet the other side of the fence and pulled it down. A 12-year-old Andrew burst into tears. A voice boomed across the school, “stop crying and kick it”. Andrew said he didn’t want to kick it he wanted to get off, he had never been on a horse that reared before and on top of that his horse had just broken David’s fence. Whilst the lessons with David progressed, Koffee Break’s ability to rear and sometimes fall over backwards continued and Andrew remembers on one occasion being so fed up, that he didn’t want to get up and get back on. He thought if he laid very still his mother would think something really awful had happened and say he didn’t have to ride Koffee Break again. Instead she gently pushed on Andrew’s hat, pushing his head into the sand of the school, until he could play dead no more. Despite Andrew’s ability to find the right buttons and forming a mutual understanding with Koffee Break, he remained a tricky horse and Andrew’s next quest to remove himself from the partnership came when he was 17. Having spoken with David and his parents it was decided that Andrew could sell Koffee Break. He carried a substantial asking price and a number of top riders came to view him, but he just took the mickey out of all the riders, bolting around the arena. Andrew said it was really embarrassing and he had to get on and show them that he wasn’t like that with him.
European Bronze It was a turning point for Andrew, as he now had to persevere with his unsaleable horse. They subsequently made it onto five European Junior and Young Rider teams, winning team Bronze in 2000. Andrew said: “I learnt so much from Koffee Break as we were both learning together. I rode on the forehand and had to undo that. I rode too fast and realised I had to slow it down. Each time I made a mistake, I had to learn how to correct it, but Koffee Break put up with all of my inexperience.” Sadly, Koffee Break retired from competition far too early. Andrew said: “We were at the National Championships and he just didn’t feel right in the warm-up. I told David and he said that it was probably just my nerves, but Koffee Break then had a funny turn. I jumped off and led him back to the stables. We never knew exactly what happened, but the vets said he exhibited the clinical signs of a brain tumour. He was 16, the fittest and strongest he had ever been, nowhere near ready to retire.” Retirement didn’t suit Koffee Break. He refused to be ridden by anyone but Andrew. If someone asked him to trot he would passage, he would just do things to make them look stupid. Two years in the field followed, before Andrew decided to try again. He told the girls on his yard that if they got him fit, they could have lessons on him, but he just went back to his old ways of taking the mickey. Having watched his naughty ways, Andrew jumped on him in his jeans and rode through all the movements in a Grand Prix test, before riding him back to the field. It was the last time he was ridden. Koffee Break later moved to live with Andrew’s friend in Shropshire, where he spent ten wonderful years before passing away aged 28.
Exciting prospects Since Koffee Break Andrew has consistently produced a large
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