International show jumper Tim Stockdale yesterday gave TV presenter Charlotte Jackson a show jumping lesson.
Charlotte, a presenter on Sentana Sports News, is learning to ride as part of the satellite channel’s preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games.
Charlotte took riding lessons as a teenager, but gave up after breaking her arm twice.
“I haven’t had the best experience with horses, but I was determined to give it another go,” said Charlotte, who rode a horse called Baloo at Tim’s Northampton yard yesterday morning.
After starting on the lunge, Charlotte was soon jumping 1m.
Tim, who is aiming for a place on Team GB this summer, said: “It would normally take someone three months to do that, I’m very impressed.”
Charlotte and her Sentana Sports News onscreen partner Andy Kerr are training with athletes in the fields of volleyball, hockey, archery, synchronised swimming and judo as part of the station’s coverage of the Beijing Games.
The series will be screened on Sentana Sports News — a 24hr sports news station, satellite channel 435 — throughout July.