Richard and Sue on the gallops

Sue began her racing career as a hobby 14 years ago with her husband and assistant Harvey, training a few horses, including her father's.

"I've always been brought up in a man's world. So, whatever men say or do, if they have a superior attitude, it's water off a duck's back to me, I'm afraid. I give men as good as they get. I'm not particularly concerned about their egos. Of course, Harvey's the one who has the famous name, but it makes no difference to me whatsoever. I don't wake up in the morning and think 'God... Harvey Smith!' We're a team; we work together.

"Everywhere you go in the country, in the world, you'll find someone who knows Harvey Smith. He was top of his job. But he's happy to sit back a bit now. But one of us wouldn't do it without the other.

It's difficult to imagine from all the preconceptions we harbour of that "Heathcliff on horseback", who held the British Jumping Derby a record seven times during a career in which he won over 50 Grand Prix events on such horses as O'Malley, Harvester and Farmer's Boy, that the Yorkshireman would agreeably accept a back-seat on this racing tandem.

But his wife maintains: "It doesn't really matter whose name is on the licence. We started off quietly, not originally as a business, so Harvey isn't bothered about that. It's not a matter of who's the famous one. It's a matter of: can you work together, can you be good at the job, and can you go and win? That's Harvey's attitude."

Born on a farm in Sussex, where her early life revolved around ponies and horses, Sue Dye - as she was - became an international showjumper and ladies' champion. Her father owned racehorses at the time and she would ride them out at Epsom. Meanwhile, Harvey was busy being Harvey Smith, notorious for that V-sign directed towards the judges at Hickstead. A Churchillian gesture, he protested. Downright rude, they contended. Either way, a "Harvey Smith" was introduced into the Chambers Dictionary, meaning a sign of contempt.

Harvey already owned Craiglands Farm when Sue moved up to join him 20 years ago. Her first winner was in 1990: African Safari won a three-runner chase at Ascot. Harvey, who had been riding at Windsor Show, had bought him at Ascot Sales for 4,300 guineas. "There's no way, with a person like him, that you sit around saying, 'We may not make a go of it'. You do make a go of it," she says. "Everything we do is positive. There's never a suggestion that we weren't going to succeed."

She adds: "I concentrate on the horses. Harvey's very good with the jockeys. He looks after the gallops which is a big job, and looks after all the schooling of horses. He's got a great talent for buying nice horses at the sales. I do feeding, ride out, do all the entries. What we've learnt is that it's relentless. Seven days a week, particularly with the Sunday racing they've brought in. There are times when you think: 'I'd like to stop. Please, I need a week off', because this place is just a bit harder work than the average racing yard. There's always something going on. We've got 2,000 sheep as well. It's not like some neat stables with 45 boxes and that's it. And in the evening you go and do the gardening.

"Harvey was a top-class rider. So, the pair of them, they can turn round to a jockey getting on a horse, and say 'you need to be doing this, this, and this...' Even though it was show jumping, when Harvey went through the start in a speed class, he took the straightest route in the fastest possible time. It's exactly the same on the racecourse. He knows how to explain that to a jockey. That's why he has their total respect."

And no doubt his reputation precedes him? "He is what he is," she says. "Yes, he's abrupt. He's a strong character of a man. He says what he thinks, and that's it. He's no different to what he was 20 years ago, or I'm sure 30 years ago. He's quite easy to get on with, provided people work hard. He's not a monster."

Sue Smith had no doubts on that score when she became Mrs Harvey Smith, and moved to Yorkshire. "The horses love this environment," she says. "It's a pleasure riding them out here. We've got the whole of the moor, which helps them relax and keeps it interesting for them."

Biography: Sue Smith

Born: 23 Feb 1948. Married to former showjumper, Harvey.

Early career: Formerly an international showjumper, she also rode out at Epsom in her teens. In 1972 rode in the first ladies' race at Kempton, and was unplaced on the 50-1 shot Beau Canard.

Training career: Began as a permit holder, gaining full licence in 1990. Has accumulated 468 winners.Best horses include Kildimo, The Last Fling, Royal Emperor, Artic Jack, Mr McGoldrick and Ardent Scout.

 

Reproduced by kind permission of The Independent News Paper