Team GBR

Tina Cook has been eventing full-time since she was sixteen. When she was twenty she won a Land Rover scholarship to be based at Gatcombe with Captain Mark Phillips where she trained for a year. Even having two children has not stopped her competing at the top. In both cases, she rode until she was four months pregnant and was straight back in the saddle and competing just weeks after the births.

Tina was born into horses. Her father Josh Gifford was four times Champion Jockey, her mother Althea Roger-Smith was a successful international show jumper who won the Queen Elizabeth Cup, came second in the Hickstead Derby and represented Great Britain in the Nations Cup. By the time Tina was born her parents were training racehorses, and Tina’s earliest memory is of riding her mother’s old pony. Tina and her younger brother Nick, now also a racing trainer, rode throughout their childhoods and were active members of the local Crawley and Horsham Pony Club. It was through the Pony Club that Tina had her first taste of serious competition, she was selected to be on the junior team and went to the Junior European Championships in Rome on a 15.3hh thoroughbred called Song and Dance Man, where the team won the gold medal. Not long after that Tina left school and took up eventing “seriously”.

Tina’s next great ride was a horse bought originally for her brother to ride – Smithstown Lad. Tina won Individual Bronze and Team Gold on him at the Junior European Championships in Dijon in 1988, Team Silver at the Young Rider Championships at Achselschwang the following year and the National Young Rider Championship at Bramham in 1991. After her Bramham win, Tina came out of Young Riders the following year and took both horses to her first Badminton, weather conditions were appalling that year and Smithstown Lad had a mistake cross country, but Song and Dance Man went clear and Tina finished tenth after starting nearly last after the dressage. She was then named as the reserve for the European Championships on the same team as her one of her idols - Ginny Elliot. Unfortunately fellow team member Karen Dixon and Get Smart had an injury, so Tina made it onto the squad and took the silver.

Tina’s successes are almost too many to mention; she was on the gold medal winning team at The Hague on General Jock in 1994, has completed and been placed numerous times amongst others, at Badminton and Burghley, as well as Gatcombe and Lexington. She won another team gold at the European Championships in Italy in 1995 and again at Luhmuhlen in 1999, she won Necarne and Le Lion D’Angers in 1996, and won at Burgie in 1999. In 2000 she was second at Boekelo and ninth at the European Championships in Pau, and was third in Pau in 2003.

In 2007 Tina Cook got straight back into the saddle after the birth of her second child Harry, and came seventh and ninth at Bramham on First Flight and Miner’s Frolic. Tina and Miners Frolic then went on to win at Brightling Park and Gatcombe, second at Blenheim and third at Boekelo.

Following these two top three placing in CCI*** at the end of 2007, Tina found herself in contention for the Olympics. Having made the decision not to run at Badminton she was eventually named as one of the reserves for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and began to aim for Burghley. Following the unfortunate withdrawal of Zara Phillips and Lucy Wiegersma Tina found herself holding a ticket to Hong Kong and a place on the Olympic team. A clear round in the team jumping competition helped to secure the team Bronze medal. She then started the individual round in 7th place and jumped the most immaculate clear round moving her up the leader board to the Bronze Medal position - double bronze!

Tina’s 2008 Olympic success put her on course to represent Britain again in 2009 at the Senior European Championships at Fontainebleau where the busy mother of two was again a double medallist however this time she was Gold individually and also on the Gold Medal winning team, again with the bay gelding Miners Frolic.

Tina has again been selected to represent Britain at senior level in 2010 this time for the World Equestrian Games which this year will be held at Kentucky in late September.

Major Results:

1987:24th & Team Gold Junior European Championships, Pratroni del Vivaro, Italy (Song & Dance Man)
1988: Ind Bronze & Team Gold Junior European Championships Dijon, France (Smithstown Lad)
1989:Team Silver Young Rider European Championships,Achselschwang, Germany (Smithstown Lad)
1991: 1st National Young Rider Championships, Bramham (Smithstown Lad)
12th & Team Bronze Young Rider European Championships (Smithstown Lad)
1993: 1st Bramham CCI*** (General Jock)
Individual Silver European Championships, Achselschwang, Germany Song & Dance Man)
1994: 17th & Team Gold World Equestrian Games, The Hague, Holland (General Jock)
1995: 14th & Team Gold European “Open” Championships, Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy (Midnight Blue II)
1997: Ind Bronze European “Open” Championships, Burghley (General Jock)
1999: 10th & Team Gold European Championships, Luhmuhlen, Germany (The Gangster II)
2001:9th European Championships, Pau, France (Captain Christy)
2002: 22nd World Equestrian Games, Jerez de la Frontera (Captain Christy)
2008: Individual Bronze and Team Bronze Beijing Olympic Games (Miners Frolic)
2009: Individual Gold and Team Gold European Championships, Fontainebleau (Miners Frolic)
2009: 15th Boekelo CCI3* (Carraig Dubh)
2010: 9th Somerley Park CIC2* (Odini)
2010: 11th Burnham Market CIC3* (Miners Frolic)