Kiwi couple Tim and Jonelle Price have arrived.
If the names sound unfamiliar, it’s likely because of the paucity of publicity the sport generates. Among the cognoscenti, however, Tim and Jonelle represent the new generation in eventing.
The good ship Price started its journey in the South Island of New Zealand and in 2005 made landfall in the Kennet Valley of southwest England, a gallop away from Badminton, Gatcombe, and Blenheim. For a decade, they have been steadily building their business and stature at Tim and Melissa Brown’s beautifully-appointed Meer Farm. Today, the duo is among the world’s top ten riders and as such are aiming straight for Rio.
Jonelle, 35, won an Olympic bronze medal in London in her team debut in 2012, but she really made everyone stand up and take notice with her fourth-place finish on Classic Moet at last year’s World Equestrian Games. The year 2014 was also something of a watershed for Tim, 36. He scored the first four-star win of his career at CCI Luhmuhlen on Wesko, which heralded the start of a momentous string of results. Last April, he came within a pole of capturing his second FEI Classic at Rolex Kentucky, only to be denied by Michael Jung in the final phase. In September, history repeated itself at Burghley when Jung pipped him to the post by just 1.5 penalty points.
In October, the couple helped New Zealand acquire Olympic qualification at the FEI Nations Cup finale, CCIO Boekelo, where the team beat Japan to clinch the final Oceania regional spot.
With 20 or so horses on the yard, what does a typical day entail?
Jonelle: We get up at 6.30 and are on the yard by 8 am, but I’ll spend an hour in the office beforehand. On a normal day we’ll ride seven to ten horses each and our six staff do everything in between. Rebecca Howard, who rode for Canada at the London Olympics, is based here with us and she’ll ride four a day, plus we have three or four working pupils. Teaching is not a priority now. There’s plenty of time for that in the future. Now we are focusing on our riding, training, and competing.
How did you get started with horses?
Jonelle: I didn’t come from a horsey family, but in New Zealand eventers like Mark Todd and Blyth Tait were superstars. I grew up watching them and dreaming of doing what they did. I remember in primary school meeting Toddy and Charisma on their “world” tour! I joined the Pony Club and messed around on $400 ponies before moving into horse trials. At 14 I bought my first novice horse, a seven-year-old which I produced to advanced level and sold to the US. Then I produced another off-the-racetrack and by the time I was 18 I had built a reputation and a string of good horses. My first year at university [studying law] I was running six to ten horses and I had to make a decision; I had to cut back on one or the other, and university lost.
Tim: I grew up on a farm and was horse-mad from the start. My parents bred sport horses, about a dozen a year, which added up to quite a lot. I did all the breaking-in and competed in show jumping at any competition going – Pony Club, local shows, agricultural shows, you name it. As a teenager I was on the ground getting the job done with the young horses. There were horses coming and going all the time. Even though I started out show jumping, I always felt like an eventer gone show jumping. Eventually the ratio changed and the horses became more suited to eventing. I’d always admired the Kiwi eventers and I just jumped on that bandwagon.
How did you two meet?
Jonelle: I grew up in a beachy community at the top of South Island where there wasn’t a lot of competition. We met when we were 16 and 17, when I started going to Christchurch where Tim is from and where there were a lot of competitions. We got married in January 2013 after 12 years together.
Why did you move from New Zealand to the UK?
Jonelle: We came to the UK on a whim, really. Tim had a good horse and was an outside chance for Athens. I also had a potential Olympic horse and so we brought them over to run at Burghley. Tim’s ran, but mine got sick. When we went home we left the horses in the UK with the idea we would come back in time to get them ready for Badminton the following spring. We made two trips back and forth before I decided the UK was where I wanted to be. I went home and sold everything and returned to England with two horses in 2005.
Tim: I wasn’t as sure as Jonelle was about making the move, but followed her fairly quickly.
Did you ever waver in your belief that you’d made the right decision?
Jonelle: I’m stubborn as hell and I never doubted there was any other way.
Tim: I’m a little bit of a traveler at heart, so coming to the UK was a great adventure. I suppose there were two milestones that I reached. First, when I decided that if I took the sport seriously enough I could be really good at it; and second, when we reached the point where we could survive financially.
Were sacrifices made along the way?
Jonelle: Hundreds and thousands – moving countries, leaving friends and family behind; going from being a big fish to a little fish … we left comfortable businesses and lives behind. Life was very good back in New Zealand. We gave it up to spend the next seven years working our asses off.
Tim: The biggest for me was certainly leaving New Zealand. It’s such a beautiful place; I love it.
Horsepower aside, is there another ingredient that gives you an edge?
Jonelle: Some people (like Tim) have huge natural talent. I think I have a good capacity for learning. My focus and determination has brought me a long way. Having a good brain and the ability to make split-second decisions – I don’t think I make too many bad ones on the spur of the moment. Ultimately, if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen despite background and opportunities. I’m a good example of that.
Tim: Going into the zone when it really counts and having the ability to bring that certain something to a horse so they really believe in you. I think I can bring the best out of any horse, even if they aren’t the best.
How would your friends and family describe you?
Jonelle: Stubborn would be the first word they’ll use! I’ll fight an argument until the cows come home.
Tim: Laid back. I am pretty laid back on the surface, but very motivated underneath.
If life hadn’t taken you where it has, would you have had another profession?
Jonelle: I definitely would have gone down the academic line and probably become a lawyer. School always came easily to me and I always got good marks. I love studying.
Tim: I’ve spent my life on skis, so I’d probably be on the ski patrol, climbing towers and patrolling the slopes.
Where’s your favorite place in the world?
Tim & Jonelle: Abel Tazman National Park.
Jonelle: There’s no place like home, but I do feel lucky to have the best of both worlds – being a Kiwi and living in the UK.
Where would you like to go that you haven’t been?
Jonelle: My immediate list would include Vietnam – I would love to go back to North Vietnam – Thailand, and Southeast Asia.
Tim: She would go somewhere hot, but I would go to the mountains in Europe or to Canada for the wide-open spaces.
Do you have a fitness regimen?
Jonelle: I do circuit training in the evenings and run a couple of times a week. I’m pretty health-conscious and aware of what I eat, but I’m not too anal about it.
Tim: I go to the gym and I run. It’s not a chore, because I love it.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Jonelle: Pies. You have to be a Kiwi and understand our culture to truly understand that nothing beats a good pie.
Tim: I have a penchant for red wine – a New Zealand pinot or anything with a few years on the clock. I also have a thing for old cars, nothing too fancy. I have a 1969 Holden and a Triumph Herald.
What’s next for Team Price ?
Jonelle: I scraped into the London Olympic team as a trailblazer, so I would like to go to Rio with Fairie Dianimo as a front-runner fighting for individual honours.
Tim: I’m hoping it will be Rio, too, and I have the horse for it. Wesko will be really well-suited to the course, as he finds it easy to turn and go. Next year is really exciting, because I have exceptional horsepower – it’s the first time I will have three four-star horses as well as an emerging group with four-star potential. It’s a fun problem to have!
