TSB: How does that fit in with the aspirations of the various International associations?

TS: They have to work with these people. They put the coaches in place to work with people at the various levels. Junior coaches, Senior coaches, managers and so on. It's up to the riders to make use of that setup, some of them don't as they have private coaches if they have more money.

TSB: Do the associations have goals in place for participation?

TS: Oh yeah, they have competitions at every level. There are Championships every year for ponies, juniors and younger riders. For the senior riders there are the Europeans every two years and then of course the Olympic games. For the Seniors the most important is the Olympics, then the World Championships and the Europeans.

TSB: Do you see a noticeable increase in take up participation wise after something like the Olympics? I'm thinking after the success of Nick Skelton and the like?

TS: Yeah, it does yeah. Just like the swimming and cycling over here in the UK, it certainly does.

TSB: How about yourself? How did you get into Show jumping?

TS: My Dad had horses on the farm for breeding but I started competing quite late, at around 17. Most are competing at 10 or 12. They start even younger now at under 8's and under 10's. There are better plans in place now than 20-30 years ago.

ES: It's like any sport; it has evolved and there are more chances for youngsters than there were before. The sport has grown.

TSB: When you first started riding did you have goals in mind? Was there a path to go and do certain events etc?

TS: For me it started out really about just getting the experience. In my situation we didn't have lots of money so I got a job in a dealing yard and got some experience there, then to a Show jumping yard. I went there as second rider and was lucky enough to quickly go to first rider so I got to ride all the horses. So I was very lucky as I had a lot of good horses to ride and that kick-started my career. Then I went to America for 2 years and worked for a Lady that had some great horses. We travelled all over the US doing shows.

TSB: Talking about the horses for a second... how important is it for someone to learn and ride the same horses regularly?

TS: For Show jumping it's very important as they have to get to a certain age before they are fully developed. It can be up to 9 years of age until they are totally developed, physically a bit earlier at 6-7 years of age but in terms of the full package it can take a while. You couldn't just buy a 4 year old horse and expect it to perform.