Pippa Funnell
Encyclopedia
Pippa Funnell MBE
(born Philippa Rachel Nolan, 7 October 1968) is an equestrian
sportswoman, regarded as one of three-day eventing's sporting elite. In 2003 she became the first person and currently only person to win eventing's greatest prize, the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing (consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley.) Her most famous horses are Sir Barnaby, Supreme Rock
, Bits and Pieces, Primmore's Pride and Ensign.
, East Sussex
in 1968 to Jenny and George Nolan. She grew up in Mark Cross and went to the Mark Cross CE primary school. She attended the independent boarding school Wadhurst College (became Micklefield Wadhurst in the 1990s then Bellerbys in 1997) on Mayfield Lane in Wadhurst
. Aged 16, she persuaded her parents to allow her to leave school, after which she based herself with Ruth McMullin, establishing one of the sport's most renowned training partnerships. In 2005, Funnell was made an MBE
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
She lives in Ockley
, Surrey
with showjumping husband William Funnell
. She married him in October 1993 in Uckfield
.
, Poland
. Despite a successful career as a junior and young rider, Pippa at first struggled to establish herself as a senior international. Too often she would put up a brilliant performance in the dressage phase and then throw it away with mistakes on the cross country course. By her own admission she suffered from nerves that were threatening to ruin her career.
Help from sports psychologist Nicky Heath has produced a dramatic change and meant she has become the backbone of the British team. In 1999 she became European Champion
at Luhmühlen riding Supreme Rock and again on the same horse in 2001 at Pau ("Les Etoiles de Pau" - France). She was a member of the British teams that won silver at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, bronze at the World Equestrian Games in 2002, and silver again at the Athens Olympics of 2004. In addition, Funnell won the individual bronze medal at Athens. (She competed at the Athens Olympics as 'Philippa' rather than 'Pippa' as 'Pipa' in Greek is slang for a sexual act.)
In 2003 she became the first rider ever to complete the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing by adding the Burghley title to her victories earlier in the year at Lexington and Badminton, to earn a $250,000 bonus from Rolex and a place in the history books. As a result of her phenomenal achievements she was voted Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year 2003 and was in the top five of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. She then went to Punchestown in Ireland to defend the individual European title that she had won in 1999 and 2001. Without the great Supreme Rock, on whom she had won her two previous titles, she narrowly failed to make it three in a row, clinching a bronze medal with the inexperienced Walk On Star and helping the British team to win their fifth successive team title. Pippa also finished the year as the number one ranked rider in the world.
In total Funnell has won the Badminton Horse Trials
three times: 2002, 2003 and 2005. She has won both the Blenheim venue
and Windsor Horse Trials four times as well, the only rider yet to do so.
s produced by Equestrian Vision, including Pippa Funnell, Road to the Top and The Funnell Factor, and in 2005 wrote her story in Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography.
Ubisoft
has released a number of horse videogames starring Pippa Funnell. These include Pippa Funnell for the Nintendo DS
and Game Boy Advance
, Pippa Funnell: Stable Adventure for the Game Boy Advance, and the PC games Pippa Funnell: The Stud Farm Inheritance, Pippa Funnell: Take the Reins
(also for PlayStation 2
), Pippa Funnell 3: The Golden Stirrups Challenge (more commonly known as Horsez
), and Pippa Funnell 4: Secrets of the Ranch. Pippa Funnell: Ranch Rescue was released in 2007 on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii.
Pippa Funnell is also the author of a series of children’s books called Tilly's Pony Tails
, published by Orion Children’s Books in the United Kingdom.
The first two books in the series, Magic Spirit and Red Admiral were first published in May 2009. The series has now been extended to eighteen titles in all. The first four titles have also been recorded as unabridged audiobooks, read by sports presenter Clare Balding
.
The central character, Tilly Redbrow, is an adopted child, who is passionate about everything to do with horses and ponies. In the first book in the series, Magic Spirit, Tilly helps rescue a neglected horse. Tilly discovers that she has a special gift for communicating with horses, and when she helps Magic Spirit, Tilly meets Angela, who owns a stables called Silver Shoe Farm. Angela invites Tilly to spend time at Silver Shoe Farm, learning about riding, training and caring for horses. Tilly soon makes friends at the stables and spends all her free time there. Each title in the series tells a new story about Tilly’s adventures with horses and ponies that she comes into contact with, as well as her growing relationship with Magic Spirit. The series is also linked by an unfolding story about Tilly’s background and birth, the only clue to which is a bracelet made of horsehair. As well as the fictional story, each title also contains a tips section with expert advice from Pippa Funnell on all aspects of horses and ponies.
Titles of the books
Audiobooks, read by Clare Balding
Special editions
Tilly’s Horse box (2010) ISBN 9781444001303
Tilly's Pony Tails 1-3 (2010) ISBN 9781444002270
Tilly's Pony Tails Annual 2011 (2010) ISBN 9781444001112
Other books by Pippa Funnell
Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography (2005) ISBN 9780752865195
Ask Pippa (Questions and Answers) (2010) ISBN 9781444002652
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born Philippa Rachel Nolan, 7 October 1968) is an equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
sportswoman, regarded as one of three-day eventing's sporting elite. In 2003 she became the first person and currently only person to win eventing's greatest prize, the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing (consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley.) Her most famous horses are Sir Barnaby, Supreme Rock
Supreme Rock
Supreme Rock is a 1988 Irish Sport Horse, ridden by Pippa Funnell in 4* Event competitions for Great Britain. He is a bay, 16.3 hand high gelding. He was retired in 2005 at the Badminton Horse Trials...
, Bits and Pieces, Primmore's Pride and Ensign.
Life
Funnell was born in CrowboroughCrowborough
The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
in 1968 to Jenny and George Nolan. She grew up in Mark Cross and went to the Mark Cross CE primary school. She attended the independent boarding school Wadhurst College (became Micklefield Wadhurst in the 1990s then Bellerbys in 1997) on Mayfield Lane in Wadhurst
Wadhurst
Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France.-Situation:...
. Aged 16, she persuaded her parents to allow her to leave school, after which she based herself with Ruth McMullin, establishing one of the sport's most renowned training partnerships. In 2005, Funnell was made an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
She lives in Ockley
Ockley
Ockley is a historic village in Surrey, built on Stane Street, a Roman Road stretching from Chichester to London. Situated between Dorking and Horsham, close to the Sussex/Surrey border, Ockley nestles in the shadows of Leith Hill, the highest point in South east England. Neighbouring villages...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
with showjumping husband William Funnell
William Funnell
William Ross Norman Funnell is a top-class showjumper.He has been in many Nations Cup teams, but has never ridden in the Olympics. In 2006 he won the Hickstead Derby for the first time since his first attempt at the age of 17, and won it again two years later in 2008. He also won the famous derby...
. She married him in October 1993 in Uckfield
Uckfield
-Development:The local Tesco has proposed the redevelopment of the central town area as has the town council. The Hub has recently been completed, having been acquired for an unknown figure, presumed to be about half a million pounds...
.
Career
Pippa Funnell became European Young Rider Champion in 1987 after successfully competing on Sir Barnaby at Bialy BorBialy Bór
Biały Bór is a town in Szczecinek County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,137 inhabitants .Located since 1309 in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights, the town had received German Kulm law city rights in 1395....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Despite a successful career as a junior and young rider, Pippa at first struggled to establish herself as a senior international. Too often she would put up a brilliant performance in the dressage phase and then throw it away with mistakes on the cross country course. By her own admission she suffered from nerves that were threatening to ruin her career.
Help from sports psychologist Nicky Heath has produced a dramatic change and meant she has become the backbone of the British team. In 1999 she became European Champion
European Eventing Championship
The European Eventing Championship, like most other European Championships, is held every two years. Today it is a three star eventing competition....
at Luhmühlen riding Supreme Rock and again on the same horse in 2001 at Pau ("Les Etoiles de Pau" - France). She was a member of the British teams that won silver at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, bronze at the World Equestrian Games in 2002, and silver again at the Athens Olympics of 2004. In addition, Funnell won the individual bronze medal at Athens. (She competed at the Athens Olympics as 'Philippa' rather than 'Pippa' as 'Pipa' in Greek is slang for a sexual act.)
In 2003 she became the first rider ever to complete the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing by adding the Burghley title to her victories earlier in the year at Lexington and Badminton, to earn a $250,000 bonus from Rolex and a place in the history books. As a result of her phenomenal achievements she was voted Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year 2003 and was in the top five of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. She then went to Punchestown in Ireland to defend the individual European title that she had won in 1999 and 2001. Without the great Supreme Rock, on whom she had won her two previous titles, she narrowly failed to make it three in a row, clinching a bronze medal with the inexperienced Walk On Star and helping the British team to win their fifth successive team title. Pippa also finished the year as the number one ranked rider in the world.
In total Funnell has won the Badminton Horse Trials
Badminton Horse Trials
The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International Four Star **** events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale , which takes place in April or May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort in...
three times: 2002, 2003 and 2005. She has won both the Blenheim venue
Blenheim Horse Trials
The Blenheim Horse Trials is an annual international three day event held in the park of Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock, England. It is rated CCI*** ....
and Windsor Horse Trials four times as well, the only rider yet to do so.
Recent career
The past two years have been quieter for Funnell in terms of competitive success. Several of her top horses, such as Supreme Rock, Primmores Pride, Viceroy, Walk on Star, Cornerman and Jurassic Rising reached the end of their careers and were retired. Funnell nevertheless remains in the spotlight with Ensign, who narrowly lost an individual medal at the 2005 Europeans and ensured the combination were placed on the shortlist for the 2008 Olympics following a 2nd place at Pau CCI**** in late 2007. Funnell has also kept herself preoccupied with talented youngsters. Already a renowned producer of young horses, having won a record number of Burghley Young Event Horses classes,and numerous medals, she now has an enviable string of young horses poised to place her back in the spotlight, such as Ensign, who she has been touchingly expansive over.Media Activities and Writing
Funnell has appeared on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s produced by Equestrian Vision, including Pippa Funnell, Road to the Top and The Funnell Factor, and in 2005 wrote her story in Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
has released a number of horse videogames starring Pippa Funnell. These include Pippa Funnell for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Pippa Funnell: Stable Adventure for the Game Boy Advance, and the PC games Pippa Funnell: The Stud Farm Inheritance, Pippa Funnell: Take the Reins
Pippa Funnell: Take the Reins
Pippa Funnell: Take The Reins is a videogame released by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 2 and PC. In Pippa Funnell: Take The Reins, the player is Jade, the newest member of the Sycamores Riding School in Scotland. Players can select a horse from a variety of breeds and colours...
(also for PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
), Pippa Funnell 3: The Golden Stirrups Challenge (more commonly known as Horsez
Horsez
Horsez is a videogame released by Ubisoft on October 26, 2006 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PC and Game Boy Advance. This PC game is the sequel to Champion Dreams: First to Ride and is also part of the second series of Petz. In Horsez, you play as Flora , a new member of the Sycamore Academy...
), and Pippa Funnell 4: Secrets of the Ranch. Pippa Funnell: Ranch Rescue was released in 2007 on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii.
Pippa Funnell is also the author of a series of children’s books called Tilly's Pony Tails
Tilly's Pony Tails
Tilly’s Pony Tails is a series of children’s books, published by Orion Children’s Books in the United Kingdom. The series was created by equestrian sportswoman Pippa Funnell.-Series:...
, published by Orion Children’s Books in the United Kingdom.
The first two books in the series, Magic Spirit and Red Admiral were first published in May 2009. The series has now been extended to eighteen titles in all. The first four titles have also been recorded as unabridged audiobooks, read by sports presenter Clare Balding
Clare Balding
Clare Balding is a BBC sports presenter, journalist and jockey.-Early life:In 1989 and 1990, Balding was a leading amateur flat jockey and Champion Lady Rider in 1990....
.
The central character, Tilly Redbrow, is an adopted child, who is passionate about everything to do with horses and ponies. In the first book in the series, Magic Spirit, Tilly helps rescue a neglected horse. Tilly discovers that she has a special gift for communicating with horses, and when she helps Magic Spirit, Tilly meets Angela, who owns a stables called Silver Shoe Farm. Angela invites Tilly to spend time at Silver Shoe Farm, learning about riding, training and caring for horses. Tilly soon makes friends at the stables and spends all her free time there. Each title in the series tells a new story about Tilly’s adventures with horses and ponies that she comes into contact with, as well as her growing relationship with Magic Spirit. The series is also linked by an unfolding story about Tilly’s background and birth, the only clue to which is a bracelet made of horsehair. As well as the fictional story, each title also contains a tips section with expert advice from Pippa Funnell on all aspects of horses and ponies.
Titles of the books
- Magic Spirit: the dream horse (2009) ISBN 9781842557099
- Red Admiral: the racehorse (2009) ISBN 9781842557105
- Rosie: the perfect pony (2009) ISBN 9781842557112
- Samson: the stallion (2009) ISBN 9781842557129
- Lucky Chance: the new foal (2009) ISBN 9781842557136
- Solo: the super star (2010) ISBN 9781842557143
- Pride and Joy: the event horse (2010) ISBN 9781444000818
- Neptune: the heroic horse (2010) ISBN 9781444000825
- Parkview Pickle: the naughty show pony (2010) ISBN 9781444000832
- Nimrod: the circus pony (2010) ISBN 9781444000900
- Moonshadow: the Derby winner (2011) ISBN 9781444000917
- Autumn Glory: the new horse (2011) ISBN 9781444000924
- Goliath: the rescue horse (2011) ISBN 9781444002591
- Buttons: the naughty pony (2011) ISBN 9781444002607
- Rusty: the trustworthy pony (2011) ISBN 9781444002614
- Royal Flame: the police horse (2011) ISBN 9781444002621
- Stripy: the zebra foal (2012) ISBN 9781444002638
- Free Spirit: the mustang (2012) ISBN 9781444002645
Audiobooks, read by Clare Balding
- Magic Spirit (2010) ISBN 9781409111856
- Red Admiral (2010) ISBN 9781409111870
- Rosie (2010) ISBN 9781409123071
- Samson (2010) ISBN 9781409123095
Special editions
Tilly’s Horse box (2010) ISBN 9781444001303
Tilly's Pony Tails 1-3 (2010) ISBN 9781444002270
Tilly's Pony Tails Annual 2011 (2010) ISBN 9781444001112
Other books by Pippa Funnell
Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography (2005) ISBN 9780752865195
Ask Pippa (Questions and Answers) (2010) ISBN 9781444002652