Nationals & a Big Announcement!

Welcome to my brand-new website and my first blog! If you’ve followed me on social media, you may already know a little bit about me, but for those who don’t, despite being only 18 years old, I am an experienced international dressage rider consistently ranking in the top 30 on the FEI world rankings in my age group. 

I’m kicking off my blog with a roundup of Nationals last weekend where I competed with Mount St John Furstin Fugger, aka Fiji. Stay tuned as I also have a very exciting announcement…

We set off for Somerford Park on Thursday to give us a chance to watch some of the competition and prepare for our test on Sunday. We arrived in plenty time to get Fiji settled in and have a nice hack to stretch her legs.

On day two, Fiji and I had a good training session with my trainer, Peter Storr. Fiji felt amazing and we worked on a few things from our Junior test that I wanted to improve. I finished feeling confident and prepared for my test.

Day three was a light day for Fiji before her competition on Sunday. I used the day to go over my test and focus on what I wanted to achieve.

We were on Sunday morning so didn’t have too long to wait before we needed to be ready to head to the warm-up. Fiji warmed up well and I felt like we did everything we needed to do ahead of our test. Fiji felt on-side and was working well with me which left me feeling excited going into the test.

Before my test, Mum said to me “don’t ride the test you always ride,” which I really took with me into the arena. Rather than playing it safe, I prepared a lot more for movements and really focused on all the things I’ve been working on.  My trot work had much more lift like I’ve been achieving at home, so I was able to incorporate that into my test, and I was getting a lot more expression in my flying changes. My half passes also had more jump and crossing which I was very pleased about as this is something I’ve also been working on.

I left the arena feeling delighted with how my test had gone. Thankfully the judges agreed, and I scored 70.707% overall. One judge gave 73%!

It was a great week; we watched some fantastic dressage and the show was incredibly well run so thank you to all the organisers and stewards that made it possible.

It was also wonderful to catch up with Simon, Lyndsey and Maisie from Zebra Products, who kindly sponsor me, and collect my two new sparkly UVEX hats (see above!). 

Talking of sponsors…

I’m thrilled to announce my new partnership with the incredible Aviar Saddles. Aviar offer technology like no other saddle, and I have noticed a huge difference in my horses since riding in them. They have smaller points on the tree which allows for a much freer shoulder movement meaning horses can achieve increased reach whilst remaining supple throughout their whole body. As a rider, they are also incredibly comfy and give a closer contact feel with the horse.

It was a privilege to finally meet Aviar founders, Carrie and Engie Wallace, and I’m so grateful to have the support of such an amazing company, especially my saddle fitter, Julie Masters, who has been incredible. Having ridden in Aviar saddles for some time now, I am delighted to be working alongside them and look forward to seeing where this partnership leads us.