Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Racehorse trainer who has trained two Grand National champions and sent out almost 900 winners from her stables in Kinross.
On the island
Eight records
So this year especially we had quite a siege mentality. You know, as you get bigger it's a bit like having an army behind you and there's a super line in this song, Some Nights, This is It Boys, This Is War, This Is What We're Waiting For. And when we go out to race our horses we prepare them and we do all the work at home, but at the end of the day it is war and it is a competition and you have to go out and do the best that you can.
My second choice is really from my mother's influence of Forever Young. She always said, Never tell your age, it's only a number. Just Forever Young and always enjoying yourself.
Yes, so this is probably going right back to the first song that I remember really, Lee Marvin and Wandering Star. Loved his voice, loved the fact he was a cowboy, because cowboys meant the horses. And it really reminds me of those carefree days and I'm walking around, no shoes on, just enjoying myself, going up and down to the beach and leading the beach ponies.
Piano Man and Billy Joel, I think the way that he describes all the different characters in this song is fabulous. And it's a really it's a song about observing and listening to people, and that's what I do all the time.
This is a song called This Is the Day by Ther and I just love the optimism in it. And while we can all have tragedy in our life, I love that thing about waking up in the morning, the sun's high in the sky, and the feeling that today's the day and you can achieve what you want.
So, in Horse Racing, there's a band called The Saw Doctors. They're Irish, they're from Galway. And this song, To Win Just Once, is just fabulous. It's about. The desire to win, and there are people on the sidelines that are telling you what to do, and what you should do, and what you shouldn't do. But it's just about winning and and the the verve and the the determination that it takes to win.
Can't Take My Eyes Off YouFavourite
So, this is the really, really emotional one, I'm afraid. I'm not sure if I might have to cry through this introduction, but Andy Williams really reminds me of Mum and Dad. And we played at Dad's funeral actually. It starts off very slow, it's a true love song, and it just is all about Mum and Dad. But actually, now it's had to swing around and it just reminds me of Sku. You know, he I told you I cry. He um he means He means so much to me and he he's transformed my life. You know, he he we met in 2006. He just has supported me through so many things, you know, through all Campbell dying, so many things. He really is my rock. It's just my loved song to him, really.
One of the great things about training race horses, it's not just the horses, but the owners as well. And we've got some lovely owners, and they very kindly invited us out to Majorca. And there they said we've got some guests coming for lunch. And one of the guests was Anna Fried from ABBA. So it was absolutely fantastic. We had a wonderful lunch. We started off very politely and very sensibly. And by the end of it, we were singing ABBA songs. It's rather embarrassing, really. So at what point did you go from thinking don't mention ABBA to just asking about ABBA? Oh no, it was just, I think it was the second bottle of Rose, but it was just wonderful. And this song, Andanti and Dante, really encapsulated that day.
In conversation
Presenter asks
4:22Tell me about the family business.
Yes, dad was a whiskey broker originally and he then bought a couple of distilleries. And as a kid growing up, I was just used to him always being away. He was always away selling and selling and selling. And the whisky industry is quite a traditional industry. You know, whisky takes a long time. You can't sell it before it's eight years old. So everything that you do has to be quite measured and spend the time watching the whisky mature. And it's a spirit that's made at the heart. Actually, I don't drink it myself, but I like the idea behind it. My father was very big influence on my life, and especially in business and the way that he ran business. He had quite a strong ethos, it sounds like. Oh, huge ethos. He always said that you only do business with people that you like. And I think that's a very, very true saying. He said, always leave a penny on the table for the next man. And your handshake is your bond.
Presenter asks
8:48What is that relationship about, do you think, between people and horses? The psychology of it is fascinating, isn't it?
It is. I suppose you have to, you know, you listen to them, you watch them, you watch their body language. Because they can't talk to you, but you can still listen to them, it makes you much more aware of your surroundings. And as a kid, they're always the solace. There's just something, what is it, that there's something about a horse on the outside that's good for your soul. And I think that's very, very true. Definitely my happiest times have been with horses.
The keepsakes
The book
Equine Sports, Medicine and Surgery
Mr. Hinchcliffe
Well, I'm going to go very scientific and very veterinary, and I'm going with a book that my vet Ehenio actually gave me called Equine Sports, Medicine and Surgery by Mr. Hinchcliffe. And it's got all the problems that you could ever have with a horse.
The luxury
I'm going to really cheat on this one and I'm going to take my camper van. Ah, so if the stresses of the cold water and the hot sun get to me, I can go to my camper van and relax.
Presenter asks
18:47How does an event like that change your outlook and your approach? I mean, you describe your team and this incredibly close knit community that you have. To lose someone so young and so full of promise and life, it must have changed things after that.
It definitely brought us together. You know, sharing grief is a way to get over it and we did. And it's lovely now because Campbell's sister works for us Rita. So we've still got Campbell in the yard. We've still got his body protector in the yard and his hat. And he'll still be very much part of the yard as his ashes are scattered on the gallops and he's there with us. But I'd like to think that he'd be very proud of what we've achieved. I would have loved him still to be here because I think he would have been a very big part of it. But it's not to be.
Presenter asks
21:28How do you respond to the criticism that it's too cruel and too risky?
I think in the past it has been very risky, but um I think We have to keep telling people how much we adapt and how much we want to make things safe. I think on the race course the ground conditions right, the fences are safe, and they have made huge alterations. You know, I'm training horses because I love them, I'm training them to be the best that they can, and I'm making sure that when they go out to race, it's not too much of a test for them. Remember this year we ran a horse called Curric Rambler. This horse means so much to us. He might be owned by seven lovely people, but we see him as our horse. He's he's like a pet. I've seen horses standing in the field in the cold and the wet. That's a welfare issue. My horse running in a race to me is not a welfare issue.
Presenter asks
25:53Do you kind of make each other more ambitious?
Yes, I mean I think we're a really good balance with each other. We can talk about it all the time. Scoo's very, very competitive. He does drive me and I think I drive him. So we've always said we only want to do something that we're good at and I think together we can be better.
Presenter asks
31:15How good are you in your own company?
I like it. Well, it's going to be very hard without the horses. I don't mind being on my own, but I normally do share my time with an animal of some sort. But I suppose I might befriend a baboon or whatever we have on the desert island.
“He was my hero, always will be.”
“There's just something, what is it, that there's something about a horse on the outside that's good for your soul.”
“I always knew that I would do and I never wanted to comply”
“Sharing grief is a way to get over it and we did.”
“My horse running in a race to me is not a welfare issue.”
“He really is my rock.”