The Baron

The first Japanese superstar in the equestrian arena was Baron Takeichi Nishi, who won a gold medal at the 1932 Olympic Games. Born in 1902, this striking military man had a short but eventful life, dying at the end of WWII on Iwo Jima. As it happens, he features in a movie about the last stand on the island, although he only came to mind because of a phone call I received earlier this evening.

My oldest friend in Japan (both in terms of the length of time we've known each other and in age) called for a chat about peaches of all things. We met originally through the car world, heading towards 18 years ago now, and he will forever be a hero of mine - he's an inspiration of epic proportions, a father figure, a Hall of Famer, and an amazing human being, who, even at 103, is still pin-sharp and immense fun to be around.

My dear friend mentioned how pleased he was that Louis and Sophie were making good progress with the horses, as he himself has always had a soft spot for them. He spent a lot of his working life in America, bringing him into contact with a culture built around the horse, and I have a set of Western spurs with his name on them - he gave them to Louis (who is actually his godson) to encourage him as a horseman. Louis sees them as a thing of beauty at the moment - one day he'll realize they are close to being a national treasure, as they are already in my eyes.

As soon as I put the phone down, and I immediately thought of the Baron Nishi link. He was actually my friend's neighbour when they were kids, and this is probably where the equine love affair started, as there were always horses around thanks to the Baron's obsession with them. He would have seen the gold medalist jumping as a child, and now, almost a century later, he is cheering on Louis, hoping he will follow in the Baron's footsteps...