Interview with two-time National Champions, Dead Pigeon

I’m here with Ross Towner, boarder from Dead Pigeon, unfortunately Charlie Buss, rider for Dead Pigeon, couldn’t make it to chat to us today, but as the two of them are also a couple, as well as team mates, I’m sure Charlie won’t mind Ross speaking for her. So Ross, how are you feeling about the season ahead?

-      I can’t wait! There’s a lot of horseboarding coming up now so it should be pretty good. Pretty Knackering, but good.

Well that’s good to hear. So Dead Pigeon are the two-time National Champions for the Horseboarding Championships, it must feel good hearing that. I’m guessing you’re hoping to be three-time National Champions too?

-       Yeah of course! For me, I’ve only really done it once seeing as I was pretty much out for the first season, apart from a couple of races, due to a dislocated knee. But, yeah, we definitely want to do it all again.

So, getting down to it, what went through your minds last year when you realised you had won for the second time?

-      We sort of realised it on the last race so that meant that we were really relaxed, which made it all a lot more enjoyable because the pressure wasn’t really on any more.

How did it feel when it was announced then?

-      For me personally it was wicked because it was the first time I’d done slalom and because I had to just watch it the year before because of my injury.

How would you say you achieved such an impressive feat?

-      For me personally, I think Charlie is the best rider and that we have the fastest horse. Charlie and I are together so I think as a team it helps because we can sort of say anything to each other! I wouldn’t say I was the best boarder in the competition by a mile, but I suppose my best attributes are that I’m up for going fast.

Have you been doing anything different in training this year? We haven’t heard much from you since the end of last season. Keeping things hush-hush?

-       Err no, we just haven’t been training! The ground has been so bad we just haven’t had a chance. I’ve got a new board now but I used it for the first time at Round One and I hadn't really trained on it beforehand. We generally train on season, I know that sounds a bit daft, but we sort of hang in there a bit at the beginning and then in the second half of the season we’re stronger.

Well that seems to be working for you, so maybe that’s where everyone else is going wrong!

-      Ha, maybe. I think we’re just lazy.

I suppose you could call it that too… Now moving on to this year. You've just come out of Round One - heard about the state of the grounds there. One word – mud! How did you find that?

-      Well the pressure came off to be honest because it was a matter of just getting round and getting a time. Nobody could really show their skills.

I suppose you were all on pretty even pegging because of it then?

-      Exactly, yeah. In a weird way it was more of a laugh than a proper comp!

How did you find the cross-over part of the course? It’s new this year to the Elite course and looks pretty tricky if you ask me!

-      I really like it actually. I’m not sure what everyone else thinks but, personally, I really like it. Obviously it’s a bit more technical, being right in the middle. But yeah I think it makes it a bit different for us.

So now that Round One is over, Dead Pigeon are in 2^nd position. How do you feel about that guys?

-      Pretty good really. Last year at this stage we only got one point and came in last so it’s an improvement! We were glad to just finish in the top three. We brought our second team, Mad ’Atters, with us as well so we were quite happy with second and third.

That is pretty impressive! But it does seem like Do or Die are holding firm on their promise of taking that title away from you.

-      Ha, yeah. They’ve been saying that for the last three years though. I’m sure one of these years they probably will. Tom’s a great boarder and he’s in a relationship with Millie (Do or Die’s rider) so they probably have a pretty similar team chemistry as us. It’s definitely going to be close though because we have a faster horse overall, but they have a quicker horse over a shorter distance. I’d say that Tom is one of the best boarders out there as well so it’s going to be tough.

I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear you say that Ross! We know how much Tom likes to hear how good he is.

-     Oh yeah, he loves it. Probably best not to tell him that then!

Now I heard that Do or Die’s horse Amba had some pretty big talk pre-season. Something about eating dead pigeon for breakfast?

-     Oh yeah! [laughs] It’s sort of funny because me and Charlie are fairly chilled and find it more fun than anything. Since Tom’s come back into the sport, after his bad ankle, he just gives us stick all the time! But it is all part of the fun and we take it in our stride.

Does Nabo have anything to say back to that?

-      Ha! No, no. We do our talking on the track. Although, saying that, we’re using a different pony called Cookie for the next round and she would probably be a good horse for Tom seeing as she’s the size of a matchbox car. And so is he.

Oooh, burn! So it’s Round Two this bank holiday weekend at Thame, are you nervous at all?

-      We've had a slight issue with our main horse, Nabo, as he’s a little injured. It’s going to be a bit like riding in the unknown for this one. We have a different pony, Cookie, who is tiny and is a bit slow one handed, but we’re hoping she’ll be quick off the mark with Charlie’s using two hands on her.

So how do you think it will go?

-      Hopefully good because I think the weather’s going to be good but it all depends on if it’s going to be a big or small course.

Do you know what the size is?

-      Err no. It’s often small, which doesn’t normally suit us because we tend to go at a higher speed on a bigger course. But seeing as we have Cookie, who is much slower, we need a smaller course to compete.

I see. Well fingers crossed for a smaller course. Any fighting words for the other teams?

-      Err no, not really. It’s a bit too early to say. There’s a lot of new teams so I wouldn’t want to come across all war-like. I’d probably say Do or Die are our main competitors though. And after that? Probably Ihorse or Icandy but it’s early days yet so it’s really hard to call.

Well, it’s been lovely chatting with you Ross, thank you very much. We hope the weather’s a bit better for you next time around and we wish you lots of luck!

Can Dead Pigeon hold onto their title for a third year running? Find out for yourselves! The next round is coming soon to Thame Showground on the 20^th and 21^st April. To get your ticket, click here.