Joe Stockdale: Showjumper hopes to follow father by reaching Olympics

Joe Stockdale contemplated a career in cricket before injury prompted a switch to the saddle

British showjumper Joe Stockdale says selection for this summer's Olympics in Paris would mean the world to him.

Stockdale, from Northamptonshire, hopes to follow in the footsteps of his late father Tim, who competed for Team GB at Beijing in 2008.

"There's a lot that needs to go right and lot we need to do, but it's within my grasp which is a special feeling.

"It's about knuckling down and getting there now," the 24-year-old told BBC Look East.

Tim Stockdale died from cancer, aged 54, in 2018, after riding for Great Britain more than 50 times in the Nations Cup, and also competing in the World Equestrian Games in 2002 and the European Championships in 2009.

Such was his drive to compete that after breaking his neck in three places in a training fall in 2011, he returned to compete at the top level - but missed out on a place at London 2012.

His early death left son Joe to keep the family name at the forefront of British show jumping and he was in the saddle at the Olympia Horse Show just five weeks later.

Since he started competing professionally in 2018, Joe has been named Young British Rider of the Year and won team bronze at the 2022 World Championships, alongside Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Harry Charles.

It was a performance that secured Team GB's qualification for the Paris Games.

"You can't put into words what it would mean to make the Olympics, it's the pinnacle of our sport," said Joe.

"It's been in the distance for such a long time, now it's become a reality.

"Current form is a massive thing but it's such a massive up and down rollercoaster. One minute you're up, the next, you're rock bottom.

"We need a plan that suits myself and one that makes sure the horses are in the right physical and mental state."

Team GB will select four horse and rider combinations for the Olympics based on form in the coming months.

Joe's horse Equine America Cacheral was bought by him and his father at an auction when she was three years old - and she is owned by Joe's mother, Laura, and his step-grandmother, Joy Cocklin.

"There are so few horses capable of competing at an Olympics," he said.

"The fact I have one is a miracle. This could be my only opportunity, my only shot, so I feel a bit of pressure - but it's very exciting at the same time.

"The toughest parts are when there's pressure and people relying on you, and it doesn't go right, the feeling is indescribable.

"People have sacrificed so much to get to that point, it's heartbreaking. The only thing left is to fight back and look to the next show and go again."

Emulating his father

Tim Stockdale just missed out on the four-strong GB team at the London Olympics

Tim Stockdale finished as the highest-placed British rider in Beijing, in 16th place, on the grey mare Corlato after a clear in the first round of the individual final.

Now Joe hopes to emulate him by competing in Paris - and hopefully achieving an even better result.

He said: "I learned so much from my dad. I think about him a lot. He's always in the back of my head telling me not to feel sorry for myself, to get stuck back in. He's certainly taught me that.

"The main thing I've learned is the resilience you need to pick yourself up again when it doesn't go right.

"Every week we are competing and every week feels like the last opportunity you have.

"You lose more than you win. It's long hours, hard work, but if we can reach that goal it's all worth it."