Horse sense

Swedish showjumper Fredrik Bergendorff, who lives and trains just north of Banbury, had been one of the select team chosen to coach the 12 celebrities -Sara Cox, Sally Gunnell, Ruby Wax, Nikki Chapman, Josie D'Arby, Suzi Perry, Anna Ryder-Richardson, Matt Littler, Matt Baker, Diarmuid Gavin and Paul Nicholas - to take part in the showjumping competition, which took place on live television over two weeks leading up to the final.

His inclusion in the squad was no surprise. After all, he had won a European Championship Gold Medal as a three-day-event rider before switching to showjumping, and enjoyed a growing reputation as a trainer of riders and horses.

But his initial delight at being invited to take part in the show turned to depression, he recalls, the first time he saw the celebrities on horseback.

"Some of them must have had very good agents," he grins. "In March, they'd been advised to go to their local riding school and get some lessons, so that by the time we started training in June, they would at least be able to canter a horse into a little fence, jump it, and canter away afterwards. But that first day, half of them were not at that level at all.

"I remember that evening sitting down with the other trainers in the hotel and taking a deep breath and saying this is going to be tougher than we thought'. I was very depressed about the situation."

Fred and the other trainers, Tim Stockdale, Mia Korenika, Mary-Anne Trevor-Roper and Jenny Ward, had just three weeks before the live programme started. With so little time, they decided to concentrate on the basics - balance, sticking to a level canter, and preparing the novice riders psychologically.

"It was important to make sure they stayed positive in the showjumping ring," he explained.

"Riders with that little experience can be fragile when something goes wrong, especially as this was bound to be a very emotional and tense process, given the timescale and the television cameras.

"Normally, when I train people I'm very matter-of-fact. If you get too excited when something goes well, or too low when something goes badly, you're going to ride the rollercoaster too much. But with this we all became very emotionally involved."

Day by day, the riders improved.

"They improved beyond belief. To be honest, I was so proud of what they did.

"Jenni, who had ridden little since breaking her wrist in a fall, was a very nervous rider, but the one who made me most proud was Paul Nicholas.

"At the beginning he was technically very weak, and he didn't look as if he enjoyed it very much. Balance-wise, I just wondered how on earth he could get to a point where he could jump even a little fence. Everything was very fragile.

"Then, later, to see him riding into the ring with a big smile on his face, positive and keeping a rhythm - that was fascinating to see.

"It has opened my mind to what's possible if you really focus on something. We, as trainers and riders, managed to improve more than I thought possible."

It was not only the celebrities that learned from the experience. Fred is quick to point out that working within a team of other trainers proved a unique opportunity.

"Working every day with other trainers is something you don't get to do normally. Every morning we would sit down and discuss what we were going to do in a lesson, and, after that lesson, we would all come back for a debriefing to work out how it went. We were exchanging different ideas and making slight adjustments to make sure everything moved forward, and it definitely paid off towards the end."

The popularity of the TV show has already seen a boost to showjumping competition ticket sales, but Fred is quick to point starstruck wannabe show jumpers towards their nearest riding school.

"Showjumping is fun and exciting," he says, "but it's as tough and as technical as any sport you can think of. The celebrities lived showjumping for six weeks, with five trainers. They had two one-and-a-half-hour lessons every single day.

"Most of the people I train are competition riders already, with their own horses. If you are just starting out, you should probably find a good riding school."

Although in great demand as a trainer, Fred has plenty of his own ambitions as a rider. Having reached the top in the eventing field, he is focused on reaching the same heights as a showjumper. "I had a great ten years eventing, and I do miss riding cross-country sometimes - it gives you a great buzz which is difficult to get from any other sort of riding. Having said that, when you go into the showjumping ring and jump clear around a big track with a good horse, it's a great feeling. It definitely gets the adrenaline running. "I've always had a childish pleasure in jumping horses, and switching from eventing was more of a sporting decision than a business one - showjumping fitted in better with the way I was riding and doing things."

Fred's immediate hopes rest with his promising eight-year-old grey, Baretto, and the pair have already been winners at the Horse of the Year Show, but long-term his sights are set firmly on 2012.

"I've represented my country in eventing and won the European Championships, and as far as showjumping is concerned, my first target is to represent Sweden in a major championship. But I would absolutely love to be in the Olympic Games when they come to London."