Jane Gazzard

Jane first joined the Horse & Hound editorial team in 2017, having worked as deputy editor for another national equestrian title. As a sub-editor, Jane is responsible for editing and fact-checking all the content in each issue of H&H, ensuring it’s in house style and meets the magazine’s tone of voice – and she collates and edits the letters page each week.

Jane knew from a teenager that she wanted to be a sub-editor on a weekly magazine and she has the editor of a women’s magazine to thank for that. She gave a careers talk at school when Jane was 15 and sold her on the idea of becoming a “sub”. But it was also her uncle who proved to be a driving force – he’d been a well-known professional footballer in his heyday and when he hung up his boots, he became a sports writer for national newspapers – so journalism was already on Jane’s radar.

Her role as a sub stood her in good stead for a career in magazine publishing, where she has worked on women’s magazine (weeklies and monthlies), home interest titles, tabloid newspapers and supplements and the equestrian sector, and in all sorts of roles – chief sub-editor, executive editor, deputy editor, with a few other interesting things thrown into the mix as well, such as publications editor for a conservation charity and writing a couple of books with two British Olympians.

As far riding is concerned, Jane first sat in the saddle at aged five, but didn’t take it up “seriously” until she was seven, on a lovely pony called Sunshine that she rode at a local riding school. Jane then shared a 13.2hh pony called Smoky with her sister – he was a typical Thelwell pony, being cheeky and with a mind of his own but taught the two sisters a lot, especially on the hunting field. Then along came 14.2hh Orion, on whom Jane hunted and enjoyed Pony Club events, but once Jane grew out of Orion, her choice of breed changed dramatically to anything beginning with “ex”. So from 14.2hh, Dartmoor/thoroughbred Orion, Jane made the leap to 16.3hh, ex-Grand National horse Wayward Scot, followed by another ex-chaser Tartan Turf who became Jane’s hunter/dressage horse/showjumper, followed by a novice ex-eventer and then the apple of Jane’s eye, ex-Grade A, British warmblood showjumper Carnaval King (aka Hendy).

Hendy, once owned by Olympic showjumper Tony Newbery, was very talented but not brave and Jane remembers Tony telling her that if Hendy had been on the sinking Titanic when the call came over the tannoy for “women and children first”, Hendy would have been first in the queue. But Jane had years of fun with him hacking, showjumping and doing unaffiliated and affiliated dressage and he was Jane’s “horse of a lifetime and totally irreplaceable”, she says.

The owners of the yard where Jane kept Hendy would always rely on the pair to take yard newbies and youngsters on hacks to show them the best rides in the area, thinking that because Hendy was 15 and the perfect schoolmaster, he’d behave. But, of course, he didn’t! He was always one for showing off his moves – the flying changes, passage or canter half-passes – and especially on a hack across fields with novice horses in tow.

But he was the kindest horse – with a bit of cheek and attitude, but not a malicious bone in his body. And now she just needs to find another like Hendy…