Biography
I have ridden all my life and competed in most disciplines before I became involved in Mounted Games when I was 13. Since then I have been hooked on a sport that involves speed, athleticism, co-ordination and partnership between rider, pony and fellow team mates.
One advantage of riding in mounted games is that, so long as you are not too tall or too heavy, you don’t outgrow your mount. My first pony, Tom, was 11hh and pink (yes, I liked ‘My Little Ponies’) and I won my very first trophy with him at the age of 2. Since then my main ponies have been Merry and, more recently 2001, Blue.
As well as competing all over Britain and Europe, I have followed my other ambition in life, to become a veterinary surgeon and in 2008 I qualified. Considering the fact that I have spent most of my life with horses or studying, it has surprised most people that my main interest is in working with farm animals!
One of the highlights of my mounted games career to date was winning the World Pairs Championship in 2007 with my boyfriend, Huw Whitney – and since then we have also won the 2008 British Pairs Championship.
In 2008, I won the British Individual Championships and also rode for England in the World Team Championships in Australia. I will be starting my veterinary career in 2009 and will be balancing work with riding for the county team of Shropshire with my team mates Elaine Trevor-Jones, Peter Walters, Janey Surman and Steven Chorley. We are all great friends as well as team mates, which is just as well as we spend so much time together!