I GREW up in suburban North Carolina, so my horse-breeding origin story begins not with ponies, but with books. An avid reader from an early age, my imagination was fuelled by classics like Enid Bagnold’s National Velvet. A neighbour’s back issues of Chronicle of the Horse magazine expanded my horizons. In the 1970s and early ’80s, the thoroughbred dominated American sport, and I spent hours studying photos of show jumpers like Jet Run, Idle Dice and Touch of Class.

By the time I finally had my own horse and joined Pony Club, eventing was all I cared about. We were lucky to have a thriving scene centred around Southern Pines. When I reached Preliminary (CNC*) level, it was exciting to warm up alongside Bruce Davidson and other USET riders bringing out their young horses. But I decided I was unlikely to make a career as a professional rider, so I took the sensible route and applied to veterinary college.