World No.1 showjumper Scott Brash 'hungry as ever'

World No.1 showjumper Scott Brash says he's 'as hungry as ever' ahead of the first leg of the Rolex Grand Slam.

The Scotsman has managed to scale the heights of world showjumping in the last five years.

Brash was part of the gold medal-winning London 2012 British team; he became the youngest winner of the Longines Global Champions Tour in 2013; and, in 2014, topped the Longines World Rankings.

Not bad for a 28-year-old but there's one event Scott and his top ride, Hello Sanctos, have not managed to win yet...

Top riders from across the globe unite for the toughest trophy in the sport as the Rolex Grand Slam links three of the world’s top events in a quest for excellence.

From Aachen in Germany, the riders move across the world to Spruce Meadows in Canada before battling it out in Geneva just before Christmas with one thing in mind - perfection.

Anyone who wins the three shows in a row receives 1 million Euros on top of the 250,000 Euro prize-money for each show.

That's a lot of money, and this Sunday, live on Sky Sports 4 from 1pm, we'll find out who is in contention for the prize pot.

We caught up with Scott in Aachen as he prepares for showjumping's stellar event...

SkySports.com: How hard is it to win a class like the Grand Slam?

Scott Brash: It’s extremely, extremely hard. For me it’s the best horse show there is, the best event of the year and it’s like that for everyone. The best horses and riders are here in Aachen and everybody will be wanting to win so it will be very, very tough.

SkySports.com:  Is the big prize pot in your mind?

SB: I think if you were to win one then you would start thinking about it a lot more, but, yes, it is a fantastic series. It’s great that Rolex have done it and it gives us something to work towards and aim towards – but it will be a very, very hard thing to win all three. Really hard. But for sure it would be great to do it one day. It would be amazing.

SkySports.com: What kind of track can we expect to see?

SB: Frank Rothenberger has built it and he’s a fantastic course builder. I think it will be a big, big course, it will be technical and I think you’ll get everything in it. It always is. There’ll be the double of ditches, the water jump, there will be a big combination. Everything will be in it and you’ll have to be on top form to win the class.

SkySports.com: What other horse and rider combos should we be looking out for?

SB: Ben [Maher] and Cellar are a very good combination, so hopefully they’ll do well. I think the Germans have some great horse-rider combinations; Ludger Beerbaum with Chiara 222 has gone very well and Marcus Ehning on Cornado  looks like he is saving his horse for the Grand Prix because he didn’t jump the Nations Cup. I think that horse looks in top form. There are so many I could list – Daniel [Deusser] is going well with Cornet D'Amour – but they would be the ones that stick out in my mind straight off to look at on the day.

SkySports.com: You travel around the world competing, what’s your schedule like?

SB: I’m not at home that often, but I’m very lucky I’ve got a very good team behind me, so I don’t have to do a lot of the driving any more, which is great. I get to fly home on a Sunday night and have Monday and Tuesday at home or whatever, depending on where we are going. It’s nice just to work on the young horses and keep them all ticking over and producing them. We will be going somewhere else the next week and we live out of our suitcase a little bit, but that’s how we work.

SkySports.com: And Hello Sanctos must be getting a few air miles as well?

SB: He’s a fantastic horse. He does a couple of shows and then has a few weeks off in Scotland and then does a couple of shows and has another few weeks off. He has been all over the world and he travels very well. He’s a very easy horse to work with, a lovely horse, and he’s used to it.

SkySports.com: Which of your younger horses should we keep an eye on?

SB: I have got two really nice eight-year-olds in Hello Sunshine and Hello My Lady. They both look very, very good. I have a new seven-year-old that’s not been long in our stables, but I’ve got high hopes for that one as well. You’ve always got to keep looking forward to the future and keep bringing more horses on. I think we’ve got a nice string coming behind these ones.

SkySports.com: How important have owners Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham been in your career?

SB: For sure, they are fantastic owners. They’re great and we have a great relationship. We talk nearly every day on the phone and they are so enthusiastic for the sport – and to be fair they’ve done so much for the sport. I think they’ve owned horses for over 50 years and just to see them get rewarded with us going well means a lot. They are fantastic supporters of the sport and fantastic owners, they really are. And great, great people.

SkySports.com: World No.1 and 2, European champions- is the British showjumping renaissance down to the success of London 2012?

SB: I think London was an unbelievable success and, yes, I think in many sports you can see that probably watching the Olympics or whatever has spurred them on to do more things. Where I live I’ve probably seen more people out cycling than I ever have before! That’s down to events like the Olympics and the Tour de France or whatever. Sport is getting on the telly and people are seeing how much fun you can have in life and the great achievements you can make; it spurs people on to do that themselves. I think it’s great in all areas of sport and I think Equestrian has grown as well since the Olympics. I think what an Olympics in our own country has done for sport in general is fantastic.

SkySports.com: You won some life-changing events in 2012. Is it hard to set targets after such a fantastic year?

SB: I’m still as hungry as ever and there’s still many things I want to win. Just because I’ve won that, it doesn’t mean I want to stop doing what I’m doing. I love the sport, I love working with horses and there’s many Grands Prix I still want to win and many medals, classes, championships and Olympics I want to do. I want to keep going for a long time, hopefully.

SkySports.com:  When you were growing up which rider was your was your inspiration?

SB: Marcus Ehning is a rider that I love watching. I think he’s fantastic, just how smooth he is with his horses and the rhythm that he can keep with his horses. There are many, many top riders and you try and learn lots of things off lots of different riders, but if you were to ask me which one person would I like the style of, I’d love Marcus’ style of riding. I think he’s a very good horseman. 

Tune into Sky Sports 4 from 1pm on Sunday  to watch all action from Aachen and keep up to date with all the latest equestrian news at www.skysports.com/equestrian