Biography
My mum competed horses in all disciplines and owns a BHS approved riding school, so as a baby it was easier to put me on a pony than in the pram and it kept me much quieter! As a child, I would get on the naughty ponies that were too sharp for the riding school and learnt how to deal with all types of horses and ponies.
I had a string of good jumping ponies that I competed successfully up until age fourteen. They also had good movement so I entered a dressage competition to help me improve. I went to the competition and won, qualifying for the Regional Championships at Senior level. I then qualified for the 2001 Senior British Dressage National Championships. Being a kid on a cob from ‘The North’ it was a case of a pat on the back for qualifying and going to the Championships to learn and for experience. I don’t think anyone expected I would win which is exactly what I did!
I won at the Nationals again in 2002 at the level above. In this year, I was put onto the World Class Programme for potential Olympic athletes. It provides an established development pathway for young, talented riders, with access to further training and development as a potential Olympic rider. I haven't looked back!
From 2003 -2007 I represented Great Britain successfully at friendly Internationals and at European Championships. This has been at Junior and Young Rider levels, often returning home as best of the British!
2008 brings a very exciting year for me as I have to now make the step up into Senior level. For the last couple of years I have been competing in Senior Small Tour classes alongside Young Riders and I now have to make the transition into Small Tour alone, with my sights set on Big Tour as soon as my horses and I are ready!