This week on GCTV the inspirational Margie Goldstein-Engle gives an insight into her lifelong passion for horses and how she started riding by working to earn the lessons that helped set her on the road to show jumping stardom.
On Edwina Tops-Alexander’s 20QS and The Insider At Home she tells of her early determination to take part in the sport that would see her go on to win almost 250 Grand Prix, and to be named American Rider Of The Year ten times. She says “I’ve always loved animals, and I always loved sports. When I was young, around 8 or 9, I worked in the dog and cat kennels in exchange for extra rides, then grooming around the barn, and I just did anything I could to earn extra rides instead of earning money.”
Margie reveals her all-time favourite horses and riders and speaks fondly of her top horses Royce and Dicas: “Royce looks huge, but he’s just a big boned horse, I compare him to a big football player. Dicas is more like a basketball player, he’s all legs, he’s really tall and lanky” - though Margie also says “Everyone thinks I look for these big horses but I really don’t, they just kind of find me!”
Margie, speaking from her base in Florida, talked about the Longines Global Champions Tour circuit raising the bar in show jumping and said: “I see the sport growing immensely. The Global Champions Tour has really upped the game, and the Grand Prix are getting bigger all around the world, it’s getting much wider spread and it’s growing in different countries. I just see it growing and growing, I think it’s heading in a good direction.”You can watch the episode here
