Interview end up at Gatcombe Park , working with Princess Anne and her Olympian daughter Zara Phillips , with responsibility for the care of priceless royal horses ?
In the blood
Catherine reckons she was only a toddler when she first became captivated by horses . “ When my dad went to the pub with his mates , he ’ d leave me in the buggy at a friend ’ s stables ” she says . “ That really got me hooked , and as a kid , I got to ride some really cool ponies . I was quite naughty and would often skip school to go for a ride , or I ’ d spend my PE lessons riding .” In fact , as a child she rode with the late David Biles and by 12 or 13 she had a paper round and helped out at Barton Manor livery to fund her own riding on first horse , Kizzy . After a year , she started riding for sculptor Barbara Woodhouse . Strangely , Catherine never had any longterm ambitions to be a rider : she had a very specific aim , and that was always to be a showjumping groom . “ I ’ ve never been brave enough to ride professionally myself , never had the finesse ” she explains . “ I was always more of a practical , on-the-ground person . “ I am competitive though , when it comes to my standards of turnout , and my big thing is the care of the horses . “ My job is to keep the horses sound , fit ,
massaged and with not a hair out of place – and how I handle them on the ground will directly reflect how a horse performs .” Not surprisingly , Catherine couldn ’ t wait to leave school at 16 . She recalls taking her last school exam in the morning , and then dashing to take the boat and train to Ascot the same afternoon , to start her first job at the polo stables of a rambling old country house . “ Our room was in the attic – it was pretty much a hovel and I earned £ 40 a week , but I did it for the love of the horses ” she says .
Rapid rise
Within two years , however , life was very different for Catherine . Her unique grooming and horse-whispering skills had led to her being noticed and hired as a groom by American and Australian polo teams , in what was a rare and highly responsible role for a teenage British girl . She even worked with the Argentinians – the nation that counts polo as its national sport . By the age of just 18 , Catherine found herself earning £ 300 a week , owning her own car , and living in beautiful rent-free accommodation . Having worked with Kennilot Farm , she then travelled widely with the country ’ s Geebung team and its ‘ squillionaire ’ patron , the businessman Rick Stowe , which saw her hanging out with the sporting elite in smart venues from St
Tropez to Sotogrande . In between , she ’ d head back to England for the High Goal season – the ‘ Formula One ’ of polo - or go buying ponies in Bordeaux . “ If you got any sleep at all , you were lucky !” she says . “ I ’ d work seven days a week from 4am until 11pm , so it wasn ’ t just a job , more a way of life ”. Indeed what social life she did have would all revolve around polo events and celebrations . After seven years of such a frantic pace of life , Catherine was more than ready for a change , when she had a tip-off from the Queen ’ s farrier at Windsor that there was a job going in the Cotswolds that might suit her . As far as she knew , the job was with a ‘ Mrs Hammond ’ – and she was happy to be called in for interview .
The big reveal
The first clue that things were not quite as they seemed was when Catherine spotted the security cameras when she arrived for her interview . “ I thought - that must be someone rich !” she recalls . Then she was approached by a policeman who told her that “ the Princess ” would be doing the interviews . “ What Princess ?” she responded . “ I thought I was going to meet Mrs Hammond ”. Worse was to come when Catherine saw her fellow interviewees – all smartly
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