Rowleys set to branch out with full licence application

Philip Rowley’s telling pause makes me realise I am on to something.

"So you have decided to apply for a full licence," I say to the man who last season became Britain’s Foran Equine champion point-to-point trainer. "No," is the reply, "but Mel might – she’s done all the exams, whereas I didn’t fancy going back to school."

Rowley’s wife will be applying for a licence later this year, and why not when she has been such a key part of the yard’s success? In ten years it has become one of the most powerful in the country, not to mention enjoying good results with young horses in the sales ring and getting the gig for breaking and pre-training many jump stars.