On the latest episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, Becky Moody looked back on her career so far to pick out the sliding doors moments that led to her becoming an Olympic bronze medallist in Paris.
For her, it was all about finding mentors who could give her the tools to help her develop, not only as a rider but also as a professional in the sport – and finding a mentor is the main thing she recommends all aspiring professionals to do.
“Starting to train with David Hunt was definitely a major sliding door moment,” she says. “I always laugh about this because when I first started training with him my Dad was chairman of the old Northern dressage region, which was a funny one because he’s not from a horsey background at all, he has just become incredibly involved in it through my sister Hannah and myself.
“At that point, British Dressage (BD) was running something called a pyramid trainers scheme, which had super knowledgable coaches coming to work with your less experienced coaches to help them develop.
“My Dad had organised for David to come and do a session. He was probably pushed in that direction by Hannah, I think she’d been inspired by him and had seen him ride. David also coached Andrew Gould, who I did young riders with for a long time so we knew him a little bit through that.
“Right from the go Hannah loved her lessons with him, but I think for at least the first three or four lessons that I had with him, I hated it. We joke about this now, but it was because he was really honest, and he said things to me that at that point in my life, I wasn’t quite ready for – I was in my early 20s, and I thought I knew more than I did.”
It was Hannah who encouraged Becky to persevere with her lessons, and Becky’s thankful now that she did.
“He’s now so much more than a coach for me,” she adds. “He’s a mentor for me in every way.
“Something he says that’s stuck with me is that he wants to be a coach that develops riders who can think for themselves. I think that’s such a massive part of it because when the chips are down and you go down that centre line you are on your own, and you need the confidence in yourself to make decisions.
“When we first started training with him properly he’d come and stay for two days once a month, so I might have eight or so lessons over that time. But the rest of the time me and Hannah were on our own.
“What he helped me understand is that being able to develop when you don’t have somebody coaching you is just as important as when you’re having a lesson – and it’s something I try and think about when I’m coaching as well.”
Another sliding door moment came when she began training with her future teammate Carl Hester – who she adds saved her bacon in Paris when Jagerbomb was “the hottest he’s ever been”.
“The two coaches are quite different,” she explains, “but their end goals are similar. Carl is fantastic from that test-riding point of view and competition preparation, whereas David is fanatical about the fundamental development of the horse.
“Carl is also so relaxed and laidback with how he trains the horses, which definitely helped in Paris – but I also like to joke that I helped keep him calm because I gave him so much to think about!”
To hear more from Becky Moody on sliding doors moments, her tips for aspiring professionals and her plans for the future, listen to episode 159 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.
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