'He was a massively important person in my life and a great man to learn from'

It is a simple and straightforward choice for me. Toby Balding was part of my life from a young age as my father owned horses with him, and then he was my first employer. He was fantastic to me and lots of other people over the years and was a great man to learn from.

The first time I ever went to stay with him and Caro was for a week when I was 11. I can't believe he allowed me to ride out – we had metal water buckets and I wasn't strong enough to carry them but from that occasion I knew I wanted to train racehorses.

I covered for Serena [daughter and stable secretary] when she was on honeymoon for a couple of months when I was 18, and went back as pupil-assistant for five and a half years after I'd had a year in London with the NTF.