A decade has passed since Great Britain’s Georgina ‘Piggy’ French made her international breakthrough in the senior sport by winning the individual silver medal at the European Eventing Championships in Fontainebleau. It is appropriate therefore that the 38-year-old mother of one should celebrate this anniversary by winning her first-ever five-star after 25 attempts. She hoisted the iconic silverware and pocketed the £100,000 prize money offered by the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in May after a clear show jumping round on Vanir Kamira, beating ex-boyfriend Oliver Townend by the perilous margin of 0.3 penalties. Piggy now finds herself a hot contender for eventing’s £270,000 Rolex Grand Slam, a prize won only twice since it was created in 1998.
Rewind to 2012 when Piggy was considered her country’s best hope of individual glory at the London Olympics – until her two best horses incurred last-minute injuries, robbing her of her dream and self-belief. It was a long haul back, but she has proven that the best efforts reap the best results.
What’s your daily routine like?
My alarm goes off at 6:30 on a normal day. I get up and have a coffee with a few rich tea biscuits, make a work list for the horses if I haven’t done so already, and then start riding. Sometimes I will get my son Max up and give him his breakfast, depending on what I’ve got on. I then ride until I’ve finished everything on my list and then go in to spend a bit of time with Max and do the other things like entries and speaking to owners. We usually have around 25 horses in work, so it’s a busy place and it’s really important that every horse gets the best possible care. I have a great team around me with some super riders who can keep the horses fit and well and working correctly when I’m not riding them.