MY OLYMPIC STORY
From the surprise of his first team call-up to four silver medals, Ian Stark traces his remarkable Olympic career
MY first Olympics, at LA in 1984, was a big surprise. I was 30, it was my first team and I had to learn to fit in at that level fast. It was surreal and a whirlwind.
I had three weeks’ holiday from my job in a government office over Christmas in 1981 and in January 1982, I said to my wife Jenny, “I don’t want to go back to the office, I hate it.” We had two little kids, but she said, “Oh for God’s sake, just hand in your notice.” I thought she was joking, but she said I might as well give it a go. My bosses said it was nice of me to confirm as I was never there anyway – I was there 10 years and I think I still owe them five years’ work! But they were really sweet and kept my job open for years.
It was a big change because Jenny had looked after the horses and kids while I was working – she said she had no idea how difficult it would be having me at home! But we were a great team and did everything together.
In 1983, when Oxford Blue and Sir Wattie were seven, I took them to Bramham and Wattie won the standard section – for younger horses – and Oxford Blue was third. Suddenly that autumn I was on the Olympic longlist without having done a four-star (now five-star).
Jenny and I laughed. We said there wasn’t a hope in hell I’d be going, but it was nice of the selectors to show an interest. The next year I took both horses to Badminton and ended up third and sixth. It was almost shattering to get news that they were on the shortlist. I still thought, “That’s great, but it’s not going to happen.”
At the final trial at Castle Ashby, Jenny and I stayed with the same family as Richard Meade and his wife Tiddles. At drinks one night, Tiddles said: “Richard, if Ian’s the rising star, you’re the setting sun” and Richard nearly fell backwards into the swimming pool. I flipped that round when Richard’s son Harry was selected for a team – the rising star to my setting sun!
When chair of selectors Chris Collins said they wanted me on either horse so I’d definitely be on the team, I couldn’t quite believe it.
It was weird at the Games that Jenny wasn’t allowed near me – Sir Wattie adored her but she could only occasionally get into the stables on an owner’s pass.
One of the other team horses wasn’t right the day before the trot-up. The rider and chef d’equipe went to look at the horse and said it was fine – “just as well as they were going to ride your second horse”. I had no idea I’d signed a contract to say someone else could ride my horse.
So it was an eye-opener – thrilling, exciting and terrifying.
It was hot. Oxford Blue was a thoroughbred, but I w
