Kenneth Clawson is one of the UK’s leading Eventing Trainers. His trainees have included the likes of Rodney Powell, Sarah Cutteridge, Mary King, Terry Boon, Leslie Law, the present Olympic Team and the British Equestrian Federation Potential Squad (currently including Kitty Boggis, Laurance Hunt, Cressy Clague- Reading, Piggie French, Ruth Edge, Abbie Walters & Lucy Weigersma).
Kenneth’s established expertise in training of young riders and horses as well as experienced riders has led him to become the Team Showjumping trainer to The British Team since 1997. During this time the Team has had considerable success:
Tucked away in Salcombe Regis in East Devon, one of the county’s most successful sportswomen plies her trade. Day in, day out, you’ll find Olympian three-day eventer Mary King working her horses, hacking out, teaching them the refinements of dressage, and improving their jumping skills. But who is the woman behind the immaculate competition jacket?
It was a Pony Club visit to Badminton which opened Mary’s eyes to the possibilities of three-day-eventing. “It was when I was 12-years-old”, said Mary. “I went on the Axe Vale Pony Club coach trip to Badminton Horse Trials; I thought how could anyone ever be so brave to gallop towards these great big fixed obstacles? Part of me believed this was impossible and part of me thought ‘this is what I want to try and do one day!”
“And it was from that first trip to Badminton that I set my sights on becoming an international three-day event rider.” It wasn’t an obvious move, she admits: “Everybody seemed rich and famous, my father had been invalided out of the Navy, we didn’t have any land and not a lot of money as a family, just lived off my father’s naval pension - it just seemed impossible. But it’s amazing how if you’re determined enough if you’ve got the real drive and grit to do it and have luck on the way, everything’s possible!”
She became head girl to Sheila Willcox, a former European Champion and Badminton winner, and in 1985 she made her Badminton debut, finishing in seventh position. In 1992 she added her name to the famous trophy with her great horse King William, the only horse to accumulate more than 2000 points in competition, and she achieved her second Badminton victory in 2000 with Star Appeal.
These days, as an established top-flight competitor, she enjoys seeing new riders coming into the sport: “It’s great to see how popular it is and amazing to see how many competitors there are, especially at the lower levels - they keep us oldies on our toes!
Mary’s glittering career has brought her four team gold medals at The World Equestrian Games and The European Championships and the title of British Champion a record four times more than anyone to date. Mary has also represented Britain in five Olympic Games: 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 and this year at Beijing where she rode her top horse Call Again Cavalier with imperial Cavalier as her reserve.
Alastair is both an Italian Federal and British Horse Society Instructor as well as holding a BA (Hons) in Education and Training. He is also a British Horse Society Examiner.
Currently an Equine Lecturer at Northumberland College, he has taught and competed in France, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Italy as well as in the United Kingdom.
Originally from Rothbury and a team member of the Percy Pony Club, Alastair has produced horses for dressage, horse trials and horse driving trials and has recently competed for England.
Moray is a BHSI and BE Accredited Coach now working from his base in North Yorkshire, Moray has been an advanced instructor for many years. He has worked and trained with top trainers including Jane and Christopher Bartle, Richard Meade and Graham Fletcher
He has competed in Advanced Eventing and Grade A Show jumping but now devotes his time between teaching, xc course design and building and running the successful BE Thornton Watlass Horse trials.
He teaches clinics throughout the UK and regularly goes to USA to Dressage and eventing centres.