Edwin and Peta McAuley from Hong Kong currently own three horses for Clayton to ride. They are Ben Along Time, Nullabor and Vandieman, all of which have been produced by Clayton from four year olds.
Edwin says, “We were introduced to Clayton by Philip and Vanessa Day who were some of Clayton’s original supporters when he moved to England. Clayton is a smooth talker and convinced us it would be a fun ride with a chance of glory at some point - he didn't disappoint! More seriously we felt Clayton was sincere, dedicated, and talented and had the attributes to succeed. Our first purchase was Boundalong whom Clayton produced to four-star level. Sadly he was killed a few days after he was invited onto the training squad for the 2004 World Equestrian Games having completed Badminton."

Two years later and the McAuley family were to have their most memorable moment when Ben Along Time secured the individual silver and team bronze medal at the 2006 WEG at Aachen.

“We’d like to build on previous successes with an eye to a crack at the 2008 Olympics”, says Edwin, but he adds, “The biggest point is that the personal relationship is key, you cannot be an event horse owner to make money, that's for sure."

“I would advise potential owners to not have a dog and bark yourself! That is, agree the guidelines and the targets and let them get on with the detail. In particular, let then manage themselves at competitions. Do that and you'll have lots of fun and almost certainly some surprise success along the way. For us it is the Fredericks or nothing!”

Photography by Tim Nicholls © 2007