Page 45 - The Hunt - Spring 2024

ALWAYS IN THE SADDLE
GRAHAM WATTERS HOPES TO RIDE TO VICTORY AT THIS YEAR’S RADNOR HUNT RACES.
BY EILEEN SMITH DALLABRIDA PHOTOS BY JIM GRAHAM
Graham Watters earns his living riding horses, guiding his mounts over turf, timbers and everything else on the racecourse, intent on crossing
the finish line first. When he isn’t competing, you’ll find him in the saddle, foxhunting with his horse, Stanley, and taking in the
fresh air. “It seems like everything I do has to do with horses,” he says.
Watters is speaking by phone as he and Stanley head back to the barn in Sparks, Maryland, where he and his wife, Rosie, live with a variety of horses. Some are actively racing. Others, like Stanley, have made the transition from competition to
foxhunting and trail riding.
As a 9-year-old in Ireland, Watters
started riding ponies at an equestrian center. This unlikely jockey’s family didn’t have horses or an interest in racing. But Watters loved the animals—especially ones that ran fast. When ponies weren’t fast enough, he graduated to horse racing.
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