The Ros Canter Phenomenon

What turned Ros Canter into a phenomenon?

When Ros Canter finished in fifth place and best of the British at her first ever Badminton in 2017 on Allstar B, no one was less surprised than British high performance coach Chris Bartle, to whom she had gone for some training beforehand.

“I very much saw it coming,” he said soon afterwards. “She is a cool customer, and transfers 100% things we discuss to her performance. She’s that old cliché, a joy to work with.”

But even he would be staggered by what Ros has gone on to achieve in under a decade from that first Badminton: individual world and European titles, five team gold medals (including at the Paris Olympics) and then of course the record-breaking achievements with Lordships Graffalo (known as Walter) at five-star level. No other horse has ever won Burghley twice and Badminton three times. Oh, and she’s produced two beautiful daughters along the way!

While Walter is now generally agreed to be the finest event horse ever to look through a bridle, he is the second horse Ros has won championships on, and probably won’t be the last.

Quite aside from being poetry in motion in the saddle, Ros Canter has created the blueprint for how to raise a rider to be a world beater.
A farmer’s daughter (having a large farm with hills to gallop on is quite useful, and no one beats a farmer’s work ethic), Ros was very fit and sporty from childhood — great at running and hockey.

As is very evident when you watch Ros being interviewed, she’s whip smart, an excellent learner and very analytical. Her sports science degree included modules on things she applies to her own sporting life today - like visualisation techniques.

Having got thoroughly into eventing, and “done juniors fairly badly and young riders really badly” she went for a summer to train with former Burghley winner and esteemed trainer Judy Bradwell, and stayed for four years. She now realises what a fantastic grounding this gave her —  “the best thing that ever happened”. 

She learnt to produce young horses, met owners who later supported her, and learnt the business of eventing. Other trainers have been hugely impactful for her too — especially the late Caroline Moore — and who would bet against Ros one day becoming a world class trainer herself?

But it is her belief in a horses’ happiness, as well as their training, that attracted Agria to sponsor her some four years ago. No matter how many medals they’ve won, her horses are turned out as much as possible and live very natural lives at home intended to make them as happy as possible, not just successful. They go hacking, there are children around the yard.. they have abundant friends, freedom, forage and more. 

Agria delights in seeing happy, healthy horses giving pleasure to people, even more than it delights in British high level success. In Ros, they see all of this in one pint-sized phenomenon. It’s been a thrill to see her break record after record, and help introduce a generation of horse fans to Agria along the way.