Eventing legend Lucinda Green MBE, riding Riddick VDH in the CCI2_S at The Dodson and Horrell International Horse Trials in 2019. © Elli Birch_BootsandHooves

Lucinda Green’s joint venture

By Adele Severs

Across five decades at the elite end of eventing, Lucinda Green MBE has seen more than a few changes to the sport she loves. And while some aspects such as good riding principles don’t change, other parts have evolved. Fresh from commentating in Tokyo, Lucinda reveals how it really was an Olympics like no other, discusses how the wonders of new technology have helped her adapt to coaching during the pandemic, and reflects on how scientific advancements in joint care have led to improved welfare outcomes for our equine athletes.

Lucinda Green has just returned from commentating on an Olympics Games she, and many others, never thought would actually happen. The eventing legend was first amongst the Olympic action as part of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning team at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and since then she’s found herself in the commentary box for the Games on six occasions. An eventing legend with countless accolades to her name — she’s a World and double European Champion, Olympic silver medallist, dual Burghley and six-time Badminton winner — Lucinda knows the sport as well as anyone in the business. However, this year at Tokyo things were a little different to what she’s used to, in more ways than one.

“For a start, I was working for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), which I’ve never done before,” explains Lucinda. Previously when commentating at the Olympics, Lucinda worked for individual national broadcasters such as the BBC in the UK or Channel 7 in Australia, where she was relatively “unbound by any regulations”.

“It was quite fascinating to work within Olympic media. This put me into a different zone to what I have ever worked in before. Because there are rules and regulations that you must abide by; these things I had to learn, and it took me a bit of time on one or two occasions. Luckily, John Kyle, the professional commentator, had worked with the OBS before, so he was able to keep me on the straight and narrow,” laughs Lucinda....

Read the full article in the September issue of Equestrian Life magazine here.