Jonathan Paget

The Olympic Hopeful

Age: 28

Location: Surrey, UK

Other interests: Cycling and country music

Favourite Eventing moment: Going to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky 2010

What is your favourite one day event? Aston Le Walls

What is your favourite International event? CHIO Aachen

Which four team members would be in your multi-national fantasy Olympic eventing team? Kevin McNab, Boyd Martin, Michael Jung, Piggy French

Facebook fan page: Click here

Favourite quotations: If you bite off more than you can chew……….. chew like f@#k!

Essential piece of kit: Lucky Whip

People and horses who inspire me: Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Caroline Powell, Blyth Tait

Biog:

I was born in Wellsford, New Zealand, and spent the first few years of my life on a dairy farm and when I was five the family moved to Sydney, Australia. My mother was a very good rider and competed to advanced level before I was born, and my dad is a great horseman and does western/rodeo steer wrestling, campdrafting and when he was younger he raced and trained the trotters as well as some breaking in.

Although both parents had been into horses I never grew up around them. I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney in a place called Pendle Hill about 40 minutes south west of Sydney. I played rugby and completed my apprenticeship as a bricklayer before I started to event at the age of 20.

I spent 3 years working for Kevin Mcnab in QLD Australia. I left Kev’s place qualified to ride at 4 star level and I set up on my own in Sydney for a year. I was then that I was offered a job to ride for Frances Stead at the Clifton Eventers base in Muriwai, New Zealand and I joined them for 3 years. I then moved over to what is my UK base after the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, to my yard in Dunsfold, Surrey where I have 12 competition horses, one working pupil and a groom.