The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop

When she was young, Clare Balding thought she was a dog. Disappointed to discover she was only human, she did her best to spend every waking hour with dogs and ponies. She could ride before she could walk and, growing up surrounded by racehorses trained by her father, she dreamt of winning the Grand National or riding for Great Britain at the Olympics. Those dreams never came true but the consolation prize hasn't been bad. As a television and radio presenter, Clare has worked at six Olympic Games, the highlight being London 2012, as well as the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup. Clare lives in London with her wife, Alice, their dog Archie and their cat, Button.

Clare Balding is an award-winning presenter, writer and broadcaster who has been presenting sports on television since 1998, when she became synonymous with horse racing on the BBC. Since then, she has reported on five Olympic Games (from Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London) as well as four Paralympic Games and three Winter Olympics. In addition, she is well known for her rugby league coverage; has presented Crufts; and hosts BBC Radio 4's walking series Ramblings. She has also covered ceremonial events such as the Lord Mayor's Show, Trooping the Colour and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Her autobiography, My Animals and Other Family, was published in 2012 and won the National Book Award for biography of the year. It has sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback. The same year, she won the BAFTA Special Award and RTS Presenter of the Year Award for her coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2013, she was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting and journalism in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.