Martin Clunes with his wife Philippa on their farm
Many people know Martin Clunes as a talented actor who has starred in a multitude of great TV shows, such as the long-running sitcom Men Behaving Badly and the ITV drama series Doc Martin.
What fans might not know of his loves horses and has another life away from the cameras, living on a farm with his wife Philippa and their mighty Clydesdale horses. He discovered his love of horses thanks to his wife and their daughter Emily, aged 22, who are both keen horsewomen.
He became president of the British Horse Society in June 2011 and showed off his own horses when he appeared on the Lorraine show on ITV in 2017, to publicise the Changing Lives Through Horses initiative.
Clunes made his first documentary about horses, the ITV mini-series Horsepower, in 2010. It looked at people’s relationship with the horse over the years. He then made a second equine documentary, Heavy Horsepower, in 2013. The programmes reflected the star’s own love of all things equine.
He and Philippa share their farm in Beaminster, Dorset, with many heavy horses, including his beloved Clydesdales. His first two horses, Ronnie and Bruce, starred in his Heavy Horsepower documentary.
Philippa is a talented dressage rider who has taken part in shows and their daughter Emily learned to ride as a child. Martin decided he wanted to join his wife and daughter on horseback, but was amazed at how quickly he came to love the world of
horse-riding.
He said in his younger days, he would have laughed at anyone who said he’d be driving a seven-ton carriage pulled by his own two Clydesdale horses. Now, he can’t imagine doing anything else and the couple have 12 horses at their farm, including Shetland ponies at the opposite end of the size spectrum!
Martin enjoys attending equine events as a spectator and is also learning how to handle working horses with a view to using them at the family farm.
Riding charity
The Changing Lives Through Horses initiative, run by the British Horse Society, is close to his own heart. It was launched to change and improve the lives of disengaged 16 to 24-year-olds, many of whom aren’t in education, training or employment.
Research shows 20% of young adults and 10% of children have a diagnosable mental health condition and Changing Lives Through Horses is aimed at reaching out to them, regardless of their background, to help them develop new skills.
The BHS recognises that working with horses can help young people to develop unique life skills that will last for the rest of their lives. Described as a celebration of horses, the scheme is aimed at aiding the young participants’ development and helping them to return to education or employment.
Martin is a personal supporter of the scheme. In an interview on the Lorraine show, he said, “We know that horses are great healers and they give people a lot of confidence, especially people with trust issues who have been let down.
“Horses will never lie to you. They need a lot from you. It teaches kids all sorts of stuff that they don’t necessarily get exposed to. If they’re not thriving in a conventional environment, it really is proven that this helps them get better.”
The programme helps young people to develop key life skills through working with horses including confidence, communication, relationships, responsibility, teamwork and personal achievements.
It doesn’t just involve riding horses, it means grooming them and mucking out the stables too, providing an alternative learning environment.
Horse training
Martin has been learning how to train his horses using a “clicker”, in the same way as dogs are trained.
For his 50th birthday, Philippa gave him a very special present: a three-day horse trekking experience, riding Clydesdales in Cumbria. He has fond memories of the experience, describing how they ended the trek by galloping along miles and miles of sand in a race along the beach.
He says, “There’s something about a heavy horse’s stoicism, honesty, size and reliability that just gets to me.”
