Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Aug-2021 i Horse & Hound

SPEAKING with a colleague after the Olympic dressage and eventing competitions, but ahead of the showjumping, I tempted fate by saying it was fortunate that the three riders to a team with no drop score format hadn’t caused the consternation many feared and predicted it would. And then came the team showjumping “carnage”. The FEI are reviewing the format (news, p4), but where can it go from here if – to be inclusive and affordable enough to remain in the Olympics – teams can only have three members? Dickie Waygood has the logical solution – three riders including a drop score. Would reducing pressure in this way have stopped any suggestion that a few riders were feeling they had to choose between keeping horse welfare paramount or their country’s sporting…

SUPER NOVA II Spencer Wilton’s Rio 2016 Olympic team dressage silver and 2018 world team bronze medal-winning ride has retired aged 18. Jen Goodman’s gelding was also part of the British side at the 2017 Europeans. C FATAL ATTRACTION The multiple medal-winning para dressage star, ridden by Britain’s Sophie Wells and owned by Charlotte Hogg, has been ruled out of the Paralympics by a fitness issue. Sophie will ride Roland Kinch’s Don Cara M instead. BELLA ROSE 2 Isabell Werth’s Tokyo individual silver and team gold medal-winning ride will compete one last time. The 17-year-old world and European champion’s swansong will be at Aachen 2021 (10-19 September).…

1) Who is the only Frenchman to have won Badminton Horse Trials? 2) How many Japanese riders have won Olympicgold? 3) What do The Lamb, Nicolaus Silver and Neptune Collonges have in common? 4) What was the name of the Duke of Wellington’s charger in the Napoleonic Wars? 5) Which British actor in Game of Thrones made his professional acting debut as Albert Narracott in the original National Theatre production of War Horse? Answers from 12 August 1) Novice masters 2) Dun 3) Duke of Beaufort’s, with 49 – 32 doghound, and 17 bitch (tied with the Heythrop on 17) 4) Shakespeare (Richard III) 5) Reiner Klimke and Isabell Werth, who has just won her seventh.…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald THE Tokyo Olympics will stand out in history for many reasons. Watching Ben Maher and the incomparable Explosion W take individual gold after an edge-of-your-seat jump-off was magical. But as the dust settles, and our rather full glassrecycling bins are emptied, many people will be reflecting on the new format that was forced on our sport. The biggest shift saw a reduction in the teams from four to three members, with no drop scores. The competition structure was also adapted. Not having a drop score was supposed to make the sport more understandable and attractive to new audiences. An additional, supposed benefit to reducing team numbers was the opening up of more spaces, so that other nations could be represented. I was skeptical when this was announced and…

The whole Tokyo experience was slightly surreal. I still can’t quite believe that we’ve been there and done it, and that the team has won Olympic gold. My journey with horses started at a young age; we lived on a farm and had ponies, and my interest grew from there. I did some eventing myself and then secured a place at university to study forensic science. I wanted to get horses out of my system, so I started working for eventer Jonty Evans during my gap year. Jonty’s head girl, Jane Felton, had groomed for him at the Rio Olympics and she taught me everything I know. Jonty then had a serious fall at Tattersalls and his yard closed while he recovered, so a friend who was grooming freelance at…

The Horse & Hound Podcast Hear from Tokyo Olympic champion Ben Maher on this week’s Horse & Hound Podcast: horseandhound.co.uk/podcast…

• FEW would begrudge Julia Krajewski’s eventing gold (right) - the first female eventing champion. She produced Chipmunk FRH to top level, now ridden by Michael Jung; her other top ride Samourai Du Thot lost an eye earlier this season and was retired. “I thought that Tokyo would happen without me,” said Julia, who is also coping with her father’s death this year. • Peaking her second string Amande De B’Neville not just to be selected on the hot German team, but to finish top of the world, is an awesome and hugely deserved achievement. • LOTTIE FRY’s late mother, Laura, competed at the Barcelona Olympics alongside Carl Hester. Twenty-nine years later, Lottie rode alongside Carl to win dressage team bronze. Carl has been instrumental in Lottie’s career - helping…

TOKYO is playing out to be the closest Games in history for a blistering 25th anniversary year of dressage at the Paralympics. Britain’s golden grip on the sport has eased in recent Games, as the balance of power shifts with the growing strength in depth of talent and horses in other nations. We know the Netherlands are strong – it was the Dutch that ended the British team’s unbeaten streak at the senior championships at the 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG), followed up by a second victory at the 2019 Europeans. Three combinations that were on those gold medal-winning teams are on the Netherlands’ Tokyo squad. “The US is tipped to set a new world order” But the Dutch are not alone, as Britain faces a multi-pronged challenge from a…

1996 the first year in which dressage featured at the Paralympics, in Atlanta 78 competitors from 27 nations will be chasing medals 7 the age of the youngest British horse, Georgia Wilson’s Sakura TIMETABLE THE Paralympic dressage competitions are being held from 26 to 30 August 2021 at the Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo’s Heritage Zone. The team medals will be decided on 29 August. The individual medals will be presented on 26, 27 and 30 August. HOW TO WATCH CHANNEL 4 has the broadcasting rights to the Paralympics, and is set to host over 300 hours of round-the-clock coverage. The specific details of the dressage coverage had not been confirmed as H&H went to press, but Channel 4 has also committed to featuring 16 live-streams and over 1,000…

IT’S remarkable that Woodlands Be Daring (pictured), who was third under Sasha Hargreaves in the CCI3*-L, is competing at all with his back catalogue of injuries. “‘Desmond’ got loose and fell over on some concrete in 2018, which meant six months off,” explained Sasha. “Then I got pneumonia and couldn’t ride him for six months as he’s very strong, and once we got going again, he had to undergo colic surgery. One month after that he had to undergo another operation for a really bad heart arrhythmia. “But he’s actually come back from the colic better than he was before, which my vet Spike Milligan said is incredibly unusual.” AGAINST THE ODDS…

CDI Donaueschingen, Germany BRITAIN’S Laura Tomlinson swept the board with the 11-year-old Bordeaux mare DSP Rose Of Bavaria. The pair, who were non-travelling reserves for the Tokyo Olympics, and have also been long-listed for the European Championships next month, won the grand prix with 74.15%, pipping Australia’s Lyndal Oatley and Elvive into second, before taking the grand prix special with a personal best score of 77.28%. “Sometimes if I haven’t been in the ring much already, ‘Betty’ shows her tension a little through the contact, so that would be where she lost some marks in the grand prix,” explained Laura, who is currently six months’ pregnant with her fourth child. “On the second day, I changed the curb and made it looser. By then, she had also settled in nicely…

Share your news story Call 01252 555021 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @jones_eleanor_ THE FEI will conduct a “thorough debrief” of the Olympic format and see what can be bettered – but the changes were needed to keep our sport in the Games. The three-man teams were a major talking point in Tokyo; showjumpers described it as “carnage” and “unfair on the rider who makes a mistake”. Shane Sweetnam, whose ride Alejandro fell in the team competition to rule Ireland out of contention, agreed. “With this new format everything counts, so it’s very hard for the team,” he said after his round. “We are out, and that’s the negativity of just a three-man team. These things happen as you’ve seen – a couple of other teams are falling out of bed as well.…

Dressage rider Emile Faurie won both the grand prix and the special for Britain at Zandhoven CDI3* with Dono Di Maggio, with whom he is long-listed for next month’s European Championships. Swedish showjumper Peder Fredricson followed his Tokyo Olympic team gold up with a win in the grand prix at the London Global Champions Tour with Catch Me Not S. Report, p58. German dressage rider Rose Oatley, 14, and Daddy Moon set a world record of 89.7% in the freestyle at the pony Europeans. They broke Brit Phoebe Peters’ 2015 record of 85.825%. Welsh Flat jockey David Probert rode his first career five-timer at Ffos Las on 11 August. David said it was an “unbelievable feeling” and thanked his owners and trainers. Tokyo Paralympic rider Natasha Baker appeared on Channel…

▲ LEGENDS Three cheers for all-round legend Ian Stark who, when his daughter could not coach her son’s Pony Club team in a championship, hot-footed it from Olympic commentary to stand in. Some 10 hours of pouring rain later, Mr Stark and the Duke of Buccleuch Hunt branch were successful, if also soaked. Hats off, Sir. ▲ VERSATILITY A pony who won a title at the British Showjumping national championships is a Jack of all trades at home, including herding the sheep. Just teach her to make the tea, too, and we’re on to a real winner... ▲ COLLECTIVE NOUNS To the EquiRatings podcast, on which a vet was musing over the right collective noun. “What do you call a group of vets? An invoice, I think,” he observed. We’ll…

ONCE again, the unsavoury topic of horse welfare has raised its ugly head, following the displays of lack of empathy and equestrian skill in the modern pentathlon in Tokyo. How sad that this casts a shadow on the performance of our British athletes, winning gold in the women’s and men’s divisions. Congratulations to Kate French and Joseph Choong, and to Jabeena Maslin for training the riders so effectively. But the question of the inclusion of showjumping is rightly being challenged. My understanding is that modern pentathlon is a core Olympic discipline, of which riding is an integral part. Only those who ride can appreciate what a challenge it is for a non-equestrian athlete to ride an unfamiliar horse for 20 minutes before jumping a track of 1.20m. Our sport is…

alexandra.robinson@futurenet.com @alexrobjourno_ FOLLOWING on from fellow H&H columnist Stuart Hollings’ suggestion that showing has been under a bit of a cloud recently (5 August), I am inclined to agree. During Covid, we saw the showing community coming together, with competitors supporting each other and owners backing their producers, displaying loyalty and camaraderie. Everyone seemed grateful to be competing and it was lovely. Sadly, we have seen changes as the season has gone on, coincidental with the lure of the golden Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) tickets. Social media in particular seems to be the modern sounding board for these grievances. Competitors must remember that showing is a subjective sport. I am afraid, if you cannot take your result with good grace, which is based on somebody’s opinion, then perhaps…

A LOSS of performance and intermittent irregular steps last summer alerted Jo Barry to an issue with small tour dressage gelding Goofy La Perle. “He was not obviously lame, but he didn’t feel right,” says Jo, who rides 10-year-old Goofy for Gordon Grainger. “We couldn’t get to the bottom of it. The farrier then noticed that the hammer tap sounded more hollow on Goofy’s right fore, and at his next shoeing identified white line disease. “Around a third of his foot had to be cut away to access the infection,” she says. “There was not enough stability in the hoof to turn him out or walk him, so he was on box rest until a shoe could be fitted. The farrier then packed the area of hoof that had been…

AS the dust settles, we will look back at the Tokyo Olympics as an unexpected marvel. It was the Games that so nearly didn’t happen, yet so gloriously lifted us out of the Covid gloom. There were British medals aplenty, tear-jerking successes and heartbreak, lessons learnt and questions for the future. For now, let’s celebrate the joys of the pinnacle of our sport, its athletes, equine and human, and cherish the thrills and emotions they have given us. BRITISH SUCCESS THIS was Britain’s joint-best equestrian effort at an Olympics, equalling the five medals at London 2012 and two more than at Rio 2016. Britain’s double dressage gold from London may have turned to double bronze, but as Charlotte Dujardin pointed out of grand prix newcomer Gio: “For me, this might…

WITH a couple of weeks to catch our breath after a jaw-droppingly exciting Games, there is now a fresh set of newly minted Tokyo dressage Olympians, and some newcomers made quite the impression. Lottie Fry, at her first Olympics, helped secure that precious team bronze alongside Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. “It’s still sinking in what happened out there,” says the 25-year-old, who recorded a 77% personal best in the grand prix on Everdale, following up with a 76.85% special. “Riding down the centre line, I thought, ‘I’m at the Olympics; I can hardly believe it.’ I loved every second in the arena,” she enthused, pointing out that a medal of any colour was a brilliant result with so many quality teams in the hunt. “It was so fun and…

H&H is sending journalist Lucy Elder to Tokyo for the Paralympics, so we can bring you all the news directly from the Games. In addition we will have staff supporting from home to ensure we provide you with the fullest coverage possible. • Find our Tokyo Paralympics news at horseandhound.co.uk/tokyo-2021-olympic-games/paralympics-dressage, with reports throughout each session of dressage, plus rider reactions and Tales from Tokyo features, which celebrate and share fascinating stories about riders and horses from all over the world. • We will also bring you previews of the next day of sport on the website, including ride times for key contenders and British athletes. • The 2 September issue of H&H will feature in-depth reports from the individual, team and freestyle competitions, along with plenty of photos, analysis and…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 Bishop Burton CPEDI, Yorks MATILDA CARNEGIE took her budding partnership with Boccelli 6 to the next level with a hat-trick of three-star grade IV wins. Tilda relocated to the UK from Australia a year ago and trains with Katie Bailey, who previously competed the 14-yearold Belissimo M gelding at international small tour. “When the opportunity came up for me to lease Boccelli in February, I just grabbed it with both hands,” said Tilda, who was quick to thank owner Leslie Forlee. “He’s a lovely horse – like a Labrador personality-wise. “Here he performed consistently across the board. He loves the atmosphere and it makes things a lot easier when the horse knows their job. Boccelli is one of those rare gems – a horse with a lot of…

Keysoe Regionals, Beds “IT’S a big achievement,” said Scarlet Scott after a prix st georges (PSG) silver victory with Cum Laude. “It has taken the three years since I bought her to gain her confidence in the arena.” After a nervy arena walk, Scarlet lowered her expectations with the 17-year-old mare, who was bred for showjumping. “‘Lily’ wants to do everything for you, but she’s so wired inside that sometimes we just have to call it a day,” added Scarlet, who is based with David Rumsey. “She was on fire and piaffing everywhere, so I aimed to get round without being fussed about the score. I took the pressure off and I’m pleased with the outcome.” Russki earned his tickets to the nationals by winning both the PSG and inter…

THE intermediate accolade at Royal Lancashire was clinched by a novice contender, the Whalton Above Suspicion sevenyear-old show riding type Raemoir Savoir Gre (Flynn) and Ellie Morgan Conway. Flynn, who is contending his first season as a show mount, arrived at Ellie’s yard last February for her to back and sell on, but Ellie fell in love with him and he stayed. “Once he was backed we had fun, hacking and going on farm rides,” said Ellie. “One day it just clicked and I realised how special he was.” Flynn qualified for the Royal International on his first attempt and HOYS on his second. “He’s a superstar,” Ellie added. “I owe him the world.”…

martha.terry@futurenet.com @marthaowenorterry British Riding Clubs NAF Five Star National Horse Trials Championships, Swalcliffe Park Equestrian, Oxon LAUREN SHELLEY and Cardinar Surprise successfully retained their open 100+ individual title from 2019 here despite a difficult lead-up to the competition which meant their participation was in doubt until two days before it started. “Surprise scratched her eye last weekend and it ulcerated overnight, so I’ve been putting drops into it every two hours all week; it was touch and go whether she would be able to come,” said the Crown RC member, who has produced the 12-year-old Hanoverian mare herself. “I wasn’t able to ride until yesterday so for her to come here and produce a personal best in the dressage and fly around the showjumping and cross-country is incredible. I can’t…

NEVER mind Beckford’s lengthy paragraph detailing the necessary attributes of a huntsman; what he fails to mention is that any huntsman, or indeed master of hounds, must be prepared for the absolute worst at all times. In the last contribution I made to this column you were given a detailed account of a hunt which cropped up in my dreams. Following the resumption of our glorious game at the beginning of December, we enjoyed four weeks of sport with a positive consistency rarely granted by Diana, these days anyway. Since the start of lockdown three though, life in sunny Beaufortshire has been the stuff of nightmares. The three-month void left by a lack of hunting was filled enthusiastically I suppose, laying hedges and planting up bare spots with gay abandon.…

IT has been a good and sunny summer, life has felt more normal, and yet I detect a weary air among fellow mums as the holidays draw to a close. We went to Edinburgh this week to meet some boys who are going to Alec’s new school and their mothers were similarly punch-drunk. I think we lost our stamina for full-throttle lifestyles during the quieter days of the pandemic and the constant hounding we get from our mobile phones doesn’t help. As messages pinged back and forth before junior camp, I thought back to my mother’s day and wondered at how free their lives were without this constant battery of beeps; just a sheet of paper to tell them what to bring and when. The phone to ring someone if…

BRITISH EUROPEAN JUMPING TEAM THE British team for the European Showjumping Championships has been confirmed. The riders who will carry British hopes at former Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum’s base in Riesenbeck, Germany, (1-5 September) are Emily Moffitt, with Poden Farms and Neil and Heidi Moffitt’s Winning Good; Joe Stockdale, with Joy Cocklin’s Equine America Cacharel; Georgia Tame, with Breen Equestrian Ltd, Shane Breen and Team Z7’s Z7 Ascot; and William Whitaker, with Philip Tuckwell’s Galtur. British Equestrian showjumping performance manager Di Lampard said having the “additional bonus” of the Europeans this year had given selectors the opportunity to field an “exciting young team”. PODIUM POTENTIAL RIDERS’ PATHWAY BRITISH EQUESTRIAN podium potential pathway athletes will take part in the Team GB Paris 2024 ambition programme. Showjumper Joe Stockdale, eventers Mollie Summerland…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. @horseandhound instagram.com/horseandhound facebook.com/horseandhound THANK YOU FOR WAFER I CANNOT begin to thank those who contributed towards this wonderful painting (above) of our whippet, Wafer. Edward Foster coordinated this on behalf of the donors, and she was painted quite beautifully by Tania Still, so a huge thank you to them both. It will remind me of over 10 happy years at the helm of hunting. My wife Hebe and I recently visited many packs across the country which was not only tremendous fun, but also incredibly encouraging. We saw young masters and hunt staff raising the standards of hound welfare, hunts investing in kennels, accommodation and stables and, of course, wonderful hounds. It was a joy after months…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 THE Tokyo Olympics was oceans away, yet in a way we were all there, glued to our TVs, computers and phones. I’m kicking myself for turning down a trip to the Paralympics, but Covid, and the possibility of 10 days’ quarantine, was a risk too far for me and Talland. Out at the Olympics, Lottie Fry’s tests with the 12-year-old Everdale had us crying with joy. Their performances were light, forward, bold and beautiful. OK, Everdale’s neck could be more forward and down a little bit, but the overall partnership shone with potential. There’s almost no dressage expert who doesn’t love Carl Hester, his riding and training. The outstanding harmony between him and En Vogue was there for all to see in every footfall. “Unless dressage is perceived…

TOM MCEWEN is someone you’d want on your side in a crisis. Not that Britain’s eventing team ever had a moment’s worry as the trio sauntered to victory in Tokyo, but the nation’s 49-year wait for another Olympic team gold had built up some momentum. But while the fans go wild, such a colossal achievement looks unlikely to go to Tom’s head. Back home the day after bagging team gold and individual silver medals with the superstar Toledo De Kerser, the 30-year-old is quietly rather than effusively ecstatic. He has enjoyed a party with his family and support team; he’s visited his parents, and – when we speak 48 hours after that brilliant performance – he had just arrived at his Gatcombe yard ready to ride out the next generation…

“SOMETIMES I think Bubblingh is not really a horse; he is more like a human. He is a worrier and Richard has spent so much time bringing him out of his shell, helping him calm down and face his fears. We have a real three-way partnership, and he is amazing to deal with now. “When you’re standing next to him and he’s all pumped up, he seems to grow a hand, but in the stable he will put his head in your lap and go to sleep. He also always seems to know when there are children around – he loves them, and it’s like he turns into a riding school horse. “I’ve been fortunate enough to look after ‘Bubsi’ for six years. We’ve been all over Europe together and…

HIGH ELMS BARN Abbots Bromley, Staffs For you: a four-bed Grade II-listed barn conversion set in just over four acres. The house is on the edge of a village, with wonderful rural views over the nearby Blithfield Reservoir. For the horses: stable block with three stables with rubber matting and automatic drinkers. The 20x40m manège is enclosed by post-and-rail fencing and is five years old. Grazing is currently split into five paddocks, each with water supply. There is also a barn with power and light, ideal for hay/straw storage. £875,000 Rural Scene, 01264 850700, ruralscene.co.uk WESTBROOK HALL Broadbridge Heath, West Sussex For you: a Grade II-listed Georgian country house with 17th-century annexe, set in mature gardens with the North River adjacent. There is a swimming pool and a large field,…

THE combination that had social media abuzz was Portugal’s Olympic debutant Rodrigo Torres on his home-bred grey Fogoso, whose name means “full of power”. Rodrigo’s emotional reactions at the three final halts captured hearts as he threw his hands skyward and then wrapped his arms around the stallion’s chunky Lusitano neck. Much of the pair’s freestyle was performed one-handed, highlighting the horse’s straightness and willingness. Rodrigo’s nation was so proud of him – the pair finished 16th in the individual final with a personal best of 78.94% – that he was met at the airport in Portugal by friends, family, fans, and 10 horses and riders who formed a guard of honour for him. In touching scenes, a surprised Rodrigo could be seen greeting each one of the horses. Reflecting…

A NEW format is in play for these Games, with the team competition feeling the biggest shake-up. The order and way in which the three sets of medals (individual, team and freestyle) for grades I to V will be decided is the other major change to the rules for this Paralympics. Nations fielding teams can bring a maximum of four combinations to the Games and all of these will take part in the individual competition, the first class competitors will contest. It takes place over the first two days of the para dressage schedule (26-27 August). After these medals are decided, nations will announce which three combinations on their squad will go forward to compete for the team medals (28-29 August). The scoreboard is wiped clean after the individual competition,…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald LGCT of London, Royal Hospital Chelsea IF the thrilling action between British and Swedish riders in Tokyo wasn’t enough, the tussle spilled over into London’s Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) grand prix, with individual silver and team gold medallist Peder Fredricson winning by a whisker over the British challenge. It was the indefatigable John Whitaker, who has only jumped a handful of five-star shows since the start of 2019, who gave the reigning European champion a run for his money, jumping three brilliant rounds on the low- mileage Unick Du Francport. The consensus was that Uliano Vezzani’s track was big and six clears made the jump-off, with Alexandra Thornton (Cornetto K) finishing next-best of the Brits in seventh on one time-fault. “When you have a Whitaker behind you,…

GOLD LEAGUE – Adrian Speight and Mark Edwards INTERNATIONAL STAIRWAY FINAL – Joe Stockdale (passed down from Adrian Speight) INTERNATIONAL STAIRWAY SERIES – Tim Davies (Mark Edwards and Adrian Speight finished first and second, with the wild card passing down to third) UNDER-25 WILD CARD – Joe Fernyhough BRITISH SHOWJUMPING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WILD CARD SERIES (awarded for the highest points across the 1.40m national final, speed horse final and international stairway final) – Ben Walker…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle NAF Five Star Hartpury, Glos JL DUBLIN continued his sensational run of form when topping the NAF Five Star Magic CCI4*-S under Nicola Wilson. The 10-year-old added four faults in the showjumping and 1.2 crosscountry time-faults to his leading dressage of 23.9, clinching victory by just 0.2 of a penalty. “He really showed off in the dressage and the fence down was unlucky,” Nicola explained. “I thought the cross-country was cleverly designed with some difficult combinations, but Dublin felt as if he’d already looked at the course plan.” JL Dublin, who is owned by James Lambert OBE, Jo Lambert and Deirdre Johnston, recorded the equal second fastest crosscountry time of the day, but Nicola said that he isn’t naturally quick. “He isn’t very thoroughbred, but he is a…

THIS show provided a successful international debut for Laura Gulliver’s upcoming grade IV ride Farok V. Singing (pictured, right). The combination achieved team test and freestyle wins at two-star, and second behind Alicia Griffiths and Aergrus Ophelia in the novice. “My aim was to give him a good experience and some muchneeded exposure,” said Laura of the nine-year-old Trakehner gelding, who is owned by Joanna Alderton-Whitworth. “He was very green on the first day so I had to hold his hand and help him round. But by the second, he was much more confident, and on the third day he really blossomed. “He has such a willing attitude. He is 18hh, so a big boy to get around the arena. I have to ride cleverly and not rush him, but…

“I JUST wanted to better myself,” said Rob Barker (pictured, riding Woodlander Romance), who has regular sport psychology sessions with Ahead For Sport. “I don’t get nervous in competition, but it helps me to get out there and be at one with the horse. “This is an important part of the package, but I do find the visualisation techniques difficult,” added Rob. “People tend to pin happiness upon success, but I’ve learnt to focus on what I want to achieve on the day rather than the end result.” I OWE IT TO…