John Gosden: 'I don’t care how many winners I’ve trained; it’s the quality you remember'
Jack Watkins talks to the champion racehorse trainer on quality over quantity and preserving Newmarket.
Sporting & Country Pursuits
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John Gosden racehorse trainer, Clarehaven Stables, Newmarket. Credit: Simon Buck/Country Life -
The Toyota Hilux Invincible. Credit: www.sebastienmauroy.com Toyota Hilux review: Forget three men in a boat — three men in a double-cab 4x4 pick-up truck is the true test
Our correspondent and two fishing friends find the refreshed Toyota Hi-Lux is more than a match for New Zealand’s rocky terrain and a mountain of gear.
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Henley Royal Regatta. Credit: Alamy Curious Questions: How do you survive the Summer Season?
Potential faux pas abound in a British summer, but is it possible to find your way through to September unscathed? The answer is yes, says Rupert Uloth, so long as you always carry a brolly, know how to share a carriage with The Queen and own at least seven hats. Here are his tips.
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A family affair: the Earl Of Snowdon, Princess Margaret, Lady Sarah Armstrong-jones, The Queen, Queen Mother, Prince Andrew And Prince Philip At The Badminton Horse Trials in April 1973. Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images 70 years of the Badminton Horse Trials: From the pig-sticking champions to the miracle champion who took four decades to win
The world's most famous horse trials is seventy years old this year. Kate Green looks at some of the most remarkable moments in its history.
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Olivia Wilmot of Great Britain riding Cool Dancer clears the lake fence during the cross-country at the Badminton Horse Trials. Credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images Badminton 2019: The six best riders to follow, six best fences to watch and six best shopping stalls to visit
Badminton is one of the undisputed highlights of the year for anyone who loves horses – Kate Green shares her tips for anyone making it along to this wonderful event.
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The view south from Dunwich Cliffs towards Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station. Credit: Alamy Fiona Reynolds: A walk on the Suffolk coast that brings home the true horror of the new plans for Sizewell
A few months after writing about a development at Otmoor, Fiona Reynolds visits the beautiful Suffolk coast — and can't quite believe how the proposed new work will tear up this idyllic landscape.
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Adare Manor in Limerick County, Ireland. Credit: LC Lambrecht Adare Manor: The golf course that dreams of being the Irish Augusta
Augusta National Golf Club is one of the sporting world's greatest treasures. It's also the model on which Adare Manor, near the charming Irish city of Limerick, is being recreated – and a very fine job they're doing, says Toby Keel.
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Patrons watch play on the tenth green during the first round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Credit: Dave Cannon / Getty Images How Country Life started the career of the golf course architect who created Augusta National
Alister Mackenzie, the golf course architect who created Augusta National Golf Club, was a GP with an enthusiastic sideline in golf until he won a competition in Country Life. Roderick Easdale tells the extraordinary tale.
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Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Your child's first pony: A survival guide for parents
The request for a pony is dreaded by many parents, but, with the right help and the right animal, the process of your child’s learning to ride need not be painful.
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Credit: Alamy Jason Goodwin: 'My carpentry depends largely on heavy leaning and a few nails and it works'
Our Spectator columnist tells tale of his carpentry skills and why one's children should conceal their superior skills until long after one is gone.
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Credit: Getty Looking back at the Grand National, decade by decade, as the world's greatest horse race turns 180
The first Grand National took place 180 years ago. Kate Green charts the decade-by-decade history of this much-loved race by focusing on the years ending in '9', beginning with the inaugural staging in 1839.
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Cricket in the village of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, has been thriving – but not everywhere has been so successful. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Sporting Life: Why now is the time to get involved with your village cricket team – before it goes the way of the pub and the post office
Village cricket is going through something of a crisis – so now is the time to get out there and get stuck in. Annunciata Elwes reports.
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Rachel Hallos, beef and sheep farmer, West Yorkshire. Credit: Jonathan Pow/Country Life Picture Library Female farmers: 'It doesn’t matter what sex you are – it’s about whether you’re good at the job'
Female farmers are far from being a rare breed. Not only are they getting their hands dirty but plenty of them are running the show as Anna Tyzack finds out.
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Credit: Alamy Sporting Life: Catching the skittish bonefish with peanut butter and a single, solitary fly
Our correspondent goes through the necessary rituals to pursue ‘the little white foxfish’ in the West Indies.
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Daybreak on top of the Sugar Loaf. Credit: Alamy Climbing the Sugar Loaf, the irresistibly perfect mountain in a ‘wild and lovely’ setting
The Sugar Loaf in Wales’s Black Mountains is a satisfying little peak to conquer, as Fiona Reynolds explains.
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Ireland's CJ Stander is tackled by England's Owen Farrell Credit: Getty Sporting Life: Who will win the 2019 Six Nations?
Ahead of the Guinness Six Nations, Owain Jones predicts that Ireland will retain their crown – but they'll be pushed hard by England, Wales and possibly even Italy, based on recent results.
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Ian Botham being interviewed after his historic performance in the third Test against Australia at Headingley, 21st July 1981. Botham hit an innings of 149 not out and took seven Australian wickets to help England win by 18 runs. (Photo by Adrian Murrell/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Sporting Life: Botham, Gower and 17 pints on rest days – a look at cricket in the 80s, through the eyes of Derek Pringle
Pushing the Boundaries: Cricket in the Eighties contains the reminiscences of Derek Pringle reflecting on his years in the world of cricket and the delightful characters he met, both on and off the pitch. Richard Hopton reviews.
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Credit: Alamy Sporting Life: Can you learn to ballroom dance in seven weeks?
In the wake of Strictly Come Dancing, Alexandra Fraser convinced her partner to join her on a seven-week ballroom dancing course in London to discover how hard it really is to pick up what is fast becoming a dying art.
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An aerial photograph from out to sea of the par 3, sixth hole Harry Colts' in the foreground and the par 4, fifth hole 'White Rocks' behind on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club the host venue for the 2019 Open Championship on October 10, 2018 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images Royal Portrush: How one of golf's greatest masterpieces has been made even greater
Royal Portrush, in County Antrim, is one of the finest golf courses not just in Northern Ireland but the world. Toby Keel paid a visit a few months before the world's best players arrive for The Open.
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The Scafell range across the reflective waters of Wast Water in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, UK Credit: Robert Harding / Alamy Five magnificent winter walks in Britain, from the Brecons to the Broads
A brisk winter walk is the perfect way to shake off the blues of the cold, dark months – here are five superb spots to inspire you to get out there.
