The presence of an artificial cricket net in one of the fields of Joe Stockdale's top-of-the-range equestrian yard perfectly encapsulates the 24-year-old's varied sporting journey to this point.

Up until 2018, the Team GB showjumper – who will compete for gold at the Paris Olympics next week – was pursuing a promising career with a red leather ball in his hand.

Stockdale's progression as a fast bowler with Northamptonshire saw him represent the county at second XI level. But when a knee injury coincided with the tragic death of his Olympian father Tim after a battle with stomach cancer, Stockdale's life changed and changed quickly.

Riding soon took over from cricket and fast forward six years, Stockdale is now one of the best in the United Kingdom at what he does. He has ridden horses for former One Direction star Liam Payne, exploded in popularity on social media, and is now set to follow in his late father's footsteps by competing at the 2024 Games. It has been an astonishing journey.

'The cricket net is more of a golf net now for me and my brother to hack about in! Unfortunately, it doesn't get much use anymore,' Stockdale told Mail Sport at his Northamptonshire home prior to heading to the French capital. 'Cricket was always my priority to start with. I'd never thought of riding as a career option. I'd always planned on and wanted to be a professional cricketer.

'I was supposed to be going over to Australia to play, but then I got injured so couldn't go. Then, unfortunately, my dad got very ill so I was doing a lot more riding on the yard.

'I had a couple of good riding results which probably lulled me into a false sense of security. It made me think doing this is quite an easy job when it's definitely not!'

Tim Stockdale was one of Britain's greatest showjumpers and competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

His sudden passing at just 54 understandably hit Joe, his brother Mark – who is a more-than-promising golfer – and their mother Laura hard.

'Given the circumstances it was up to us as a family whether we sold the yard and the horses and I went down a different route or I tried to take on the riding and the business,' said Joe, reflecting on what was a big and very difficult personal and collective decision.

'I flipped a coin about it a few times to be honest with you. I really couldn't decide. But it's worked out alright so far. It was a tough time with lots of different factors in play.

'The pressure of running a yard is very different to other sports. If you play tennis, you can chuck your racket in a cupboard and forget about it for a couple of weeks.

'You don't have that option with horses. It's 24/7, seven days a week. You can't just stop and collect your thoughts, but I think it was a good thing we just had to crack on.

'I know my dad would have told me to just get on with things.

'It was a tough time but equally the yard having to be run and knowing you had to get up in the morning to look after the horses kept me going.'

Out of adversity and grief came hope and expectation.

Joe's equestrian career has since soared and he is part of a four-strong Team GB showjumping outfit for Paris alongside Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Harry Charles.

That same combination won a team bronze at the 2022 World Championships.

What adds an extra layer of emotion to Joe's story is that at the Palace of Versailles – the stunning location for the Olympic showjumping – he will ride Cacharel, a horse his father purchased as a three-year-old. 'Tim was a big believer Cacharel would be the one,' said Charlotte Attewell, the horse's loyal groom. So it has proved.

Cacharel is the apple of the Stockdale family's eye.

'It does add another layer to it,' Joe said of the link Cacharel provides between him and his late father. 'We always said during her career as a young horse that she could be an Olympic horse. To be able to go and fulfil what we always thought was possible means a great deal.

'My dad always thought a lot of her and it makes it really poignant for me. Cacharel thinks she's part of the family. She's more human than horse to be honest with you! She's very spoilt and knows she's the best one on the yard. She's looked after very well and is spoilt rotten. Mum goes out every morning feeding her treats like carrots, apples and mints.

'She's pampered and knows she's a bit of a queen.'

Joe, who cheered on his rugby side Northampton Saints to Premiership glory at Twickenham in June, continued: 'I think my dad would probably have pulled me off the horse and told me he was doing it to be honest with you! He'd have said "I'll show you how it's done!"

'But I'll certainly be thinking about him. I know what it meant to him to go to Olympics.

'He'll definitely be in the back of my mind.'

In the pristine tack room at the Stockdale yard – which was purchased in 1996 – the family's equestrian achievements are mounted as plaques on the wall.

Tim fell just short of a medal in China by finishing fourth. Joe is hoping he can go even better.

'There was an element of 'What were we thinking?' when we took on the yard,' Laura said. 'Hopefully we can get a medal this time.'

Laura is certainly a mother to two talented sons. Mark is studying in America with the plan to turn professional in golf while Joe will compete at the top of his game in Paris.

An Olympic medal, or even a gold, would catapult Joe into another realm of popularity and surely add to the more than 300,000 followers he already boasts on social media.

'The aim of using TikTok and Instagram now is to widen the audience of equestrian sport. That's something my dad was very passionate about,' Joe said.

'But to be honest, originally it was more about creating a selling point for sponsors. When I started out, I had no results so I needed a different selling point and social media was one.

'At the time, there were thousands of riders around the country who were better than me.

'Looking back, if I'd said to anyone at that point I would go to the Olympics it would have been ridiculous.

'I was riding terribly. I wasn't good enough and didn't have enough experience. It really was a mad and crazy decision to make at the time, but somehow it's managed to work itself out.

'I've had fantastic support from my owners. I couldn't run the yard without them. It was strange how it came about with Liam! He's extremely popular and very well-known so it was good for us as a yard to have him on board. I really enjoyed working with him for a little bit.

'I'm enjoying watching my brother's career path too. I'm hoping he can make it in golf and buy me a few horses! That's my plan! It's very exciting. I don't think I can put into words what an Olympic medal would mean. It's always been the ultimate goal. It would be pretty surreal.'