The freestyle element of the sport has helped to re-establish the popularity of ‘trick training’ in pet obedience clubs. Team GB became the new European champions in 2012, and thanks to the TV exposure classes are now inundated with new recruits.
‘It really helps to keep you fit, mentally and physically,’ said Jenny Deakin, who has made the final at Crufts. ‘It’s like any good aerobic exercise,’ added Sandra Hallam, who was struggling to keep up with her St Bernard, Alice. ‘We both have to stay really fit, to be able to do a whole routine in the ring for three and a half minutes, especially with Alice who certainly goes for it.’
My daughters Isabel and Sophie, who have a Parsons Jack Russell called Lilly, had come along and were transfixed. Beginners who turn up are given an experienced dog to work, and Sophie had Ozzie, a Sheltie – or officially a Shetland Sheepdog – who was weaving through her legs, rolling and trotting backwards within minutes. In contrast, I was nearly taken out by poor Ozzie, who got entangled around my legs. Mary got me to make a circle in the air with my hand, holding a tiny bit of sausage. As I went around with my arm, so Ozzie’s head followed, spinning on the spot like Dill the dog from the TV programme The Herbs.
‘Dogs don’t get dizzy,’ Mary reassured me and it seems she was right. Ozzie didn’t put a step out of place, as I tried to walk forward with my arms tracing a figure of eight between my legs. I used my head, voice and shoulders as well as my arms to guide Ozzie through. The little dog was now skipping in and out of my step and around the back so fast that I felt dizzy watching him. ‘You’re walking like John Wayne!’ laughed Mary. My gestures were far too exaggerated. This is a subtle sport, where style and elegance counts for a lot. Once you have a routine, you can start introducing props. Mary’s included a broom, a washing line and laundry basket. No doubt if I had tried this with Basil, it would have been me in the basket by the end!
For more information contact www.heelworktomusic.co.uk or www.mary.ray.co.uk
HORSES FOR COURSES
AT THE RACES
This section is all about how we harness the power of horses, whether it be to chase a ball, ride a board, or simply race and jump. The top jockeys have to among the toughest, most disciplined athletes in any world sport, whether it’s the diets they have to stick to, or the pain they suffer when they fall.
Think of the Christmas dinner you enjoy every year. Most people consume up to 6000 calories on 25 December. Top jockey Tony McCoy has revealed he has taken on board just 597 calories even on Christmas Day to keep himself in peak condition. It starts with tea and two slices of toast. Then it’s a hot bath to sweat out four pounds, followed by the main feast, which is often just three thinly-sliced pieces of turkey, a spoonful of cabbage, three Brussels sprouts and a splash of gravy. It’s important when you’re racing at Kempton Park on Boxing Day. I met Tony once at Ludlow racecourse. He had just arrived by car from Wiltshire and for him this was another day at the office, and I was amazed how they take this sport of extremes in their stride.
Horse racing provides excitement for millions of people every week, whether on a day out or just trying to pick a winner at home, but it’s not one of those activities which we can personally understand what the jockeys go through. To get anywhere near the saddle on a racehorse takes a lifetime of dedication and hard work.
I did get a taste myself of what the Grand National riders experience, when I rode the course – albeit a virtual one, a wooden horse simulator, known as an Equiciser, in the jockeys’ changing room at Aintree, alongside former winner Richard Dunwoody. I couldn’t believe how demanding it was on my legs as I crouched over my mount’s ears, trying to keep my bottom low as the excruciating pain seized hold of my knees. All the time, I was having to move the reins up the horse’s mane, pushing with each stride along the wooden neck.
‘Remember to keep your head still, that’s crucial!’ shouted Richard, who wasn’t even out of breath.
‘What do I do when I come up to the fence?’ I panted.
‘In your case, Mike, I would just close your eyes,’ was his reply.
So I did and imagined what it must be like sandwiched between other flying mountains of muscles all striving to get over The Chair or Becher’s Brook. My eyes were fully open again, eyelids propped up by nerves, as I paraded on a real racehorse, Ryes-dale Lad, later that day. He was different from any horse I had ever been on: his back was so hard, and I was told not to squeeze with my legs, as this would be like pulling a trigger. As I got used to holding the reins in a different way, I could feel how the slightest of twitches would cue the explosion of speed poised between my thighs to take off.
It was like sitting on a giant firework. If he went I would have no hope of gripping with my legs like the professionals and trainer Oliver Grennall was taking no chances, tightening his grip on the reins as we walked around the training track.
This was as far as I went on a racehorse, but for more information on all horse racing matters go to the website of the British Horseracing Authority, www.britishhorseracing.com
HORSEBOARDING
Let’s get one thing clear straight away. This is not a banned form of water torture for horses, and it’s not an advert for an equine bed and breakfast service.
This is for those of us who have aspirations of being a roman centurion riding along in a chariot (in my case Mikus Maximus) but who don’t have the finances, or armour, or historical setting to do so.
What’s more Horseboarding is a team sport that really is open to people who have never ever sat on a horse and never intend to do so.
What you do need is strong arm and shoulder muscles, good balance and plenty of nerve. As the horse is led out, you pull on your knee pads, elbow protectors, goggles and helmet. You limber up, stretch those muscles and get ready to ride, like a water skier or wake boarder, but instead of waves there is a muddy field and instead of a boat there is a horse who is straining, rearing, waiting to bolt.
Daniel Fowler-Prime first came up with the idea whilst visiting friends in Cornwall in 2005. They had originally tried horse surfing, a craze that started on the beaches of America and which involves a horse towing a surfer through the shallow breaking waves on a beach. Some surfers in Florida have also started standing on the backs of horses as they walk and swim through calmer, deeper water in sheltered bays. The cost of horse surfing made it restrictive at the time for Daniel so he focused on the land version, horseboarding. The first time he did it was in Maidenhead and the first centre opened in Seisdon near Wolverhampton. There are also now clubs in North Wales, Scotland and Australia.
It has caught on to such an extent that there are now national championships every year. It’s no surprise that Daniel was the champion for many years. Well he is a professional horse rider and has appeared in many films such as Kingdom of Heaven and The Da Vinci Code. He lost the title last year though, to – of all people – his brother, Thomas Kilroy.
The start of a race is a majestic sight: a chariot race from the days of the Romans. Daniel settled his feet into the board as his rider Katherine revved on the reins. The horse, Rohan, was restless and ready to go. Katherine pulled back on the throttle and with Dan signalling down the rope that he was ready, the hooves thundered into action. The slack was taken in a split second and the rope became a live wire, electrifying Dan into life. If Dan hadn’t put in all the training to develop his upper body muscles, he would have been a twisted mess of limbs. Instead he rocked and rolled around the 400-metre training track maintaining a steady speed.
Dan needs the horse to start at a gallop to reach 36 miles per hour. Most races are between two teams over 100 metres, and the world record is a time of 8.22 seconds, set in 2011. There is also now a slalom race in which the teams have to weave their way through a series of markers.
‘If anything, it is the modern version of chariot racing,’ Daniel said as he folded his massive biceps across his chest: his upper body