The BHS President Martin Clunes is a regular visitor to Hickstead. Victoria Goff finds out more about his role at the British Horse Society, and why he loves coming to our shows
On screen, Martin Clunes has played some less-than-joyful characters – the curmudgeonly Doc Martin, for example, or the idle Gary in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. If you spot the British actor at Hickstead, however, you see a very different side of him. Whether presenting trophies to the British Horse Society Supreme Horse Champion, being driven round the Longines International Arena in a carriage, or simply watching the action from the Members’ Enclosure, he couldn’t look any more delighted to be there.
As the President of The British Horse Society, Martin has been a regular visitor to Hickstead’s Longines Royal International Horse Show for the best part of a decade. In fact, it was at the showground that he was first offered the role. “Just after going to Hickstead and being spoilt as a guest in The British Horse Society box, watching the jumping, somebody asked would I possibly be interested in becoming the President,” says Martin. “I thought – fantastic, if I get to go in this box every year, and I get to meet all these great people, then yes!” In 2010, Martin was also made President of the Longines Royal International Horse Show, the charity’s official show. It’s an event he adores coming to, and he always attends when his acting work allows. “It’s a fantastic atmosphere, and a show I look forward to every year.”
Before he took on his Presidential role at the BHS, not many people would have immediately associated Martin with the horse world. Like so many others, he became involved in the sport of riding thanks to his family. “I got drawn into the whole horse thing via my daughter and my wife, and initially I was very happy to be part of the support team, to drive the pony around and dress it up for fancy dress and things, but I wasn’t that bothered about getting on one or having a relationship with a horse myself,” he says.
Things changed, however, when he was filming out in New Zealand. “I met the horse the day before the shooting started, and as my wife and daughter had come out with me we went for a ride together. I suddenly realised it was something that the three of us could do together and instantly, before we got back to England, I texted someone and bought a horse!”
Martin, Philippa and Emily now have a total of 12 horses living on their farm near Beaminster in Dorset, including several Heavy Horses. He loves having the space to keep them at home, especially in such a scenic part of the British Isles, but doesn’t always have a lot of time to ride in between his acting commitments. “I think what I like most about being around horses is how much they give you. They put up with me fiddling around, I never let them be but they never seem to mind. Whenever I’m with them and whether I’m riding or driving them, I just simply can’t think of anything else.”
Having been bitten by the equestrian bug in his personal life, horses have now become part of his professional life as well. He made a documentary series for ITV called Horsepower, which saw him travel the world to discover more about different breeds of equines and their varying roles in life.
More recently, he made a programme about the transformative effects that horses and riding can have for disadvantaged youngsters as part of the BHS’s Changing Lives Through Horses campaign. The campaign was launched at the beginning of 2017 and has grown massively in just 18 months. “I’m thrilled about the work that the BHS is doing, because I’ve witnessed it first-hand all around the world how many people’s lives are changed through horses,” says Martin. “It’s a brilliant way to scoop people up who might have been left behind, and give them an opportunity to have a job or a life with horses.”
The campaign is just one aspect of the work that the British Horse Society does, and this is something that has been brought to the fore during the charity’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Founded in 1947, the BHS is now the largest equestrian charity in the UK with more than 100,000 members. The theme of their Platinum celebrations is ‘I didn’t know the BHS did that…’, to promote the broad scope of work the charity does in areas such as education, equestrian access, safety, welfare and participation. The BHS has made a real impact on the lives of horses and horse owners through a range of campaigns and initiatives including its impactful road safety campaign ‘Dead or Dead Slow’; Paths for Communities, which opens and repairs bridleways; lobbying for fairer business rates for equestrian businesses; the BHS-initiated Ragwort Control Act; and health clinics for horses throughout the country.
“It feels a very special moment in time at 70 years, and I am thrilled to be President for the 70th anniversary,” says Clunes. “There are so many things to do with a horse, and I’d love to see more and more people use the BHS as the fantastic resource that it is. I know it’s a huge privilege to share my life with horses, so I’m so proud of the BHS for having given so many people the chance to share their lives with horses, for more than 70 years.”
Meanwhile, as President of the BHS, he will continue to enjoy meeting others who, like him, have fallen in love with the horse world. “I think my favourite thing about being President is without doubt the people I get to meet and the places I get to go to, in particular the various stables that I’ve visited – they seem to forge themselves as hearts of communities, and absorb people, old and young, into the horses’ lives. I find that the most inspirational thing of all.”
This article was first published in July 2018.
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