The Ride of My Life

Michael Clayton has enjoyed a fascinating career as a professional journalist on Fleet Street - but the highlight of his career was his work as a editor and journalist in the field of horses, and with hunting horses in particular. This is his autobiography in horses: his boyhood work in local stables, his first post as a cub reporter, leading eventually to his appointment as editor of Horse and Hound magazine. Here he talks frankly about his involvement with the Royal family and their horses, his roving hunting brief, the development of new safety standards in riding, and all the key characters of the equine world whom he got to know first-hand. He worked as a reporter of horse-racing, show-jumping, carriage driving (disastrous!) and with almost all the hunts of Britain, Ireland and the USA. Michael also recalls the time of the hunting ban, among other key moments.  His account, with photographs, is witty, incisive, pacey and very frank.

Michael Clayton is the author of over 20 books on equestrianism and hunting. He was the Editor of Horse & Hound for over two decades, and gained a wide following for his weekly column Foxford's Hunting Diary which entailed hunting with over 200 packs of hounds throughout the British Isles and in North America. He was formerly an international TV and radio reporter for the BBC, including war reporting in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Middle East. He is now retired and lives in Leicestershire with his wife Marilyn.