‘Don’t waste time on landing’
NO class is over until speedy Welsh rider Mark Edwards, 35, has entered the ring. The national champion competes on a quality string, including home-breds Montreuxs Tale and Flying Tinker II. He has represented Great Britain in Nations Cups and won the 2021 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Jump-o philosophy: “The most important thing for me is not to waste time on landing – make the jump as easy as you can, then save time on landing. You’re always jumping a fence with the next fence in mind, ready to keep ticking on again. However, you’ve got to be as smooth as you can, too, because the moment you start adding strides and you get out of your rhythm, that’s when the time can start ticking away.”
Do your homework: “We don’t practise as such at home, but we always like to start our youngsters o learning to turn back to jumps early on in their careers. We don’t do any galloping, it’s more about learning to turn back to dierent types of fences. That way, each year they grow up they get that bit quicker and quicker naturally.”
Preparations on the
day: “I usually have a quick look at the jump-o course and if there’s a related distance or something that might change, I’ll generally walk it before the rst round. But I’ll only really have a quick look – I don’t plan anything until I know I’ve got a clear round in the bag.
“I think that the will to win is always in there – we’ve always been determined to win, I’m not very good at nishing second! Everything’s planned before I go in, but at the same time you have to ride every situation and remain open-minded – for example, if you planned to take a stride out and it’s not quite there or vice versa.”
The time it all came together: “The Nations Cup jump-o in Vilamoura last year – just with all the pressure of that kind of situation for your team makes it stand out for me. Moments like that make it all worthwhile.”
“Always jump a fence with the next
fence in mind”