Clare Balding Mother Emma Hastings-Bass And Royal Ties On Racing Horse Trainer

The world-renowned horse trainer Ian Balding and his wife Emma Hastings-Bass welcomed Clare Victoria Balding on January 29, 1971. Being descended from the Earls of Derby, Clare’s maternal family has a well-established aristocratic history, and both of her parents’ sides of the family have a solid genetic affinity for horse training.

After that, Ian Balding and his son Andrew, Clare’s younger brother, took control of the stables. Clare attended Downe School, close to Newbury, where she served as head girl and was a classmate of Miranda Hart, an actor, and comedian.

Her mother’s maiden name reflected a change in the family surname when she was a youngster, resulting in a double entry. Peter Hastings, Clare’s maternal grandfather, inherited Sir William Bass’ estate in 1954, changing his and his children’s last names to Hastings-Bass by his uncle’s legacy.

As the great-grandson of the 14th Earl, William Hastings-Bass, received the title of 17th Earl of Huntingdon after the 16th Earl passed away without offspring. William is Emma’s older brother.

Numerous tales from Queen Elizabeth II’s life have come to the public’s attention after her demise on September 8. Everyone seems to have a story, from Theresa May’s cheese blunders at Balmoral to levels of fortuitous public meets when the Queen went around the countryside.

However, one well-known person from Hampshire was the closest to the Queen. In 1971, Clare Balding was born in Kingsclere, around eight miles from Basingstoke.

Balding, who comes from a family of horse trainers, developed a love of all things equine early on, much like The Queen. In reality, Balding detailed memories of her childhood in Hampshire in her memoir, “My Animals And Other Family,” and she stated that her first horse, Valkyrie, was a gift from The Queen.

Clare, though, has provided additional information about the royal mealtimes this week. The broadcaster described an “event with a sausage at the breakfast table, trying to chop it to put it on toast and it shooting across the table” during her appearance on BBC Breakfast.

Balding was a prominent amateur flat jockey from 1988 to 1993. In 1990, she won the title of Champion Lady Rider. Her autobiography, My Animals and Other Family describe her upbringing on a racetrack. 

Her father, Ian Balding, trained Mill Reef, a 1971 winner of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and The Derby. Her younger brother, Andrew Balding, trained Casual Look, the 2003 Epsom Oaks champion.

After the latter victory, her brother gave a tearful post-race interview—her uncle Toby Balding-trained champions in the Champion Hurdle, Grand National, and Cheltenham Gold Cup. Furthermore, William Hastings-Bass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon, was formerly Queen Elizabeth II’s trainer, and her maternal grandpa Peter Hastings-Bass was a trainer.

Among the earliest women elected to the Jockey Club was Priscilla Hastings, a descendant of the Earls of Derby.

In 1994, Balding joined BBC National Radio as a trainee, working on 5 Live, Radio 1, Radio 2, and Radio 4 (presenting the sport on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show). She made her television debut in June 1995 by introducing the highlights of Royal Ascot.

After Julian Wilson retired, she started presenting live the following year. In December 1997, she took over as the BBC’s chief horse racing presenter. She has fronted coverage of the Grand National, notoriously embarrassing 2009 Grand National victor Liam Treadwell.

For BBC Radio in Atlanta and BBC Television in Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo, Balding covered seven Olympic Games. In addition to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang, and Beijing, she has also hosted the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Delhi, Glasgow, and the Gold Coast. She has also hosted four Paralympic Games.

Her presentation of Grandstand from a Rugby League Challenge Cup semifinal became her the face of the BBC’s rugby league coverage. She was so taken by the sport’s energy and physical difficulty that she was invited to cover more rugby league games. She gave Sunday Grandstand’s last presentation.

The popular TV host, 50, became engaged to fellow journalist and broadcaster Alice Arnold in 1999 while both were at BBC. Before leaving BBC Radio 4 in December 2012, trained actress Alice, 58, worked there for more than 20 years as a newsreader and continuity announcer.

In 2006, Clare and Alice exchanged marriage vows in a civil partnership ceremony and celebrated with a drinks reception in a Palladian home from the 18th century in Chiswick. Nine years later, they had a much more private and intimate wedding ceremony without visitors.

“They merely retroactively date it to the time of your civil union. Consequently, we have been legally wed since 2006, “In her explanation on the Jonathan Ross Show, Clare.

The couple has always been there for one another throughout their relationship, especially when Clare was battling thyroid cancer. The broadcaster admitted in 2009 that she initially felt a knot in her throat when viewing a video of herself.

Clare and Alice formed a civil partnership in 2006, but they married in front of family and friends in 2015 after marriage became legal. Now that their union has been retroactively recognized, they have been wed since 2006!

Clare acknowledged it was a low-key event during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show: “We didn’t have a big celebration at all. Nobody arrived beside us.

She discussed marriage in the same interview with Jonathan, saying, “It’s about equality. All you need to do is know that you can say, “I’m married,” and that you can.

Clare’s absence of her wedding band while presenting the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil caused some misunderstanding, but all those frantic Twitter messages were quickly answered. According to her wife Alice, Clare was warned not to go with her wedding band in case it got misplaced abroad.

After beginning her career at the BBC as a trainee journalist in 1993, Clare Balding admitted that she concealed her sexuality for almost ten years. The 50-year-old host openly admitted: “I was scared that if people found out I was in a relationship with a woman, I may face prejudice when it came to the selection of presenters on TV.”

Clare has presented six Olympic Games and Channel 4’s Paralympics since her debut nearly 20 years ago. Additionally, she has emceed the Wimbledon and Sports Personality Of The Year Awards.

The television personality has also covered critical royal events, such as Trooping the Colour and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding, as a presenter on BBC’s Countryfile.

She has authored five best-selling books and advocated for increased coverage of women’s sports.

According to the sun website, she earned between £150,000 and £199,999 annually, placing her in the same pay range as Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew and Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe.

The report showed the severe pay difference at the BBC, with Chris Evans earning four times as much as Claudia Winkleman, the highest-paid woman. Only a third of people making over £150,000 in total are women.

Clare has a long history of involvement with racing, and her family has also done so. She was a top amateur flat jockey from 1988 to 1993 and even won an award for her biography on growing up in a racing yard.

She began working for the BBC as a trainee in 1994 after completing her studies at Cambridge University.

The presenter made her television debut in 1995 by introducing the Royal Ascot highlights. Since then, she has become one of the top sports correspondents for the BBC and Channel 4. The celebrity, however, had her most significant hurdle yet in 2009.

Clare was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when a malignant cyst was discovered on her thyroid gland. She asked others around her to refrain from expressing sympathy while remaining composed throughout the process.

Instead, the broadcaster said that her diagnosis had made her “very practical” in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

The presenter, who has never been one to back down, asserted that her voice, which is crucial to her work, is her only real worry.

She has contributed to four Olympic events, three Paralympic events, and three Winter Olympic events. Clare is skilled in all sports, including horse racing, rugby league, swimming, golf, and tennis. She is recognized for her adaptability and dependability and is equally at home on the radio as on television.

Clare has contributed to BAFTA Award-winning shows, been named RTS Sports Presenter of the Year, Racing Journalist of the Year, presented Sony Award-winning shows and received acclaim from the Broadcast Awards judges for her “excellent presentation.”

She has a history of contributing creatively and practically to every program she works on.

Moreover, she has hosted Britain By Bike on BBC4 since 2010, and she has hosted Ramblings on Radio 4 since 1999 (three times yearly walking series). Crufts was broadcast by her for the BBC and, starting in 2010, More4.