Mary Thomson's Eventing Year: A Month-By-Month Plan for Training a Champion

Presented in a week-by-week format, this book follows Mary Thomson and three of her horses - King Basil, King Kong and King William, with whom she won the 1992 Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials - through an Olympic year. The story begins in January when the horses are brought in from the field and put into early fitness training for the introductory events in late March, continues with the major international three-day events such as Badminton and Windsor, and culminates with the Barcelona Olympics. The different degrees of fitness, schooling and feeding required for each level of competition are described in detail, and readers can identify aspects of their own horses' behaviour with one of Mary's team. Most of her training takes place in the beautiful Devon countryside around her home, and the book includes a behind-the-scenes look at Mary's yard and work at home with the horses, as well as the "extra-curricular" activities of a top equestrian personality.