Emily and Brookleigh at Barbury Castle International
Emily King is one of the rising young stars of British eventing. Having already represented Britain at three European Eventing Championships for Juniors, taking the silver individual medal in 2012, she has again been named on the squad for the coming Championships in August in her final year of being able to ride for Britain as a Junior rider.
This year has seen Emily take a step up as she reached that magical eighteenth year in January. Not only is 18 the traditional coming of age but for Emily it has other significance; it means that she can now compete at three star international level eventing. In 2014 she has been moving into three star level with her two top level horses and at the recent Barbury Castle International Horse Trials, one of her favourite events, she finished seventh in the CIC3* in some very good company.
Moving up to 3* is not just a case of jumping higher fences – it is the start of a hopefully a long lasting career at high level international eventing. And, despite being the daughter of a very well known rider, Emily faces many of the dilemmas that any young rider faces as they make the transition from junior ranks to senior competition as she moves into the sport as a professional rider. Familial support is important to any young professional sports person but in Emily’s case there are added benefits from being in not only the same sport but also the same equestrian discipline as her Olympic medallist mother, Mary. Based at the family home in Devon she acknowledges how supportive her family has been but quickly adds that she has certainly not been handed everything on a plate
“I am a very independent person. Ever since I was tiny I was determined to do everything on my own and hated being told what to do (which probably was the longer route to success!) but I learnt from my mistakes and I still strive to constantly improve” she says
“Mum and Dad bought me one pony as I was growing up but I knew it wasn’t going to be financially possible to buy our own horses, so I searched high and low for owners and sponsors from a young age. I managed to find an owner to purchase my first horses for me when I was 10 years old and secured Joules as my first sponsor when I was 9 years old. I realised I would have to find a team of sponsors and owners to make it all happen, which has been a long process, but one which I’m very proud of and I’m just hugely thankful to them all, as I wouldn’t be where I am without them”
“We don’t have a secretary so I manage all of my owners and sponsors myself, but Mum does give me a hand with the entries, invoices and so on”
As well as helping with the paperwork, having a high profile parent can certainly be helpful in securing good media coverage. Thanks to her own achievements as a rider Emily is featured regularly in the equestrian press but Mary’s medals certainly add a certain lustre for mainstream media, helping to attract articles such as the recent mother and daughter feature in the Sunday Times Magazine. This is certainly useful for Emily who, as an up and coming rider, needs to look at securing partnerships with long term commercial supporters knowing that sponsorship is a key component of business for top class riders today.
Any other mum would be saying "Not over the furniture dear!" - Mary and Emily take part in the photo shoot for sponsor Verdon Grey
“I am totally reliant on owners and sponsors and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without them, so I am hugely grateful” she says “I work with a team of nine sponsors - Joules, Mitsubishi, Animo, Ariat, Hiho Silver, Rodney Powell, Equipe, Verdon Grey and New Equine Wear. I also ride seven horses for their owners - Patsy Mason, Parone Cjaval, Lord Patrick Beresford, Gabriella Atkinson and Gillian Jonas”
“I gained the majority of sponsors by writing to them. For example when I wrote to Joules at nine years of age, on some Thelwell headed note paper, I said something along think lines of ‘My name is Emily King, I want to be World Number One, Olympic Gold Medallist and bigger and better than my Mum!!...’ and asked if they would be willing to financially support me to help my dreams come true!”
“My parents thought I was mad.... but hey, if you don’t ask, you don’t get! My most recent sponsorship deals have been slightly more professional than that, but along the same lines. I do a blog for them every month, keep them updated with news and results, do signings at competitions, photo shoots, course walks and talks in return for their support”
Well known young riders develop their own following, particularly amongst riders more of their own age, and like many of the younger generation Emily is very social media savvy, currently having over 7,500 followers on Twitter (which she prefers to Facebook). She also recently joined with her friend and fellow eventer Ben Hobday in creating a fun YouTube video where, as well as giving insights to the ‘crib’ (the King family home in Sidmouth), mum Mary makes an unexpected cameo appearance in dressing gown and Olympic medals.
“I think social media is great for promoting sponsors, connecting with your followers and keeping them up to date with news and results. It gives them some behind the scenes info as they love to see which really goes on at home, underneath all of the glitz and glamour. I also love it for keeping up to date myself with all of the results from competitions which I haven’t attended - I’m a huge follower of showjumping, so I’m forever stalking Ben Maher’s and the other top jumpers’ pages!”
“Ben Hobday is a good mate of mine and he and his friend Nathan (who created the film) came up with this idea of doing a ‘Cribs’ series. It is an eventing take on MTV Cribs - I was a fan of the series and thought it was a great idea to show how mad and hilarious most of the riders are while trying to steer away from the boring, stiff upper lip, ‘dressed in tweed’ stereotype I feel hangs over event riders”
Another crucial factor in the key to success for any young rider is the quality of their horses. Without the right horsepower the move up to 3 and 4* level is simply a dream for many riders; luckily Emily secured what seem to be two horses that have the capacity to successfully introduce her into these international levels. Her seventh place at Barbury was on Brookleigh, an Australian horse previously ridden by Clayton Fredericks and owned by Nikki Harwood (previously Brooks) of Brookleigh Estate in Perth.
“I was lucky enough to be asked to ride Brookleigh in 2013 by his lovely owner Nikki Brooks and then, when Nikki decided she would like to sell him, Brook was very kindly purchased by Parone Cjaval for me to keep the ride. I was absolutely over the moon with Brook at Barbury, he tried his heart out for me and I was just so thrilled to have finished so well at an event I’ve always dreamt of riding at! I am aiming him for the Junior European Championships and then Blenheim CCI3* so fingers crossed”
“Mr Hiho has currently been moved to Mum, for her to compete, which is absolutely devastating as he’s a horse I did my first Advanced on when I was 16, my first European Championships on and he’s horse I absolutely love. But he is a very tricky, quirky horse and his owner feels he currently needs a more experienced rider onboard. Even though it is very hard watching Mum ride him, at least he hasn’t left our yard so everything crossed I may get the ride back on him one day.”
Even with a horse like Brook, It is a big step up from CCI** to CCI3/4*and also from the youth teams (Juniors and Young Riders) to Seniors
“I think it’s especially hard to break into the Seniors in a country where there is so much talent and where the more mature riders are almost cemented in the Senior team by their incredible experience and wide knowledge of the sport”
“Personally I think it’s very important to go and work at different professional yards and see how they all individually train and run their businesses. Every winter since I left school I’ve gone to work and train at different yards until my horses come back into work in January. I just constantly want to improve so I find it fascinating working at top dressage and jump yards, receiving that intense training and just seeing how it all happens. Despite the 5am - 8pm hours I’ve had the absolute time of my life!”
Since writing to Joules as a nine year old, Emily’s ambitions have not changed much but she is slowly moving closer towards them each day
“My long term goals are to be World Number One, Olympic Champion, Rolex Grand Slam Winner and to represent Team GB at the Olympics in both Eventing and Showjumping. Hahaa!! I set my goals reasonably high!! But hey, set your goals as high as you like and work as hard as you can.... and anything that comes true is just a bonus!!!”
Emily and Mary King are sponsored by Verdon Grey, the luxury outdoor furniture specialists -verdongrey.co.uk
Verdon Grey photography courtesy Jo Hansford
