“That’s Life”
Charley Snowdon talks to National Dressage and Grand Prix superstar Lotte Seal.
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Born in Denmark, Lotte started riding at the age of five in her homeland, partnered with a quirky, blue eyed Connemara x Shetland pony called Lille Mand (Little Man). “I think my passion for dressage started then, even though I was too young to realise it”, recalls Lotte. “I evented and showjumped as a youngster but my heart was always drawn to the dressage arena.”
Lotte excelled on the pony dressage scene in Denmark and it was not long before her talents were noticed, and at the age of thirteen was selected to ride for her country at the European Championships. “I was actually reserve but the selection process was so disorganised back then, I didn’t even know!” laughs Lotte. “Their original selectee had unfortunately broken her finger, so I got the phone call and I wasn’t exactly going to say no!”
As you would expect, all countries operate in slightly different ways when it comes to horse and stable management and Denmark is no exception, as Lotte explains. “In Denmark the system is a bit different and it’s very unusual to own your own horse or keep them at home. The Danes work very much on a riding school system with indoor schools and arenas and if you
roud mother to previous cover star and featured rider, Emily Seal, Lotte talks openly about the ups and downs of horses and how the apple rarely falls far from the
are lucky enough to own your own horse then the chances are they would be kept at a riding centre.
The pony I took to the Europeans I had half a share in, in return for work and a bit of extra payment. We had just returned from three weeks at the Danish equivalent of Pony Club camp when we got selected and I remember having to get us tuned back into just dressage very quickly”, continues Lotte. “We had to learn five new tests in a ridiculous short space of time which were equivalent to the higher end of today’s medium test level; the team finished fifth overall which wasn’t bad considering the rushed preparation!”
Lotte continued to excel as a teenager but being pipped to the post at the Danish National Championships is still to this day, an emotional roller coaster of a memory. “It had been one of those seasons that week in, week out it was either myself or this other girl being pulled in first or second to each other”, explains Lotte. “I messed up my Nationals test by going wrong for the first time ever, and I thought it was game over by that point, but she then surprisingly went wrong too and my hopes were briefly reignited, only then to discover she’d still beaten me!”
Lotte moved to the UK at the age of eighteen to improve her English language skills and thus gave her the opportunity to continue her passion and hobby for horses. “I never anticipated horses becoming my whole life so I always studied hard as a back up and to keep my parents happy!” laughs Lotte. “I found work on a team chasing and hunting yard which was a million miles away from anything I had seen or done in Denmark! I remember being quite shocked at discovering that mixing alcohol and horses was quite the done thing in the UK!”
Lotte met her future husband, Nick out with the Heythrop Hunt and the couple soon welcomed their son, Jack and daughter, Emily. “I remember leading them both out on their ponies hunting on foot, and I was so exhausted I said ‘Never again!’ They would have to either get good enough that I could ride and lead or they would have to brave it on their own!” Laughs Lotte. “As they got older they would take a picnic out riding together and be gone for hours. I recall thinking that maybe I should be worried but then they would always eventually return!
Emily has always been the competitive one, when it comes to horses, but Jack is also a very natural horseman. He does things ‘his way’ and annoys his sister by unknowingly always seeing a stride! Jack never really had time for flat work and I laugh at the memory of when he, totally out of the blue,
34 THE WINTER SPECIAL 2019 For the latest news
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