Looking a picture of health and glowing with vitality, Jodie Kidd gently strokes her horse's mane as she stands in a field surrounded by her beloved animal companions.
The 46-year-old entrepreneur has had a passion for equestrian pursuits since she was a child. However, these noble creatures have also played a vital role in her life: they have helped cure her debilitating anxiety.
© Elisabeth Hoff"Animals helped me through a scary period of anxiety and lows, and very tough times in my life," Jodie reveals in this exclusive interview with HELLO! from her home in West Sussex. "They bring a huge sense of calm and happiness and love."
Best known for a glittering modelling career in which she rubbed shoulders with Kate Moss, shot global campaigns for Chloé and walked the runway for Chanel in Paris, she first suffered from the condition during her catwalk heyday.
© Elisabeth HoffHer ascent had been rapid: Jodie shot to fame in 1994, aged 15, when she was scouted by photographer Terry O'Neill on a beach in Barbados. The following year, she found herself drinking champagne backstage at shows.
"I didn't know what was going on, because I was a late teenager," Jodie has told us. "It was when people didn't really know about anxiety, so I thought I was going mad.
"I had to stop my career, I had to stop modelling, I had to move to the country. It was terrifying."
© Elisabeth HoffHer rural retreat became a place of refuge following her decision to quit the catwalk, just a few years after her life in the spotlight began.
"I really think that getting back into riding after modelling helped cure my anxiety," she tells us now. Indeed, riding became her rescue. "There's something very powerful about being on the back of a horse. I did research into it. When you rock on your coccyx, it activates the vagus nerve [in the brain]. It puts you in a very calm state."
After retiring from modelling, Jodie, now the mother of 13-year-old son Indio, launched herself wholeheartedly into a successful sporting career, representing England at the Women's World Polo Championships.
"I loved polo for about five or six years," she recalls. "I played absolutely frantically; non-stop."
And members of the royal family were often her team-mates, she says. "I would always get called on to do charity events, and Prince Charles, William or Harry would play all the time."
The horsey life has proven to be her happy place – as her close friend Zara Tindall, daughter of the Princess Royal, could attest. The pair, whose paths crossed at this year's Cheltenham Festival, ride together "lots".
© Elisabeth Hoff"She's an incredible horsewoman and a lovely person. I totally adore her," Jodie says. "She's fabulous. We've done a couple of celebrity polo charity days together."
The daughter of former showjumper Johnny Kidd and his wife Wendy, Jodie laughs as she recalls how she was put into the family's dog basket when she was very young. "I think I was a baby when I was first put on a horse in Dad's arms," she says.
"I was brought up in the country. My grandmother had a farm and we used to make all our own hay. We had dogs around us, horses and hamsters. I'm the youngest of five and all my older siblings had animals.
© Getty Images"We had a very naughty little Shetland pony called Mr T who taught us how to ride. He used to bolt off, then suddenly stop to eat grass, and we all used to come flying off his neck – at least you didn't have far to fall.
"Animals create a huge amount of stability in your life, and responsibility. As a child, you learn that you've got to feed and water and muck out."
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
