Equestrian Inspirations: Penny Sangster

Four-star eventer turned coach shares her horsey background, her eventing career and her future plans...

**A podcast accompanies this article!**

We are blessed with the huge number of talented equestrian people around us on our little island. Some of these people are not native to our shores but have chosen to come here and share their knowledge and expertise.

One such person is Penny Sangster, a former four-star eventer who is now based in Northern Ireland. While she no longer competes, Penny is now an accomplished coach and runs clinics for various levels of rider, including cross-country type clinics at venues such as Eric Pele's, Hazeldene and Duke's, as well as show jumping clinics at venues like The Meadows.

‘Dexters Dignity’ was the last horse that Penny evented and was the horse that got her back riding after her injury.

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Penny works with Pony Clubs all around the country, as well as Riding Clubs and individuals.

Penny came highly recommended to me and I have now enjoyed several of her clinics and, more importantly, feel that my horse and I have actually made some progress (anyone who knows my tricky horse will know this is an achievement!).

I was really interested to have a chat with Penny and find out more about her horsey background, her eventing career and her future plans.

Where are you from originally, as your accent clearly isn't local to here?

Well, my parents were born in Liverpool and then dad travelled a lot with work, but eventually really settled in Sussex. So that's where home was.

I did a lot of travelling, working, but I always ended up back at home. So really Sussex would be the most consistent home for us.

Are you from a horsey background; do or did your parents ride or have horses?

Mum used to ride a bit. Dad never rode. We were very lucky to live on a farm and we had lots of animals. And for my seventh birthday, I was actually treated to a donkey. So my first ever sort of like horse, as you say, was a donkey!

So that was really the start of my passion and then from there on, my mum used rescue ponies and that's where the equestrian came from.

Did your mum teach you to ride or who taught you?

I think it was pretty much I was self-taught. So my brother and I were left alone to basically play. Dad worked hard and mum was always busy, so we used to just do a lot of self-taught…

In those days, it was very much we used to just put the head collar and rope around the pony and just go and ride around. It wasn't in the days of safety and you had to wear hats, I have to say.

So really, it was a lot of self-taught in my early years.

Penny and ‘Fionola Friday’, her show pony who was blind in one eye.

Were you in a Pony Club or a Riding Club?

I was never really in the Pony Club. Mum and dad could never afford to buy good ponies. We always had rescued ponies and I was really lucky and I had a show pony that had moon blindness, so it was blind in one eye. I did join the Pony Club for a while, but I failed my D test when I was 11, because apparently I had a showing position and they didn't like it.

So I was never really a member of the Pony Club until we moved back up to Liverpool when I was 17 and the Burton Cheshire Forest Pony Club took me on board and asked why I didn't have any exams. They pushed me to work for my Pony Club exams and I went forwards and got my A test with honours at the age of 19.

This is why I'm passionate about pushing youngsters to do the Pony Club, to stay in the Pony Club, because the friendships they form, whatever level they go on to ride, I think it's really important that they have the friendships within the Pony Club. And this is why I'm passionate at pushing it.

And going to camp, my first camp was as an instructor; I never did it when I was younger. I remember that I used to go running out, cause trouble and run back into the instructor's room until one of the fathers picked me up and dumped me in the water trough, because the kids couldn't get to me.

So I think Pony Club are years that I missed and I really regret. So I think a bit of advice for all the kids out there, get in a pony club and enjoy yourself and have fun.

Penny teaching at Pony Club at Brightling Park in East Sussex.

When did you start to compete then and and in which discipline?

So my early years were spent showing, so the one thing I was taught in those times was how to produce a horse. Again, mum and dad were very much ‘if you want to do it, you work for it and you produce your own horses’, so I could produce a horse immaculately and it was when I was about 16 or 17, we had some stables and we rented them out to a dressage rider. So really, I diverted from the showing into dressage for a while and I went on to work with this guy, Peter Storr and then moved with him from Liverpool to Ascot.

Many people know Peter now, because he is basically British Dressage. He was on the Olympic squad and I learned so much from him and his levels of dressage.

You didn't go out unless you were going to win and you always trained to a higher standard than you were competing at. So again, my major background would be dressage.

‘Burberry’, show cob that did affiliated dressage - Penny says people hate being beaten by a cob!

And then I was really lucky to then go on and work for Karen Dixon and that's where the eventing passion came in.

I had come back from working for Peter in Liverpool and a friend of mine, who was a young rider, said the Strakers are looking for a working pupil.

I went there and got the job because I just got my A test. Mrs Straker was very much into the Pony Club and the levels of the Pony Club.

So I just got my A test with honours and I went there as a working pupil. That was where eventing started and my passion for eventing. So I didn’t actually start eventing until I was 19.

‘Phoebe’, a mare Penny’s mum rescued and she went on to show jump.

So even when you were in the Pony Club, you weren't doing any eventing through the Pony Club?

Well, no, because I didn't really go and join the Pony Club until I was 17 and, at that time, I was really more the dressage side, so although I was jumping, I wasn't actually eventing.

I have done Working Hunter in the past, but I hadn't actually gone pure eventing.

It was actually when I went to the Strakers and started working there, that I actually started doing the eventing.

What is your educational background - at what stage did you leave school or did you just go straight into working with horses?

My parents moved a lot, so I was halfway through O-levels, as they were then, in Sussex, when my parents moved to Liverpool. So I lived with friends and finished my O-levels.

Then I came back to Liverpool and it was halfway through my A-levels that I was working with Peter. And Peter was moving back to Ascot to run a yard there and asked me to go, to move with him and to work for him.

I do remember announcing to my parents that I was leaving my A-levels to go and work for Peter. They were brilliant at the time and said that's fine, but you get all your horse exams, so I did do my BHS exams at the age of 19, which again is a bit of advice that I would give to all people, the youth of the riders, take your exams at the early age, because once you're in the industry, it's really hard to take time out afterwards.

I took my exams at 19 and then I didn't really take any more exams until I was 38 - purely because for those 20 years, I was literally working 24/7 and you don't have time or money to actually do any more training.

It's always good to have the qualifications to fall back on should you need to.

Absolutely and take them when you're younger and take them when you're living at home, because you've got the time. Once you're in the industry, you are committed and, if you're working in the industry, it's long hours. The last thing you want to do or the last thing you have the ability to do is to take time out to do the training. And take your A-levels as well, as I tell everyone - don't do what I did. Do your A-levels!

Penny on board ‘Greenbank Harlequin’, the only coloured stallion to win an International (Chepstow, 2005) - he was only 15hh with a heart like a lion!

When you were eventing then, what was your favourite event to compete at in the UK?

I've been really lucky and I had a little bit of a bucket list about wanting to be able to compete at most of the events in the UK and some of them internationally.

I was very lucky and I managed to compete at most of the events. My favourite one would have always been Board Hill, which was in Sussex.

Board Hill Estate was just such a beautiful place and always my favourite course for years. Sadly, it doesn't run anymore, but I would have to say, hand on heart, of all the events I've done, everywhere I've been, it would have to be Board Hill.

What about outside the UK - have you got like a second favourite internationally?

I think internationally, it would have to be Compiègne in France. Again, the most amazing event, it's an event where basically the whole town come to the horse trials.

The whole horse trials is run round Compiègne itself and they have the most amazing food hall. You go in to get your food and literally you've got English food over one side, French food over the other side. And the French know how to party and they know how to welcome everybody.

So that would be a really big memory for me, going to Compiègne.

What was the cross-country course like there?

Big and bold. The year that I remember, there was a combination and we were told as riders that, if we wanted to take the long route, we had to give them warning.

The horse I had was a coloured stallion and it came winging around the corner and jumped the first part so big. And all I can remember is just screaming at the top of my head ‘long!’ then having to do a divert, because I couldn't get to the next fence.

But I do remember it being big and bold and really inviting… in my youth, when I wasn't so worried about fences.

Penny and ‘Greenbank Harlequin’ showing their talent.

Why are you no longer eventing?

I no longer event… basically, I had an injury that stopped me from riding. It wasn't a particular accident. It was a buildup of accidents.

I prolapsed three discs in my neck. The prognosis was that I would never exercise again, let alone ride again.

But as riders do, we try and prove a point. So I was bedridden for three months.

I was back riding within six months and competing. And I was back international within nine months.

But after 18 months, I wasn't competing any more.

I just had to basically stop the competing and then started focusing more on the coaching side. And again, one of my major bits of advice for any rider is, when you have the falls, you pick yourself up, you get back on, but look after yourself, because it's when it hits you in the future.

I'm lucky I manage to ride for enjoyment now and I will never say never to competing again, but just look after yourself, because we are in a sport where injuries happen and take time to heal.

Horse riding is so dangerous in general, but particularly eventing, as we were reminded of just last weekend, with the tragic death of Georgie Campbell at Bicton.

Yeah, we lost a very special lady last weekend, which has hit the eventing community in a great way. I knew her and, actually, one of my old students is working for her or is working for Jessie.

It really hits home. It is a big community and it really does hit home.

It really brings home to me how dedicated eventers are to their sport, especially when you compare the prize money even at the top level in eventing, with that in show jumping. It's very clear, eventers aren't doing it for the money, they are doing it for the passion of the sport.

Absolutely. It is a passion for the sport. It is a dedication for the sport. And I think any equestrian, it's very much about the dedication and we love what we do. We're passionate about eventing.

I believe you're now judging. Can you tell us how you got into judging?

I started judging for BE (British Eventing) because I'm a BE coach. So what you could do for British Eventing is, if you were a BE coach, you could actually do dressage judging and then, through lockdown, I actually started online training with BD to become a British Dressage coach. That's still ongoing, purely because I need to take a face-to-face exam and getting back to England and having time to do that for me is quite difficult.

So I think just doing the ongoing training; I do love the dressage judging, because it keeps your eye in and I love giving feedback to the riders. I hope it's always positive.

I think it's good to keep your eye in with seeing what's out there at the moment and I'm also getting back to the sport that I spent so much time doing as well and I enjoy that.

‘On A Role’, a horse Penny bought at three years old and who grew from 16hh to 18hh!

In terms of eventing, what's your favourite event to judge at or spectate at within the Northern Region?

It's got to be Necarne. I always wanted to compete in Necarne and they stopped running the international event. But I have to say Necarne is the most beautiful place and it's got to be my favourite event.

I know they're not running the events at the moment now, I do hope they bring them back again.

What about across the island, are there any other events in Ireland that you particularly like?

To be honest, I've just been down at Mill Street. That is a beautiful event as well! I'm still learning a lot of the events over in Ireland and let's just say, having done most of my eventing in England, then coming over here, it's a new family to learn and new people to meet, which is great. I'm slowly working my way around the events, so I'll get around there in the end.

Do you have your own horses at the moment?

No, at the moment, actually for the first time in probably nearly 50 years, I haven't got a horse. So I think that's just the way life goes sometimes.

I think having a break and catching up with life is where I'm at, at the moment.

I lost a very special horse a couple of years back. She was 18 and had an injury and I've had a horse in between.

I think the next special horse will find me. So watch this space - I think something will come along soon, hopefully.

What would be your best advice to prepare for an event, in the run up to the event - the week before, the night before, the morning of the event, what would you advise anybody who's just getting into eventing now?

I think the one thing to remember with eventing is that the prep work comes from months before. So it's the preparation on the months and the weeks prior to the event.

It's the training. It's the understanding. It's the practicing. And I think really make sure you never change anything last minute.

I wouldn't change tack the day before or the week before or the way the horse is working. You know, you're asking for trouble. Your prep comes, any change comes, weeks before.

For me personally, I would always make sure I would get up in the morning; I was never one that would plait the night before and then have an extra hour in bed in the morning. I would get up that extra hour in the morning and plait and get prepped and get in the right mindset from the minute I got up. I know that's how I used to work and that's how I preferred it.

What would be your best advice for walking a cross-country course?

When you're walking a cross-country course, I think it's really important… You can walk it with people, but make sure you walk it at least once on your own.

You've got to make sure that you don't have the distractions. You need to be able to walk the course as you're riding it, so you're looking for the points that you're riding to.

It's always good to listen to people's advice, but you need to know your own horse.

It was a lesson I learned way back in the early days, where I think it was actually I rode at Blenheim and I was told to ride a line a certain way and it just didn't work for my horse. So from then on, you listen to people's advice and always listen to other riders who have ridden the course, but know your own horse and know how your horse will react in the situations.

I think another thing that I learned and I teach a lot of young people to do, is when you walk the course and you get to the fence, always look back to see the route that you will have taken, because when you're walking the course, sometimes you don't always walk the best route.

So, when you get to the fence, turn around and look back to see where you've come from and it might just slightly change your line.

Who inspires you in the world of eventing, both locally and internationally?

I think we spoke about that a little bit earlier, when you said about how eventers are passionate. I think all riders inspire me from grassroots to international, because of the dedication and commitment that it takes to be in the sport.

I’ll never forget, my brother was in the army and we had a discussion one day when I was competing and teaching. I think I said to him that one of my clients had beaten me and he was like, well, how can you be happy for someone that you teach to beat you?

And I just went, because it just means that they've done the best on the day and I think that's the sport that it is, because we're always really positive about other people doing well and, if they win and beat you, then obviously that was their day.

It also reflects very well on your teaching!

Well yes, hopefully… but I think, as I say, we have a lot of great riders, but we have a lot of riders that are missed as well, the grassroots riders. There are a lot of grassroots riders that I admire for many reasons too.

Penny and ‘Time Flies’ in action at Tattersalls’ World Cup in 2009.

What ambitions do you have in life, in horses, coaching and beyond?

I've always been tough on myself and I'm always striving to improve. I feel it's really important to learn off others and I say that changing the passion from riding to teaching has been quite tough.

I do enjoy it, but you have to remember that, as a coach with riders, you are part of someone's chapter. They will move on and you've got to let them move on.

A lot of the riders, I will pop into their life, help them. They'll move on. They might go on to greater things. I've had a lot of my old pupils go on and be top international riders themselves.

Part of our job as a coach is to let them go on their own journey. And I think, again, something that I started up a while ago before COVID and is still ticking over is the Equine Development Academy, which is about having a platform where equestrians can communicate and talk to each other, because we're in a sport where we spend a lot of time on our own.

Really, with the Equine Development Academy, going back to the grassroots riders, I felt there are a lot of good riders that don't get acknowledged. They're not the riders that go out and win, they're the riders that have been through a tough time, that enjoy their riding at home and probably don't even want to go competing, but I feel they should be acknowledged.

So at the beginning of this year, I set up nine coaches, who I've met through Northern Ireland and, every month, I release a coach and advertise them for what they do.

In return, they promote a rider, who they feel should be recognised and then, in November, we're going to do a training day, where these riders that have been nominated by the various coaches will go forward to their own training day, hopefully to get that recognition they deserve.

So that's quietly ticking along and, in the next few months, we will be announcing where the training dates are and what will be happening on the training day. So that's ticking along in the background.

I'm always striving to work forwards and get more ideas off other riders, other coaches, get communications going, but I'm still new to Northern Ireland, so it's (about) learning people and meeting people.

So watch this space, (there’s) probably a lot more coming on!

That sounds brilliant and the Equine Development Academy sounds like a great idea and it's so brilliant that you are trying to encourage and promote grassroots riders. I really like that idea.

I think it's really important. You know, they are the basis of our sport and they're our future of our sport. So, you know, they need to get the support and recognition, definitely.

Where do you see yourself in five or in 10 years' time?

Now, see, for me, that's a really hard question. That's a really hard question, because we can have our goals and we can have our dreams, but what I actually tend to do is to look back over what's happened in the previous five or 10 years and how far I've come.

And actually, when you do that, it's quite hard to imagine what's going to happen in the next five or 10 years time… So we can have our goals, we can have our dreams, but no doubt they'll divert and we will end up doing a lot more than we wanted to do. So I think, where do I see myself in five years time, being a better coach? Perhaps doing a bit of riding and just continually learning and supporting the grassroots rider and the competition riders and keeping the sport going.

That seemed like a good note to end on - thank you very much indeed to Penny for joining me and having a chat!