Biography

It will be a first Badminton for British owner/rider Hazel Towers (31) who is based near Harrogate in North Yorkshire and has qualified two horses, both mares, for the event. With Badminton entry Simply Smart Hazel completed Burghley last year – her first four-star competition.

In 2017 she gained her first international win, winning the CCI3* at Blair Castle with Simply Smart – her first competition at the level.

Hazel grew up on her parent’s farm based on the outskirts of Harrogate and from young age was a keen rider. After school she achieved a first class degree in business from Leeds University and for a time worked as a brand manager for the locally-based novelty umbrella company Blooming Brollies.

She now works full-time with horses running a livery yard outside Harrogate with her mother Helen and sister Phoebe who both also ride and formerly competed.

Simply Clover, owned by the rider, is a 14-year-old Irish-bred mare by Farney Clover (a son of Clover Hill). She was acquired as a four-year-old through ben Hobday and has been produced through the grades by Hazel. Simply Clover is described as ‘a gentle giant and a safe hack for Hazel’s mum’.