All you need to know about television sports presenter Clare Balding. <\/p>
Clare Balding is a very familiar face, but who is she and how did she get into television sports presenting? <\/strong><\/p> Clare Balding is one of our top sports presenters. She has been presenting sport since 1994 and today is at the helm of many of our top sporting occasions, from Wimbledon to the Olympics. <\/p> Clare Balding was born on 29 January 1971.<\/p> Clare Balding was born into a very horsey family and grew up in Kingsclere Hampshire, where her father, Ian Balding, was a successful racehorse<\/a> trainer. Among his clients was the late Queen Mother. Clare’s brother is the top racehorse trainer Andrew Balding.<\/p> Kingclere is very close to Highclere Castle, which is probably better known as Downton Abbey<\/a><\/p> On Who Do You Think You Are<\/a><\/em>, Clare discovered that her grandmother can trace her family line all the way back to King Henry VII, who died in 1509, so she has royal blood \u2013 but exactly what relation that makes her to the late queen we are not sure.<\/p> Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Clare has ridden and competed at a number of equestrian sports<\/a> including eventing, show jumping and dressage<\/a>. From 1988 until 1993, Clare was also a leading amateur\u00a0flat jockey and won Champion Lady Rider in 1990. <\/p> After leaving school, Clare studied English at \u00a0Newnham College, Cambridge.<\/p> In 1994, she became a trainee with BBC National Radio and worked on\u00a05 Live<\/a> and presented the sport on Chris Evans<\/a>\u00a0Breakfast Show<\/em>.<\/p> Her television debut came in 1995\u00a0when she introducing highlights of\u00a0Royal Ascot.<\/p> Clare has presented live from many illustrious sporting events, from Wimbledon to Badminton Horse Trials, the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival to top golf tournaments. In 2024, she will be leading the Olympic and Paralympic coverage.<\/p> She is also a regular on radio, having presented Ramblings<\/em> on Radio 4 since 1999, and has also fronted Saturday Live and Woman’s Hour.<\/p> Clare has written a couple of autobiographies: My Animals and Other Family<\/em> <\/a>(which won Autobiography of the Year at the 2012 Specsavers National Book Awards) and Walking Home<\/a><\/em>.<\/p> She has also written Heroic Animals: 100 Amazing Creatures Great & Small<\/em><\/a> and a series of fiction books for children.<\/p> This article contains affiliate links and we may receive a commission for purchases made. Please read our affiliates\u00a0FAQ page<\/a>\u00a0to find out more and read about how we write BBC Countryfile Magazine reviews.<\/em><\/p>Who is Clare Balding?<\/h2>
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Is Clare Balding related to the late Queen?<\/h2>
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