cheltenham | team tizzard
Below Colin with his ‘I won the Gold Cup’ mug
W ith over 100 horses in training and upwards of 30 staff, the Tizzards’ training operation on top of a hill above the village of Milborne Port on the Dorset-Somerset border is vast, workmanlike, and dominated by row upon row of huge American barns housing line upon line of indoor stables. It’s a long way from 1995 when dairy farmer Colin first dabbled in training, buying a couple of point-to-pointers for son Joe to ride. The young jockey went onto become a success in his own right, eventually landing the prize job of stable jockey to Paul Nicholls. “When we started get more horses we were stretched,” says Colin. “Kim was a nanny up in Lambourn and I can remember ringing her up and saying, ‘I need you back Kim. Help me. I can’t keep up with the farm and
“God, you’re such a fibber!” Home for Colin and Pauline is a
short drive down the hill from the yard. It’s the farm Colin has lived at all his life. Homely and welcoming, the kitchen, or more specifically, the kitchen table, is where everything happens. It’s the place where plans for the day, month, and year are discussed and debated, where campaigns are plotted, the big decisions made. Colin might be the most well known face of the family, but it’s clearly a team effort that ensures the cogs run smoothly in what has become a highly organised business operation and all-consuming life the family leads. While Colin and Joe concentrate on the training side, Kim looks after the staff and day to day running of the yard, and Pauline works in the office, and sorts out passes and passports. Then there’s the declarations (Kim/Pauline), colours to be gathered (Pauline), entries to deal with (Colin, Joe), not to mention a 350-cow dairy farm to oversee (Joe). With everyone
“Native River wasn’t always a good horse. He came third out of four in his first Bumper”
15 race horses, this is too much.’ Joe was off riding for Paul. We would only see him once or twice a week… if he wasn’t race riding he was playing golf,” he laughs. “We used to have to threaten him, ‘If you’re not going to come back and help us in the summer, I’m going to sell the farm.’ “Then it all started to develop and Joe came back home… and he’s fitted in well. It makes me really proud to see how well everyone works so well together.” Spending time with the family, it becomes clear how close knit they are and how well they all get on. They rib each other at every opportunity. Colin tells the story of how he and Pauline got together, aged 19 and when both were members of Sherborne Young Farmers Club. “Colin was Chairman and I was Secretary,” Pauline begins before Colin takes up the story. “I had the Vice-Chairman sitting on one side of me and the Secretary – Pauline – on the other, about a yard away. As the weeks went on she moved closer and closer...” “That is so not true!” Pauline howls in mock anger. “She was getting closer to me all the time,” Colin continues, glinty-eyed. “And then she was reaching across to me... and there we are, that’s how it started...”
going off in different directions on a day to day basis, the two morning sessions around the kitchen table form the glue that hold everything together. “Probably the most important times of the day revolve around this table at 6.30am when the three of us have a coffee,” says Joe, indicating to Colin and Pauline. “Then we meet up again with Kim at around 9am for breakfast. Everything is up for discussion: ‘What are you doing today, what has to be done? Who’s going racing?’ We might have one conversation about the fact that we’ve got 16 runners going to three different racecourses at 10am and after that Dad and I don’t have to think about it again.” “I love just being on the gallops with the horses nowadays and not having to think about all the other stuff,” adds Colin, drinking tea from an oversized ‘I won the Gold Cup’ mug. “Everything is geared up so that when we get to October and the start of the season, there’s nothing else to do other than train and run horses.” There’s a dynamic at play that might not flourish in other families who work together 24/7, but, they insist, each individual adds their own attributes to the mix. Joe is the most gregarious of the bunch, reports Kim. “He has this ability to walk into any room and confidently
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