'We all have to start somewhere'

Robert Walker on the importance of aiming for the top, regardless of status

- Alex Robinson & Robert Walker

I WOULDN’T ever say I’d have been a good weatherman but it’s hard not to talk about the subject when we’ve experienced one of the hardest winters I’ve ever known. The immense amount of rain we’ve received has made people question their life choices more than once, and wading through mud on a daily basis has been seriously challenging.

I did think I’d seen the light at the end of the tunnel, but the night before writing this we experienced 11mm of rain in Cheshire and the banks of the brook are overflowing.

It’s testing. At this time of year the horses are fit and raring to go, but they haven’t been out on grass for a long while. I’ve been questioning if I’m a stunt rider rather than a show-horse rider.

I’ve been doing this job for a long time but I’m still required to adapt my routine and look at things from different angles each year. My older horses were scheduled to be out until the end of December, but the weather meant they had to come in during November.