Corona Times: Hit & Run with Emile Faurie

Interviews

Great Britain

In corona times we are all ordered to stay at home, self quarantine, and do social distancing. With more time on your hands to spend online, Eurodressage launches a "Hit & Run" interview series so that you get to know the world's most famous dressage riders and personalities more closely.

British Grand Prix rider Emile Faurie grew up in South Africa and moved to Great Britain in 1980. He first moved into the international spotlight with Virtu, which took him to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and made him win team silver and individual bronze at the 1993 European Championships. He also won the 1993 and 1994 British Dressage Championships. He went to the 1997 European Championships, 1998 World Equestrian Games, rode his second Olympics in 2000 in Sydney and his second World Equestrian Games in 2002. In 2003 he won team bronze at the European Championships. He returned on the British team at the 2011 European Championships, where they won a historic team gold medal. He competed at the 2017 European Championships and his third World Equestrian Games in 2018. He trained and rode no less than six different Grand Prix horses at these Championships. She has created the Emile Faurie Foundation which funds inner city children living in poor areas to have riding lessons and experience the joy and benefits of being with horses.

Hit & Run - Emile Faurie

What is your earliest memory?

I remember getting my tonsils taken out and getting to eat unlimited jelly afterwards

Which person alive do you admire the most and why?

Any rider in our sport that has trained and competed a horse up to grand prix.

When were you the happiest?

When I'm riding

What is your biggest fear?

Failure to do right by those i love

What was your first thought today?

I need to get up

What is your most annoying character trait?

I can be quite stubborn

Which trait do you dislike the most in other people?

Dishonesty, hypocrisy, disloyalty

What is your dearest possession?

My farm, Heath Farm

If you look into the future, what do you see?

a different world certainly for the near future

What makes you unhappy?

Unfairness

What is the love of your life?

My farm

What was the best choice you ever took in life?

To live in England

What's your guilty pleasure?

Fast cars

What do you owe your parents?

To have been taught the value of good morals and values.

Who can sit next to you at your dream dinner table?

Miranda Hart, Stephen Fry

What was the worst job you ever did?

I'm very lucky to have never had a terrible job

What was your biggest disappointment in life?

With the life i chose one learns to cope with disappointment and soldier on.

What would you change if you can go back into the past?

To undo every wrong choice I've made

Name one thing that would improve your quality of life?

A new lorry

What is your biggest achievement?

To have survived this far

What is the most important life lesson you have learnt?

To value more the friends who have remained loyal

Where would you like to be right now?

Exactly where I want to be

What's your favourite scent?

My god daughter Sophie freshly bathed

Which character would you dress up in for Halloween?

I do not dress up

To whom would you like to say sorry?

To anyone I may have unknowingly hurt

What does love feel like for you?

Total and utter contentment

When are you most relaxed?

When I am riding

What super power would you like to have?

To prevent anyone from suffering unnecessarily

When did you last cry, and why?

When my old dog died. She was 18

When were you closest to death?

I have been very fortunate never to have been in that situation

How do you want to be remembered?

as a good person