Philippa Rachel "Pippa" Funnell MBE (née Nolan, 7 October 1968) is an equestrian sportswoman who competes in eventing. In 2003, she became the first person to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing (consecutive wins at Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley). She also won Badminton in 2002 and 2005. At the European Championships, she has won two Individual golds (1999–2001) and three team golds (1999–2003). She is a three-time Olympic medallist, winning team silver in 2000 and 2004, and an individual bronze in 2004. She also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early and personal life

Pippa Funnell was born in Crowborough, East Sussex on 7 October 1968 to Jenny and George Nolan. She grew up in Mark Cross and went to the Mark Cross CE primary school. She attended the independent boarding school Wadhurst College on Mayfield Lane in Wadhurst. Aged 16, she persuaded her parents to allow her to leave school, after which she based herself with Ruth McMullen.

Funnell married her husband, show jumper William Funnell in December 1993. They live in Ockley in Surrey where they have a stud farm to breed horses. They became the first husband and wife to be inducted into The British Horse Society Equestrian Hall of Fame when William was inducted in 2014. Pippa had been inducted in 2005.

Career

Her horses have included Supreme Rock, Primmore's Pride, Sir Barnaby, Bits and Pieces, Walk on Star, and Ensign.

Funnell was European Young Rider Champion in 1987 after successfully competing on Sir Barnaby at Bialy Bor, Poland. Despite a successful career as a junior and young rider, she at first struggled to establish herself as a senior international and by her own admission suffered from nerves that were threatening to ruin her career. She began receiving help from sports psychologist Nicky Heath.

In 1999, Funnell became European Champion at Luhmühlen riding Supreme Rock and again on the same horse in 2001 at Pau ("Les Etoiles de Pau" – France).)

In 2003, Funnell became the first rider ever to complete the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing,

CCI 5* Results

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

! colspan=13 align=center | Results

|-

! Event

! Kentucky

! Badminton

! Luhmühlen

! Burghley

! Pau

! Adelaide

! Bicton

|-

| 1997 || ||9th<small> (Bits and Pieces)</small>

| || || ||

|-

| 1998-2001 || colspan="6" |Did not participate

|-

| 2002 || ||<small> (Supreme Rock)</small>

| ||6th<small> (Primmore's Pride)</small>

| ||

|-

| 2003 ||<small> (Primmore's Pride)</small>

|<small> (Supreme Rock)</small>

6th<small> (Cornerman)</small>

| ||<small> (Primmore's Pride)</small>

| ||

|-

| 2004 ||

|RET (Viceroy II) RET (Cornerman)

|

|RET (Cornerman)

|

|

|-

| 2005 || ||<small> (Primmore's Pride)</small>

| || || ||

|-

| 2006 || ||EL<small> (Ensign)</small>

| || || ||

|-

| 2007 || || || || ||<small> (Ensign)</small>

|

|-

| 2008 || ||RET<small> (Ensign)</small>

| || ||RET<small> (Ensign)</small>

|

|-

| 2009 || colspan="6" |Did not participate

|-

|2010

|

|

|

|15th<small> (Mirage D'Elle)</small>

|

|

|-

|2011

|

|WD<small> (Redesigned)</small>

WD<small> (Mirage D'Elle)</small>

|27th<small> (Mirage D'Elle)</small>

|28th<small> (Mirage D'Elle)</small>

30th<small> (Pure Addiction)</small>

|

|

|-

|2012

| colspan="6" |Did not participate

|-

|2013

|

|56th<small> (Redesigned)</small>

|

|16th<small> (Redesigned)</small>

|

|

|-

|2014

|

|6th<small> (Billy Beware)</small>

EL<small> (Redesigned)</small>

|

|

|RET<small> (Mirage D'Elle)</small>

EL<small> (Redesigned)</small>

|

|-

|2015

|

|12th<small> (Redesigned)</small>

23rd<small> (Second Supreme)</small>

|

|WD<small> (Redesigned)</small>

WD<small> (Second Supreme)</small>

|

|

|-

|2016

|

|

|

|EL<small> (Second Supreme)</small>

|

|

|-

|2017

|

|

|10th<small> (Billy The Biz)</small>

|

|

|

|-

|2018

|

|RET<small> (Billy Beware)</small>

|RET<small> (Billy Beware)</small>

|13th<small> (Majas Hope)</small>

|

|

|-

|2019

|

|16th <small> (Majas Hope)</small>

RET<small> (Billy Walk On)</small>

|

| <small> (MGH Grafton Street)</small>

WD<small> (Billy Walk On)</small>

|

|

|-

|2021

|

|

|

|

|

|

| Billy Walk On 5th <small>(Majas Hope)</small>

|-

|2022

|6th<small> (Maybach)</small>

14th<small> (Majas Hope)</small>

|RET<small> (Billy Walk On)</small>

EL<small> (MGH Grafton Street)</small>

|

|8th<small> (Billy Walk On)</small>

16th<small> (Majas Hope)</small>

|

|

|-

|2023

|

|10th<small> (Majas Hope)</small>

RET<small> (Billy Walk On)</small>

|

|6th<small> (Majas Hope)</small>

|

|

|-

| colspan=13 align=center | <small> EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew </small>

|}

International Championship results

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="11" align="center" | Results

|-

! Year

! Event

! Horse

! Placing

!Notes

|-

|1987 || European Young Rider Championships || Sir Barnaby

|

|Individual

|-

| 1997 || European Championships ||Bits and Pieces

|33rd

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |1999

| rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Supreme Rock

|

|Team

|-

|

|Individual

|-

|2000

|Olympic Games

|Supreme Rock

|

|Team

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2001 || rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Supreme Rock

|

|Team

|-

|

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2002 || rowspan="2" | World Equestrian Games || rowspan="2" |Supreme Rock

|

|Team

|-

|13th

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |2003

| rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Walk On Star

|

|Team

|-

|

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |2004

| rowspan="2" |Olympic Games

| rowspan="2" |Primmore's Pride

|

|Team

|-

|

|Individual

|-

|2005

|European Championships

|Ensign

|9th

|Individual

|-

|2006

|World Young Horse Championships

|Matter of Opinion

|28th

|CCI**

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2008 || rowspan="2" |World Young Horse Championships

| Billy Landretti ||

|CCI*

|-

|Redesigned

|

|CCI**

|-

|2008

|Eventing World Cup Final

|Ensign

|

|

|-

|2009

|World Young Horse Championships

|Billy Landretti

|4th

|CCI**

|-

|2010

|World Young Horse Championships

|Billy Shannon

|5th

|CCI**

|-

|2010

|World Equestrian Games

|Redesigned

|5th

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |2013

| rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Mirage D'Elle

|6th

|Team

|-

|40th

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |2015

| rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Sandman 7

|

|Team

|-

|8th

|Individual

|-

|2016

|World Young Horse Championships

|Billy Walk On

|

|CCI**

|-

| rowspan="2" |2016

| rowspan="2" |Olympic Games

| rowspan="2" |Billy The Biz

|5th

|Team

|-

|26th

|Individual

|-

| rowspan="2" |2019

| rowspan="2" |European Championships

| rowspan="2" |Majas Hope

|

|Team

|-

|22nd

|Individual

|-

| colspan="11" align="center" |<small> EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew </small>

|}

Notable horses

  • Sir Barnaby
  • Supreme Rock
  • Walk On Star
  • Primmores Pride
  • Ensign
  • Sandman 7
  • MGH Grafton Street
  • Majas Hope
  • Billy Walk On

Honours

Funnell was made an MBE in the Queen's 2005 Birthday Honours for services to equestrian sport.

Media activities and writing

Funnell has appeared on DVDs produced by Equestrian Vision, including Pippa Funnell, Road to the Top and The Funnell Factor, and in 2005 wrote her story in Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography.

Ubisoft has released a series of horse-themed videogames starring Funnell. These include Pippa Funnell for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, Pippa Funnell: Stable Adventure for the Game Boy Advance, and the PC games Pippa Funnell: The Stud Farm Inheritance, Pippa Funnell: Take the Reins (also for PlayStation 2), Pippa Funnell 3: The Golden Stirrups Challenge (more commonly known as Horsez), and Pippa Funnell 4: Secrets of the Ranch. Pippa Funnell: Ranch Rescue was released in 2007 on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii.

Funnell is also the author of a series of children's books called Tilly's Pony Tails, published by Orion Children’s Books in the United Kingdom. The first two books in the series, Magic Spirit and Red Admiral were first published in May 2009. The series has now been extended to eighteen titles in all. The first four titles have also been recorded as unabridged audiobooks, read by sports presenter Clare Balding. The central character, Tilly Redbrow, is an adopted child, who is passionate about everything to do with horses and ponies. Each title in the series tells a new story about Tilly’s adventures with horses and ponies. As well as the fictional story, each title also contains a tips section with expert advice from Funnell on all aspects of horses and ponies.

Books

  1. Magic Spirit: the dream horse (2009)
  2. Red Admiral: the racehorse (2009)
  3. Rosie: the perfect pony (2009)
  4. Samson: the stallion (2009)
  5. Lucky Chance: the new foal (2009)
  6. Solo: the super star (2010)
  7. Pride and Joy: the event horse (2010)
  8. Neptune: the heroic horse (2010)
  9. Parkview Pickle: the naughty show pony (2010)
  10. Nimrod: the circus pony (2010)
  11. Moonshadow: the Derby winner (2011)
  12. Autumn Glory: the new horse (2011)
  13. Goliath: the rescue horse (2011)
  14. Buttons: the naughty pony (2011)
  15. Rusty: the trustworthy pony (2011)
  16. Royal Flame: the police horse (2011)
  17. Stripy: the zebra foal (2012)
  18. Free Spirit: the mustang (2012)

Audiobooks, read by Clare Balding

  1. Magic Spirit (2010)
  2. Red Admiral (2010)
  3. Rosie (2010)
  4. Samson (2010)

Special editions

  • Tilly's Horse box (2010)
  • Tilly's Pony Tails 1–3 (2010)
  • Tilly's Pony Tails Annual 2011 (2010)

Other books

  • Pippa Funnell: The Autobiography (2005)
  • Ask Pippa (Questions and Answers) (2010)

References

  • Pippa Funnell's complete competition records
  • Brief biography
  • Series website for Tilly's Pony Tails
  • Books by Pippa Funnell on the Orion Publishing Group website