'I told Venetia to take her time with L'Homme Presse as he was a proper horse'

The Venetia Williams-trained L'Homme Presse is one of the leading British-trained hopes for next month's Cheltenham Festival. And should he triumph it would be quite the reward for part-owner Andy Edwards, whose commitment to his horses goes much deeper than just turning up to watch them run, as he tells Scott Burton

My parents had horses with Philip Mitchell and David Elsworth in the 1980s and I followed on with Philip in the late 80s and through the 90s. Then, when Philip finished training, I took a horse called Chant De Guerre over to France with Alex Pantall and had a fantastic year with him.

My heart had always been in jumping – Roger Teal rode winners over hurdles for Mum and Dad, as well as riding a Flat winner for me at Lingfield! – and my passion developed into becoming what some people would call a paddock judge. That's what grabbed me, to see the horses moving and their action going down to post.