She may be in the midst of a nasty divorce, but Miss Katie Price isn't going to let emotional turmoil get in the way of her important bikini duties.
The queen of merchandising showed up to London's Clothes Show this week, shilling her line of equestrian clothing yet again. It seems that the divorce hasn't affected her signature look, either as she showed up perma-tanned and primped as always. She even walked the catwalk in a bikini and a towering pair of stripper peep-toes.
Visit Katie's New Equestrian Clothing Website
Nevermind that her soon to be ex-husband, singer Peter Andre, has reportedly been locked out of their home, with all his belongings in storage. A lady has to work!
Too chavvy or horse savvy? Clover Stroud goes riding with the irrepressible Katie Price in search of the truth
We all think we know Katie Price, and everyone seems to have an opinion on the glamour model turned devoted mother turned bestselling author turned successful entrepreneur.
For her part, Katie plays the nation’s love-hate relationship with her to great advantage. Never was there a better time to interview Ms Price than on this blustery summer day galloping across the Buckinghamshire countryside: the furore surrounding her claims that she was refused a table at the prestigious Cartier International Polo society event last month was still ringing in our ears.
The incident (which may have been a simple misunderstanding) has brought the media rallying to Katie’s defence, emphasising her credentials as a horsewoman and businesswoman. She owns six horses (recently spending ‘an absolute fortune’ on a new stallion) and occasionally takes part in charity polo matches. Proving what a clever chameleon she is, Katie is about to launch her own range of pink riding gear at the Burghley Horse Trials.
We meet in the stable yard of her publicist’s home, where Katie, 30, keeps two of her horses. Devoid of make-up, she is dressed in jodhpurs, riding boots and a faintly grubby green top. She looks like any pretty, skinny, slightly stroppy girl you might see working in a busy yard, but her riding ambitions go far beyond muckraking.
So, as an experienced rider myself, when I was offered the chance to ride with her, I seized the opportunity to put her skills to the test. The result, I would discover, was intriguing.
But before I could mount Jelly, my horse for the day, Katie has to be kitted out for our shoot in her new clothing range, which includes pink gilets and jackets with a distinctive logo and crown detail. It has been designed by her with the pony-mad tween market in mind, and they’ll adore it.
The equestrian establishment may take longer to come round to the idea of wearing kit designed by Jordan, but who knows? They could well end up falling in love with her.
It’s still only 11am on the day of our ride, but already Katie has had a trying morning: she was up at 6am with the kids, and then got stuck in traffic on the M25 driving from her home in Surrey. She has come straight from a showjumping lesson and she’s very hungry.
‘I’m not being funny, but is there a McDonald’s around here?’ she asks.
There isn’t, so someone suggests pizza.
‘Order lots,’ she tells her publicist. ‘Dips and potato wedges as well. You know what a gannet I am.’
Her frame is tiny – she looks nothing like a gannet. She complains she has to wear children’s size jodhpurs, and cannily suggests that she should add slim-fit riding gear to her new range.
‘I could have my logo across the bum,’ she giggles. ‘Or just my name. My name across my bum.’
Now that’s an idea that would have the paparazzi swarming – under the control, of course, of the publicity machine behind the Katie Price brand. Most press exposure of Katie, husband Peter Andre and their children, Harvey, six, Junior, three, and one-year-old Princess Tiaami, is now by agreement and receipt of payment – a fee that was waived for YOU magazine.
Katie relishes this sort of exposure.
‘I wouldn’t be anywhere without the public,’ she says, ‘and I absolutely love it.’
She’ll say this several times during the afternoon’s ride.
‘My life’s an open book. It’s hard work, but, boy, do I love every moment of it, and I’m not doing this equestrian line for the money – because I’m set up for life already.’ (She has an estimated fortune of £30 million from magazine deals and endorsements.) Doesn’t she get frightened by the thought of selling her life, and keeping nothing private? ‘Not really. I don’t want to keep it private anyway.’
Some of the coverage is unwelcome: there has recently been a run of gossip stories showing Katie looking ‘gaunt and stressed’, claiming that her three-year marriage to Andre is over.
‘I really don’t care about the criticism,’ she says. ‘It just drives me on to greater success.’
But there have been times when it has gone too far. The couple recently won substantial damages and a public apology from the News of the World after they sued over allegations made by a former nanny. The newspaper claimed that they were reckless parents – which really hurt.
‘I had to take action, to say enough is enough,’ she says. ‘They’ll be more careful about what they say now.’
And now a riding career, too. Although she began riding as a child, Katie only started taking dressage lessons in March this year, but gained a respectable sixth place among 27 competitors at Hickstead this June.
Dane Rawlins, show director at Hickstead, told Horse & Hound magazine that ‘she made a good impression’ and that judges and spectators were impressed. Perhaps horses provide Katie with a space where she can really be herself.
‘I just love horses. I’m cocky with everything else, like modelling, because I know I’m really good at it, but with horses, it’s different.’
It was the horses she wanted to see at the Cartier polo. She claims she wasn’t bothered about the ‘toff types’ who, the press claimed, had deemed her ‘too chavvy’ to attend.
‘I don’t care what they say, and I don’t need to hang about with people like that, I just wanted to see the polo,’ she says.
Both Cartier and the club Chinawhite, who host a lunch at the event, maintain the failure to find Price a table was down to the fact that she had applied too late and through a third party – but Katie still feels slighted.
I can understand why. Because unlike many of the people who attend such a social occasion, to catch a glimpse of royalty and celebrities and drink champagne in the sunshine, Katie’s genuine interest is in the horses and the skill of the game.
‘I was always obsessed with horses,’ she says. ‘Growing up, my walls weren’t covered with pictures of pop stars, but of horses.’
I ask her why, when she seems to have everything she could want, she still works so hard.
‘Just for my own sake, to know that I can do it.’
She claims that she is driven only by her own competitive spirit, something she inherited from her family, ‘We’re all very competitive and I always have to win.’
It was her family who were vital in helping her cope with the postnatal depression she suffered after Junior was born. ‘I’d rather talk to my family than a therapist. They’re the ones who keep my feet on the ground. Compared to most people, I suppose I do live my life in the fast lane, but I also do normal things.’
And now a riding career, too. Although she began riding as a child, Katie only started taking dressage lessons in March this year, but gained a respectable sixth place among 27 competitors at Hickstead this June.
Dane Rawlins, show director at Hickstead, told Horse & Hound magazine that ‘she made a good impression’ and that judges and spectators were impressed. Perhaps horses provide Katie with a space where she can really be herself.
‘I just love horses. I’m cocky with everything else, like modelling, because I know I’m really good at it, but with horses, it’s different.’
It was the horses she wanted to see at the Cartier polo. She claims she wasn’t bothered about the ‘toff types’ who, the press claimed, had deemed her ‘too chavvy’ to attend.
‘I don’t care what they say, and I don’t need to hang about with people like that, I just wanted to see the polo,’ she says.
Both Cartier and the club Chinawhite, who host a lunch at the event, maintain the failure to find Price a table was down to the fact that she had applied too late and through a third party – but Katie still feels slighted.
I can understand why. Because unlike many of the people who attend such a social occasion, to catch a glimpse of royalty and celebrities and drink champagne in the sunshine, Katie’s genuine interest is in the horses and the skill of the game.
‘I was always obsessed with horses,’ she says. ‘Growing up, my walls weren’t covered with pictures of pop stars, but of horses.’
I ask her why, when she seems to have everything she could want, she still works so hard.
‘Just for my own sake, to know that I can do it.’
She claims that she is driven only by her own competitive spirit, something she inherited from her family, ‘We’re all very competitive and I always have to win.’
It was her family who were vital in helping her cope with the postnatal depression she suffered after Junior was born. ‘I’d rather talk to my family than a therapist. They’re the ones who keep my feet on the ground. Compared to most people, I suppose I do live my life in the fast lane, but I also do normal things.’
After the shoot, Melodie takes off the hairpiece and Katie and I ride away. It’s a beautiful day as we canter the horses along the edge of a field.
‘I love being out here in the fresh air, away from anything else,’ she says.
And in that moment she becomes utterly endearing; she loses the brash-model confidence and we seem equals.
Her riding is competent, and as she concentrates on her technique her Hollywood-white smile is the only sign that she’s anything other than a country girl taking a favourite horse for a ride.
The polo toffs may scoff at Jordan, but she is much more than a hairpiece and a set of false eyelashes. It strikes me that Katie on horseback is the real deal.
