Riders (1993 film)

Did You Know?

• This was the screen debut of Sienna Guillory, then sixteen, chosen largely because her part required a young actress who could ride.
• Some sequences were filmed at Heydon, Norfolk.
• Actors were taught to ride by Life Guards officer Richard Waygood.

Outline

Rupert Campbell-Black, a wealthy upper-class Englishman, dominates international show jumping. His rival Jake Lovell, of humble gipsy origins, is funded by his Sloane Ranger heiress wife Tory. Lovell's intense hatred for Campbell-Black stems from childhood bullying at prep school. Their conflicts over riding prizes and women culminate at the Los Angeles Olympics.

Reception

The film was promoted as a sex sizzler before its ITV broadcast on 2 May 1993, but some critics found it absurd. Allison Pearson in The Independent mocked Anthony Calf's portrayal of Billy Lloyd-Foxe and described the production as all sound and furry animals. John Lyttle, also writing for The Independent, called it a peculiarly joyless romp. The DVD cover strapline Sex and horses: who could ask for more? originated from a 1985 Sunday Telegraph comment on the book, not the film.

Aftermath

In 2002, Jilly Cooper stated that Rupert Campbell-Black was a composite of Andrew Parker Bowles, Rupert Lycett Green, Michael Howard, 21st Earl of Suffolk, and the 11th Duke of Beaufort. She noted their bravery and charisma were essential elements, but his shittiness was her invention. Rowan Pelling suggested in The Daily Telegraph that the columnist Janey Lloyd-Foxe is based on Cooper herself and the young Camilla Parker-Bowles.