Clare Balding Quotes

I loved him with a passion of which I had no idea I was capable. I loved him partly to defend him against the world and partly because I genuinely believed we were soul mates.

It had become boring to write: 'I like Clare Balding'. To say: 'I don't like Clare Balding' is much more newsworthy.

Sport develops your brain. It helps your learning. It's not an add-on at the end of the day.

I know sport can change the world, and that matters to me.

Sports commentating is the answer for a restless brain like mine. I can never get bored because there is an infinite amount to know.

I've had so many things, good and bad, said about me. I'm way beyond worrying about what people say.

On the beach, I take my clothes off under a towel.

A lot of interviewers are looking for the dark side. They want to know about the depths of your despair and fear.

I play golf - even though I'm awful at it.

Swimming and athletics are the big gigs at the Olympic games. Cycling and rowing are pretty big for Britain, but globally, the two big things are athletics and swimming.

I hate the fact that public schools like the one I went to have fantastic sports facilities, and state schools don't. That's not fair. That's outrageous.

I have learned not to take too much notice of those who disapprove of my lifestyle choices, because I know that I was not designed to be part of the crowd. If I am different, I make no apology, and I hope that others will have the courage to be themselves and stand up for what they believe in, fight for those who need protection, love who they want to love, and be proud of it.

Like so many kids, I just wanted to fit in, and I see now that I spent most of my life trying to be what I wasn't, trying to get people to like me.

If you are fearful, a horse will back off. If you are calm and confident, it will come forward. For those who are often flattered or feared, the horse can be a welcome mirror of the best in human nature.

Weekends are a real luxury for me because I'm usually working.

I believe that horses bring out the best in us. They judge us not by how we look, what we're wearing or how powerful or rich we are, they judge us in terms of sensitivity, consistency, and patience. They demand standards of behavior and levels of kindness that we, as humans, then strive to maintain.

Swimmers provide much healthier role models for teenagers than the catwalk.

People like to think of you as a certain person, or a certain type of person, and they do love to give you a label. We like luggage labels, and we like people labels.

I think 'ambitious' is one of those adjectives used for women in a derogatory way.

I've always been fascinated by intelligence and how our brains work, and how they can be improved.

I am many things, but one of the things I am is a lesbian.

I have never understood the clamour for waif-like women whose flesh acts merely as a thin veil for their bones - much as I would love to be thinner, I would hate to take it so far that I had no actual shape at all.

I've never been particularly maternal.

I hate being alone, even for 10 minutes.

The British have a unique relationship with horses. They are etched into our landscape in chalk, they have been written about, painted, sung about, celebrated and gambled upon for centuries.

I didn't just grow up with horses; I wanted to be one.

Not everyone has to have children. If everyone had two or three, we'd run out of room.

Particularly when you're young, you're terribly flattered by people who like you, so you think you love them.

I don't make decisions for money or popularity. I do things because they're right for me, and they're interesting and challenging.

I think all kids should have something they feels is theirs.