A Kingswood School pupil recently represented Somerset in the British Dressage Youth team at a prestigious competition.
Phoebe, who is in Year 11, competed at the Inter Country Championships, which took place in mid-October at Bicton Arena, in Budleigh Salterton, Devon.
Normally the teams are made up of 14 riders and for Somerset Youth team there were only seven. The team understood that every individual would have to do their absolute best to compete if they wanted to feature at prize giving. Phoebe was riding her youngster Maybeg Og (Celtic name) who has been in dressage training for a year or so. A great deal of preparation and commitment goes into the whole process including training every week. They came in with some fantastic scores in the 80% region. Phoebe was absolutely delighted with her and Og’s results. This was Og’s first “stay away” British Dressage competition and his first chance to perform when it really counted and Og definitely stepped up to the plate.
Phoebe said: “Og was super chilled out and not fazed at all which was super. I last represented Somerset in May 2019, which was my first time representing Somerset. I was riding a different pony then and she found the atmosphere a bit overwhelming and distracting.”
Everyone else in the Somerset team performed really well and although the team are pooled from across the county so not familiar with each other, it was a very supportive and solid team spirit that kept them going throughout the weekend, despite social distancing and very strict Covid restrictions. It was with absolute delight and pride that the Somerset Team came first with their outstanding riding, focussed concentration and just keeping up the scores every time they entered the dressage arena.
Phoebe spoke about the challenges she faced and the event: “Working with horses can be unpredictable and as the rider you have to pay attention to fitness, health and their ability to perform; so a lot of fine tuning is necessary for a top performance on the day. I really enjoyed the whole competition and process – our team was really supportive of each other and the atmosphere of the event was very encouraging.”