Clare and Spencer (left) and Clare, Henry and Graham (right) - the Kings, and Queen, of commentary and Control at Rockingham!
We love the knowledgeable, informative and fun commentary at many of the events in the UK and three of our favourite commentators are Clare Prentice, Henry Symington and Spencer Sturmey.
Spencer is well known in Australia, having visited for the first time last year to assist with the commentary at the Australian International 3 Day Event and Clare Prentice is not only an AEL blogger but also the owner of some of Bill Levett’s horses in the UK. Henry Symington started doing commentary back in the early eighties (when someone suggested that he'd got too much to say so he'd better commentate on the cross country!) and now works at about thirty events a year from Introductory to International competitions
The rapport and banter between the three produces some memorable moments (such as the 'wobbly' Blyth Tait in the video below) but there is a serious side too as they are not only providing commentary but also involved in managing the Control Box – a key role in what happens on the cross country course.
At Rockingham Castle Horse Trials we popped up to the Control Box to watch and listen for a little while. At this event Henry Symington was not only commentating but also acting as Controller with Graham Daws, as you can see in the little video snippet below
