 An Interview with Robert Walker!
This month Horse Buyer has
been lucky enough to meet up
with professional and much respected
showman Robert
Walker. Robert and his young
family are based at Sandy Brow
Stables in Cheshire, and he has
been involved with horses all
his life - with Roly his first
fun pony igniting his passion.
A talent for showing horses led Robert
to win the majority of major showing
championships around the country,
with the most prestigious to date – the
Supreme Horse of The Year. He has won the
title on two occasions, firstly, with So Smart
his 15hh Heavyweight Cob, and this year
with 16hh Large Riding Horse, Broadstone
Doulton. A fascinating career, as Katie Ward
discovers...
How long have you
been riding?
I was brought up around horses and my
earliest memories are of my Dad running
a breaking yard. I can't remember exactly
when I started riding, I was too young!
What made you settle
on a career in showing
horses?
I have always enjoyed producing young
horses and watching them develop and
improve. It is the most satisfying part of
the job. It seemed only natural to take
up showing.
Did you show ponies as
a child?
Yes, I used to attend the local gymkhanas
and then progressed to my local
county shows.
How many horses are
there on your yard?
At the moment I have 25 horses.
What type of horses do
you have?
We have Show Hunters, Show Cobs, Riding
Horses and Hacks.
Which showing classes
do you enjoy the most
and why?
That's a really hard question. I love
showing every horse in their appropriate
class, so I don't have a particular favourite.
But because of my hunting background
I must say I thoroughly enjoy the Show
Hunter classes.
What do you feed your
show horses to keep
them looking in top
form?
I feed TopSpec Cool Conditioning Cubes and
TopSpec Feed Balancer to all the horses
on the yard, they are great for keeping the
horses in superb condition.
What has been your best
showing moment?
Winning the Hunter Championship at the
Great Yorkshire Show for the first time on Cool Green Star, a fantastic bay middleweight
hunter.
Read Robet Walkers Top Ten Showing Tips here.
This is just an extract of the published article. To read the entire article purchase Horse Buyer Issue 4 January 08.
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