Equestrian Club Interview with Andy Collop, Vice Chancellor Hartpury
Equestrian Club: An Interview with... Andy Collop, Vice-cancellor, Principal and CEO at Hartpury
What's it like having a horse on site?
It’s nice – she likes being on busy yards so Hartpury suits her well. It’s also nice that she can be used for demonstrations and practical sessions as she is a kind horse and very good to be around on the ground and in the stable.
Tell us about your horse Duffy.
Duffy is a 16.3 hand mare who is 50% Thoroughbred and 50% Clydesdale. I’ve had her about 5 years and she’s turned her hand to pretty much everything including eventing, show jumping and team chasing. She is a very genuine horse who loves to please but is quite strong which takes a bit of getting used to! Prior to Duffy I’d always ridden thoroughbred-type horses and I remember that when I first saw her she’d been turned away and looked very hairy and wild! My daughter (Beth) found her and I took a bit of convincing that she was the right horse for me but Beth saw something in her and she was absolutely right – she has looked after me brilliantly and despite my dubious riding she’s always managed to find a way to get me out of trouble!
Do you have any aims with her?
Not really, I’m quite happy to do a bit of hacking, schooling and show jumping and if the ground is good, I’ll do some low-level eventing. We’re both advancing rapidly in years and she owes me nothing and I don’t want to push her (or me) too hard!
What inspired you to become an equestrian?
I rode as a child but gave up in secondary school as I played lots of other sports and couldn’t fit them all in and I didn’t ride again until I was in my late 30s. My sister has always had horses and when my daughter Beth was young she had a go on a pony my sister was looking after. She promptly fell off but was hooked and pestered us for riding lessons until we found a local riding school near to Nottingham. She was there all the time riding and helping out and my wife and I used to spend so much time in a cold car park watching that we decided to have a go - I got hooked and have ridden ever since. We were lucky because the owners of the riding school were very experienced equestrians who had done most things with horses from racing to jousting and everything in between and I had lessons for many years which gave me a pretty good grounding in the basics.
How do you manage a horse/work/life balance?
With difficulty! Having the horse on site definitely helps but I usually end up riding early in the morning or in the evening when I haven’t got any functions with work.
What's your favourite thing about being an equestrian?
The thing I like most is developing a partnership with a horse and, no matter how long you’ve been riding, you never stop learning. I also find it’s a great way to unwind as I have to force myself to forget about the troubles of the day otherwise the horse will pick up on my tension and play up! Riding is also a great leveller in that you meet very talented people from all walks of life and horses couldn’t care less how important you think you are!
What's your favourite discipline and why?
Probably any form of jumping. I like show jumping but it’s probably the cross country phase of eventing or team chasing. I once had an ex-racehorse who I took round a point to point course which was amazing – those fences are much bigger than they look on TV and I was lucky that at least one of us (not me) knew what they were doing!
