In this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 8 July, readers can look forward to an exclusive Hero to Hero interview that brings together the might of British tennis legend Sir Andy Murray with reigning Olympic showjumping champion Nick Skelton.
“We love to mix things up at H&H occasionally and this fascinating insight into the minds of two sporting legends is certainly one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on,” explained our showjumping editor Jennifer Donald, who was responsible for pulling off this compelling read.
The ideal of expanding our popular occasional Hero to Hero series – which have featured Carl Hester with Charlotte Dujardin, Piggy March with Mary King and John Whitaker with William Funnell – by pairing up equestrian Olympians with those from a different sport was formed in a Tokyo brainstorming meeting earlier this year.
The first of these features saw H&H’s Pippa Roome bring together Australian eventer Andrew Hoy and Team GB track cyclist Katy Marchant and was published in the 17 June issue of H&H magazine.
“Reigning Olympic showjumping champion Nick Skelton was an obvious rider to approach and, once on board with the idea, he and I agreed that British tennis legend Sir Andy Murray would make for a great sporting hero to interview – like Nick, Andy won a brace of Olympic gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and, of course, they have both made remarkable comebacks from injury,” Jennifer explained. “Plus, we knew Andy’s wife Kim was a fan of Nick’s after it was revealed she voted for him in the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards!
“Andy was hugely sporting and agreed to take part, despite the piece being written during the run-up to his triumphant return at Wimbledon, so I’d like to thank both Nick and Andy for their generosity with their time.
“While their respective sports are absolutely poles apart, it was intriguing to discover the similarities in the mindsets of two leading sportsmen – their searing honesty about dealing with injury, their perception about staying motivated and the dedication required behind the scenes.
“I think Nick and Andy had a bit of fun learning about each other, too! I really hope the readers enjoy reading it as much as we did bringing it to fruition.”
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So make sure you don’t miss out on your copy of tomorrow’s magazine, on sale Thursday 8 July, while H&H Plus subscribers will be able to enjoy reading the interview online as part of their subscription. And let us know what you think by writing to hhletters@futurenet.com including your name, local town and county for the chance to win a bottle of Champagne Taittinger.
