Male Focus

On top of the world

Carmine Villani used to be involved in motorsport as a racing driver – he switched from cars to endurance 12 years ago and now tops the FEI World Rankings, a first for a British rider. He tells Endurance GB how he got there…

You have gone from the speed of motor racing to endurance - tell us about your other sporting interests I used to be a track and field athlete and was a champion as a middle-distance runner at an incredibly young age. I won an athletics scholarship in the United States. I was also a racing car driver. How did you make the transfer to horses and endurance? In Texas graduate school I started riding quarter horses and thoroughbred horses. I picked up the love of horses from my grandfather and learned the tricks and bareback riding at a young age from him. I am a cowboy in spirit and no matter if you are living in jet set places, I like the approach based on what is real in life. I had been doing ultra-marathons and had heard about Arabian endurance and I became interested. I was doing 90km rides and started buying horses and winning national races in the US and in Italy. One of the biggest challenges I had coming from racing a vehicle was learning that a horse is not a car! You cannot rely on the team you have in the pit when driving cars and I realised I had to see things from a horse’s point of view so I started to race the 160km on foot alongside my horse to understand mentally and physically the experience the horse goes through.

Who inspired you to get involved in the sport? It is a very democratic sport in which Kings and Royals participate and compete alongside people from all backgrounds and all ages. Tell us about your life in business and how the skills transfer to endurance? I am a graduate of the university of Texas in Professional Accounting and Business Administration, a Certified and a Public Accountant in the State of New York and a Public Notary for the American Society of Notaries and I am the CEO of the MultiFamily Office Investments, a multibillion dollar investment platform, as well as Managing Director of the Global Family Office, and executive board member for Saudi Crown Holdings. I am also on the board of Tus Holdings the $130b technology and infrastructure Multifamily Office and Sovereign Wealth Funds globally. I worked with President Clinton in Yucaipa global partnership fund where I learned to create and build friendships and dialogue around the world and do business with your friends. What a great metaphor with the special relationship and partnership that we must build with our horses to compete and succeed together. And along these lines I learned to build partnerships and synergies in business that you also apply to this sport. Partnership with the horse in the first place. Then the crew obviously and the team.

What is your link to the UK that brings you to compete as a British rider? I have lived in the UK for many years first in London in Notting Hill and then in West Sussex and I am proud to be riding for Britain and to be part of Endurance GB. I love the Downs where I live and Littlehampton because it is one of the warmest parts of the country! I am proud of the British people as they have a sense of values and speak for what is right and there is a sense of discipline in the sport of endurance here – a sense of belonging. Britain has also shown strong leadership in terms of safeguarding the welfare of the horse and bringing us back to origins of the sport.

What are your favourite rides in the UK? Euston Park is the most famous ride in the world because of the great terrain and going over so many miles of green tracks, and Royal Windsor which is so prestigious because of the location and the attendance of the Queen – so those two.

You are qualified for the World Championships in Italy next year; will you be aiming to ride for Team GB? If I am chosen to represent Great Britain it would be my honour to do all I can to follow the instructions of the team manager and vets and help the team bring all four horses in. At this kind of competition it is about team work not an individual competition and you have to help the other horses to go through

Tell us how you approach a ride I have been exposed to both types of riding fast and flat as well as technical. You must be complete.

Although riding fast flat courses appears to be more fun, it has got its own risks to be aware of, mainly for the horses' welfare and recovery, while technical courses are more challenging and I think you need to be an overall better rider to be successful.

My objective is always to feel that the horse can do one more loop after the finish and therefore to ensure we have all Vet Card As as the health and welfare of my horses is of foremost importance. On a ride if I start to sense a horse is losing something, I will slow down and maybe let it eat some grass and get off and run until they pick up again.

Often on a mountain to maintain the balance of the horse I will run up the hill and down the hill preserving the horse and give myself a nice workout in between. Tell us about your horses I had over 130 horses at one point between the various continents. But not all were endurance. My love for these noble animals leads me to own multiple breeds, including the large Breton working horses. I have endurance horses in training in the USA, France, and Italy. They are at different stages and I enjoy riding the young ones at their early competitions. I do not currently have any endurance horses in training in the UK, but I would do if there were more FEI rides here. My horses are aimed at the terrain and kind of ride that will suit them. In the States you need sound, strong horses that will go slower. In Europe you need to manage the horses so that they are doing one big race a year – that way you make sure you preserve your best horses for the big events.

What about your own training as an athlete? I alternate interval training and running with strength workouts with no rest over multiple series of exercises, including a set of 1,000 push ups split into series. Endurance demands a great partnership from the athlete and the horse. Your horse is not a machine and the health of the horse is foremost.

What have you learned from women in the sport? I have learned a lot more from women in the sport than men who sometimes have too much of an ego. From Cheryl (Van Dusen) while this is in many ways an individual sport, I have learned to never leave anyone behind and ride with the slowest horse. In terms of improved horsemanship l have learned a lot from her in that respect and by slowing down I have understood the real discipline of endurance. I have found women in the sport have intelligence and discipline and in many ways are stronger and tougher than the men and so the point to men in endurance really is whether you are man enough to keep up with the women. I have found women are great strategists and are often able to manage business more objectively than men as they do not have egos to the same extent, it's about getting the job done.

How would you sum up your ethos? I’ve always maintained what is real in life is the cowboy spirit: focus on what is real and what makes you happy, you don’t need a sports car or yacht. Stay grounded and be happy for the things in life you are thankful for – your health, what you have built and your family values growing up. I find my two little daughters a great inspiration and try to instil in them real values about being active and healthy with the spirit of sacrifice that allows you to do well in sport, school, work and life. In terms of the sport I would sum it as if you cannot be the best, be your best.

As a businessman, how do you make time for endurance? When I was competing with the top track team in school I learned if something is important in your life you find the time and so I learned to break things down half an hour by half an hour, and manage tasks like this. If something is important you must prioritise and create your own sense of urgency. If you do not prioritise you live upon other people’s timetables.

Tell us why endurance has captivated you Endurance is all about strategy, determination, and a strong spirit of sacrifice. You never give up and you want tough rides but conducted in a beautiful way. To improve your horse, you need to go through a ride with safety as a priority but also from a base that they are well, sound, eating and have good metabolic function so it is complex. In terms of myself I always push myself a little more to break my own barriers and extend my range but at the end of the day it is also a fun and enjoyable sport, a celebration of living life with passion.