Daily learning, diligence and why you need to jump on grass – inside the mindset of a top-flight showjumper
British showjumper Mark Edwards reveals the patient work ethic and mental strength that has propelled him to the top echelons of the sport, and gives grounded advice to aspiring professional riders who want to make it in the big time in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
Showjumper Mark Edwards has been riding high on the home circuit and abroad for years; representing Britain on Nations Cup teams and winning everything from speed classes to grands prix. But like all the best horsemen, he believes “you never stop learning”, whatever level you reach personally.
“Every day, every show, every round, you can learn something,” he says.
Whichever horse he is partnering, if he’s in a jump-off, the others need to look to their laurels. This is down to talent, will to win and some lovely horses. But it’s also, as always in this game, down to sheer hard graft.
“Whenever we have a fence down we think about what I could or should have done to jump it clear,” he says. “It’s very good to analyse every round, and we learn a lot more from the rounds that haven’t gone well than the ones that do. In this sport we lose a lot more than we win so it’s very important to not be negative and move on to the next round.
“Every day, every round, you learn something,” says Mark, pictured riding Tinkers Tale in an International Trial. Credit: Lucy Merrell
“In showjumping, like most sports, success is a lot to do with mental strength. When things are going well, everything seems easy and you feel like you’re going to win every class. When they’re not, you go into the ring overthinking every distance, every line. Sometimes we just have to accept that some days it wasn’t our day. We all need a little bit of luck.”
Hard work the main ethic
But, as has been said, those who are the luckiest are those who work the hardest. Some 75 horses were at Mark and his father Martyn’s yard, in Wales, last year, from youngsters in for backing to the grand prix veterans.
“We do a lot of riding for clients; that’s our bread and butter,” Mark says, adding that they rarely turn an offered horse down.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
