One athlete’s mission to cast off a most unwanted Varsity record

For Warwick University Riding Club President Becca Wrelton, a passion for riding was in the blood: “I’ve been riding since I was really little. My mum rides and my aunt’s ride. I think [they’re proud]. My mum’s very supportive”.

She’s become part of the furniture here at Warwick Riding Club, having started as soon as she joined the university, four years ago now.

As Becca explains, competing is a lot more complicated than normal riding. There are two phases – the first dressage, the second jumping – with four on a team, and each of those judged against the other people on their horse, rather than the other horses. Scoring is complex; a penalty system based on movements and timing. Scoring in the jumping is per jump and out of ten rather than timed. It’s called ‘equitation jumping’ and done prettily. She admits she prefers it that way, “because I’m not a jumper by trade – I was never really into jumping…I’m old and frail!”

You’ve got to control a half a tonne animal, with your body. And they’ve got a mind of their own

For riders, the event is very challenging. They only get seven minutes to get used to riding an unfamiliar horse beforehand which, in the context of Charlotte Dujardin’s six years of familiarity on Valegro, is quite something. It can also be dangerous. “You’ve got to control a half a tonne animal, with your body. And they’ve got a mind of their own.”

However challenging or dangerous it may be, Becca is keen to stress Riding’s meritocratic nature: “I think the one really good thing about riding is that it can be a level playing field [between genders]. There are a lot of sports where you don’t get that…you don’t have to make any allowances for male or female, because it’s all about your partnership with the horse and how well you get on with the horse, and your effectiveness… you can be tiny.”

It’s also a sport enjoying something of a purple patch in terms of popularity. The achievements of Skelton, Dujardin and co. at the Olympics is behind a great deal of this, but there’s a more general reason too, as Becca notes:

“A lot of sports…you have to inherently be fast…that’s something that you can practice and improve on, but at the end of the day you’re going to have a top speed. Balance, knowing a horse, and being able to learn a routine and to practice the feeling of what different horses feel like is something that actually you can learn, and I think that’s why a lot of people choose to do it.”

She’s been competing for four years, but never seen a Varsity win

But onto the event currently sweeping across campus: Varsity. On this, Becca’s upbeat enthusiasm is tinged with regret. She’s been competing for four years, but never seen a Varsity win. Although she jokingly attributes last year’s defeat to her absence, her determination to make things right at this, her final attempt, is wholly serious: “I would love to leave on a high. I want to win Varsity this year so badly. Because we haven’t in any of the years I’ve been here, and it’s very embarrassing! And I really want to this year.”

If the team is victorious, it will be in Cirencester, 53 miles away from campus but the nearest available neutral venue. Becca says they’ll be shipping “loads and loads” of people there, but more supporters are always welcome. I ask her why riding’s worth prioritising over other sports and, apart from being “great fun”, she explains:

“It’s different. It’s a completely different event to any of the other Varsity events. It’s competitive in a completely different way, and there’s a lot more suspense. Absolutely nobody, apart from the person doing the calculations, knows the results until the very end.” That suspense will be heightened against a Coventry team Becca knows very well and sees as having a 50/50 chance of winning.

Absolutely nobody, apart from the person doing the calculations, knows the results until the very end

The family atmosphere of the event is a defining feature: “Riding’s one of those things that everyone sticks with. The teams change slightly year to year, but once you’re hooked you stay with your club, you really do…you know everybody by name. It’s an incredibly social sport, there’s a lot of waiting around…so you chat to people and it’s really friendly.”

However, Becca notes one exception. “Coventry can be a little bit…’competitive’. They don’t talk to most of us.”

One hopes Cov will be silenced for different reasons come this Wednesday.