Let me preface this by saying that I realise my job is something of a dream job – talking to anyone and everyone involved in Eventing, and attending the premier competitions in the calendar, but today it’s my absolute privilege to bring you a story that sums up what we all love about our sport, however and at whatever level we’re involved. It’s about the camaraderie, the giving it a go, the heart, the fun and the eventing community, and I’m thrilled to be able to share this with you.
It’s hard to pin down exactly where this all starts – was it three years ago when Iona and Harry’s second child, Serena, was born with laryngomalacia, a condition that affects 1 in 20,000 new born babies, closing the passage to her stomach and meaning she needed 3 operations in the first 6 months of her life? Was it five months ago when Iona watched International Velvet and decided to ride in the event at Glanusk to raise money for the Children’s Hospital in Wales where Serena and Iona spent so much time? Or was it just 8 short weeks before Glanusk Horse Trials when Iona began intensive training with Shelley, learning about dressage and jumping for the very first time?
The best person to tell us is Iona herself, and she says she last rode when she was about twelve years old on her rescued pony, Ginger,
“He was 12.2, very sweet, but didn’t do anything, didn’t really want to do gymkhanas, never jumped, so I never jumped either, and we would just potter around the place together. He was sort of my friend, and every weekend I would spend all my time with him when I wasn’t at school.”
Boarding school, living abroad and a job in London all meant that Iona didn’t ride again until very recently. Three years ago her family moved to the stunning Glanusk Estate, where they run not only the BE Horse Trials, now in it’s second year, but also polo, weddings and corporate events among other things, and here Iona picks up the timeline again…
“Two years ago I bought a hat, Sophie Price told me to buy a hat, but I never put it on! In February of this year I downloaded International Velvet onto my computer for this eleven year old girl to watch who hadn’t seen it before, and we watched it together, and I thought, ‘Gosh, I’d really quite like to have a go at this!’
Iona dutifully logged some “time in the saddle” but didn’t get much further until Fate played a hand. The Pony Club also comes to Glanusk, and in May Iona accepted the generous offer of the ride on Merlin, a beautiful grey 14.3 Connemara cross from Ben and Sara Herbert, but only after making sure it was all okay with his regular rider, Ben and Sarah’s 10 year old son, Milo. By this time, it was probably early June before Iona actually started riding Merlin, with the help of uber groom/instructor Shelley Timms,
“We just started from scratch with everything basically – my seat, the way I sat, everything! Then we did a little bit of dressage, then we did a little bit of low poles. Shelley was absolutely brilliant and we had a laugh as well. I think when I arrived she wondered what on earth she’d let herself in for!”
Iona tells me a very funny story about the “starting block” which unfortunately she told me not to repeat, and when I gently remind her that it’s called the mounting block she laughs and exclaims that the lingo was just one more thing she’s had to re-learn all over again – “starting block, getting-on block! It’s been 25 years, Samantha!”
Three years ago when Serena was born however, nothing was certain,
“She was taken away from me and put in intensive care on her own, and I wasn’t really allowed to see her, I didn’t pick her up or anything, and I held her when she was ten days old when she had an operation, and then not after that for another two weeks because she was all wired up to everything, and we then came home, and basically, the operation had failed. We ended up in the Children’s Hospital For Wales because they identified that she wasn’t putting on any weight, so she had two life-saving surgeries there, and then ended up being tube-fed to basically build her weight up, she’d had reflux as well. So we spent probably three months there, her and me all week, and then I’d come home at weekends to spend time with my son (Lochy, now 8), and then go back again on Sunday nights.”
The Children’s Hospital For Wales where Iona and Serena spent so much time is the only one of it’s kind in Wales and has been open since 2005. You can donate via the Noah’s Ark appeal, or via Iona’s page on Just Giving called Iona’s Challenge, and I urge you please to do one or the other. Iona told me she was incredibly touched to discover that a local lady celebrating her 70th birthday next year at Glanusk had written to all her guests asking that they please donate to Noah’s Ark in lieu of presents. When I spoke to Iona she had raised 18,000 GB pounds; her goal is 50,000 GB pounds, but once she gets to 25,000 GB pounds she’ll be able to give them a room exactly like the one she and Serena lived in.
I asked Iona why she decided to do the event to raise money?
“I think these days it’s so hard asking people for money, you know it’s a tough thing. The way things are at the moment in the UK, people don’t have money to just give away, and I felt I had to do something that was a bit different, a bit risky in a way, and completely bizarre, and a proper challenge. This was something I actually had to work at, it’s not like going and jumping out of a plane which you don’t have to practice; I had to get up every morning at 6:30, I swam for three quarters of an hour, then I drove half an hour to the yard and rode for two hours before coming back to run my life here, and with the children, and I did that every single day. I had to get fit at the same time as learning all these different disciplines all in two months.”
“My slots were so close together, and when I found out about it I thought it was going to be a bit tight because I didn’t realise you had to wear different kit for each thing! As well as a white numnah for dressage, I think?! Lovely Shelley was utterly fantastic. The dressage was okay, considering Merlin is only six and had never done anything like this before, and of course neither had I. He’s not really that keen on dressage, and he’s teaching me as much as I’m teaching him. We got 43 points in that; we had a little trip at the end, and we don’t really do straight lines either, and on our circles we do a lot of skipping in the air – thats quite entertaining, anyway, I just talked the whole way through! We did a quick change and went to the show-jumping bit, and there was a high bank looking down over the arena and all my friends and family were there, it was amazing, absolutely fantastic. The gate was in flat cups and he knocked that and I looked back at it, and then got too close to the next jump, a big spread and had that one down too, so we had two down which is a pity because actually he’s quite good at jumping, and I probably should have gone clear.”
Now that’s it all over and Iona’s had time to process it, how does she feel?
“I did worry, I worried about it a lot and I had many sleepless nights thinking I might have bitten off more than I could chew. I’m not a great person for attention either, but in the back of my mind I kept telling myself why I was doing it, and Serena’s with us today for that very reason. It was extraordinary. Absolutely the most fantastic feeling to be able to achieve something like that. I loved it, I smile about it now, I’m really pleased, I’m so pleased I did it.”
Although Iona hasn’t ridden since completing Glanusk due to time constraints, she’ll have plenty of company if she decides to continue riding. Lochy started riding about a month ago, and Serena, although she has only sat on a horse a few times, “would do it all day if she could.”
I asked Iona if she thinks she’ll event again?
“I love the idea of the dressage. I have to say, even though I really struggled with it I thought dressage was really quite fun, I’d love to have a bit more of a go with that one. My favourite phase was the cross country though, despite the trakehner! I’d like to do it again, with a smile this time! I was so worried the whole way round if I was going to make it or not, whether I was going to come off, or am I going to refuse, that my face looks quite pained! Now I know I can do it I would like to get a bit better at it.”
Although there’s some racing background in Iona’s family – her great-uncle is David Cecil, trainer Henry Cecil’s brother, she assures me there’s no chance of her re-creating National Velvet at any time in the future, which news she tells me will draw giant sighs of relief from her immediate family who were all quite nervous enough for her at the event!
Iona wanted to make sure I thanked Ben, Sara and Milo Herbert for all their help, and of course Merlin, not to mention Shelley, as well as everyone who’s donated and helped in countless other ways. She also singled out Sophie Price who told her to buy the hat two years ago, and who she said was always there for her the whole time, helping her get back in the saddle, telling her she could do it through all her “wobbles”!
I’d like to thank Iona for sharing her story with so much wit, humour and grace. She did say that her husband Harry was inspired to give eventing a go after watching her go round this year, so I look forward to perhaps writing up the Team Legge-Bourke story next year! Go Iona, Go Serena, Go Pie, Go Glanusk, please go and donate, and go Eventing!
