Biography

Last year British rider Paul Sims (31) completed his fourth consecutive Badminton with Glengarnock; the pair has also completed Burghley on four consecutive occasions and now has eight back-to-back four-star completions together.

Paul, who is based in Cheshire, is originally from Darlington in North Yorkshire. He got ‘hooked’ on horses when he went pony trekking on a family holiday. The whole family then got into horses and he shared his first pony with his brother. His mother runs a riding school. Paul originally show jumped to grand prix and represented England before turning to eventing. He runs a yard with his fiancée, event rider Hannah Bate. The couple has a two-year-old son, Billy.

In 2014 with Calador, Paul was a member of the winning British Nations Cup team that competed in Montelibretti and made his Badminton debut with Glengarnock. He was the best ‘first time’ rider at both Badminton and Burghley (2014).

Paul trains with Duncan Smith.

Outside of eventing he plays five-aside league football and is a keen poker player.

Glengarnock is a 16-year-old British-bred KWPN registered gelding. Bred by Edith Rutherford in Llandeilo he is by the Dutch jumping sire Ahorn out of Ilona by Bernstein. He was bought as a four-year-old from JRP Equestrian and has been ridden through the grades by Paul. Glengarnock is however produced by Duncan Smith and John Marsden and is stabled with them. He is described as ‘a clever horse with a huge personality’. The owner is a former competitor and long standing supporter of the sport. Paul and Glengarnock have achieved four Badminton and four Burghley completions.