Biography
I started riding when I was three years old but spent a large part of my early years hitting the floor rather than staying in the saddle. I was always a little more ambitious about jumping than my ponies! Finally I took over my brother’s 13.2 (Tom) on whom I enjoyed lots of success eventing. During my teens dressage began to replace my eventing dreams and at 14, I won a pony team silver medal at the Europeans. Since then I have been on a British championship team every year throughout juniors, young riders and then seniors - for the first time with Douglas Dorsey in 2006 (at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen).
Ian Woodhead was my biggest influence from ponies through to juniors. He taught me the basics of dressage and a healthy but fun competitive attitude. My under 21 career continued with Markus Gribbe who trained me in the step up to Grand Prix. My biggest successes and the start of very high scores came with the help of Klaus Balkenhol and the newly established partnership with my father (who is now my trainer).
Although 2008 saw me through some serious ups and downs I learned heaps as a rider and as an individual. I kept my motivation and ambition and worked hard with my two Grand Prix horses, Mistral Hojris (Alf) and Andretti H (Andy). I have a great support crew at home and awesome horses to work with, including a string of youngsters to bring on!
2009 was the breakthrough year for me and Alf. It started with a personal best and new British record in Den Bosch, Holland, where we also beat Anky van Grunsven on Painted Black for the first time. We went on to score wins in Hagen, Germany, and then achieved a new personal best and British record in Lingen in Germany.
The year continued with a career high at the European Championships 2009 where, on home ground, we won team silver and I won individual bronze in the Grand Prix Special. I achieved personal best scores and GB records in all three tests. The experience was beyond words! Alf was a superstar. Alf and I concluded our 2009 season by winning the Grand Prix (another personal best and a further British record) and the Grand Prix Special at Stuttgart. The latter was the "German Masters" and I am the only Brit to have ever won that! We finished 2009 ranked 6th in the world - what a season, I couldn't have dreamed of more!
We are now focused on the World Equestrian Games (WEG) 2010, which is in Kentucky in September. The year has started well with two more personal bests on Alf in Amsterdam in the Grand Prix and the Kur, finishing second behind Totilas. This was followed by two wins on Alf (beating Isabell Werth and Satchmo in the process) and a win and a second place on Andy at Lingen. I had a fantastic show at Aachen, where Alf was placed third behind Totilas and Parzival in the Grand Prix and the Special, and Andy won the CDI Kur. In addition Team GB finished third behind Holland and Germany so it was a great all round performance. Alf and I are now ranked number 3 in the world which I am thrilled about.