Meet Pippa Funnell

Find out all about Pippa’s family life, training with William and the relaunch of her children’s books  

As one of Britain’s best-ever eventers, Pippa Funnell’s career has certainly been conducted in the spotlight. But behind every successful sportsperson is a hardworking, dedicated and passionate team – and in Pippa’s case, a showjumper husband, too. We spoke to Pippa to find out about life behind the scenes and the upcoming relaunch of her series of children’s books.

Day by day

We all know that life with horses is full on and there is often very little time for ourselves, but Pippa and William make some time at the start of every day to catch up. “Our alarm goes off at 6.15 and whenever William is here, he always brings me a cup of tea in bed,” said Pippa. “Before getting up, we spend half an hour watching the news and chatting – in the evenings, we’re too tired and fast asleep on the sofa straight after dinner!”

With 96 horses in work at The Billy Stud and 28 at home, there is always plenty of riding to be done. “I head out to the yard at 7am to start riding – that’s what I spend most of my day doing, whether it’s working with the youngsters or taking the older boys out for a hack. My grooms finish the yard duties by 9am, then we have breakfast. After that, it’s more riding! I like to make sure I’ve ridden the horses before teaching, so sometimes I’ll have lessons in the afternoons.”

Even though the yard work is done, Pippa’s evenings are still jam-packed. “I don’t come in and sit down to relax. I’m usually sorting emails, planning for demos, scheduling social media or liaising with sponsors – there’s endless work to be done!”

Power couple

Some people might find the idea of working with their partner hard to imagine, but over the years, Pippa and William have helped each other greatly and their list of achievements speaks for itself. “We’re husband and wife, so we need to be in the right frame of mind for help, but because we’ve been together for so long, we know each other’s ways and have exactly the same ideas. We never have conflicting opinions and have taught each other so much.”

Eventer turned author

As well as being a successful eventer, Pippa has also written more than 20 books. Her series of 18 children’s books first launched in 2009 and quickly became a must-read for every pony-mad child.

Reflecting on the book-writing process, Pippa said: “I never thought I’d write books, but I got thinking on my long journeys to shows and out hacking. When I was younger, I had a horsehair bracelet and that’s what gave me the idea of the storyline.

“Although the stories were completely from my brain, I wrote more than I’d ever planned. I had a ghostwriter, who thought my ideas were far-fetched at first, but she wasn’t horsey, so didn’t have all the right knowledge.”

Despite their success, the books eventually went out of print, and, over the past year, Pippa has been rewriting and refreshing the stories to keep them up to date. The first three books in the Pippa’s Pony Tales series are launching in May (2023) at Badminton Horse Trials. Alternatively, you can purchase the books from ponymag.com/shop from 20 April.

In May Horse&Rider, Pippa reflects on her biggest achievements, tells us what’s in store for the future and talks more about her series of children’s books.