Sunday, 18 September 2022
As the morning sun shone over Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, Alice Fox-Pitt greeted 10 eager faces from the Ebony Horse Club in London to participate in a day of unique experiences at the prestigious event facilitated by Alice, British Equestrian and The Jockey Club.
Starting with an opportunity to visit the lorry park and watch the first cross country riders warm up before heading out on course, the group then had the exclusive opportunity of an up-close and personal session with World Class Podium Pathway rider Tom Jackson, fresh off the back of his second place finish at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials earlier this month.
The young riders grilled Tom on how he got into the sport, before discussing with Alice how important accessibility to such opportunities is for them, “the day’s been incredible as we don’t get many experiences like this,” 13-year-old Rihanna Addison-Obuhoro said, having never been to an event of this magnitude before. “Meeting Tom has inspired me to pursue this as a career, and it made me realise that it is actually possible with a lot of hard work.”
It was evident from the beaming grins on all of their faces that having the chance to ask Tom their burning questions about the equestrian industry was a unique experience that they certainly appreciated, “it was amazing! A really enriching experience”, said Renée, Rihanna’s 14-year-old sister, who have both been part of Ebony Horse Club for the past four years. “It made me feel like riding could possibly be more accessible than I originally thought, which massively inspires me.”
Alice was also keen to understand how the eventing community could help the members and nurture their desire to forge a career path with horses, “don’t ever feel like these amazing riders are out of your reach”, Alice coached them. “Getting into the sport is all about making your own path and reaching out to people to make those connections.” She also encouraged them to think of other careers within the sport, rather than just focusing on being a rider, “what’s evident from meeting you all is just how passionate you are about horses” she said to them as they hung on her every word, “I’m not a rider but that passion has been the driver of my whole career, and it can be the same for you too, whatever path you choose to go down.”
Having extracted all of Tom and Alice’s wisdom, the children all walked away from their encounter visibly buoyant with fresh inspiration that working with horses was not only aspirational, but achievable. “I’ve been thinking a lot recently about finding a way of working with horses, and being here today has opened my eyes to the amount of opportunities there are”, said 16-year-old Gesse Munyama, a member of the Ebony Horse Club since she was just nine years old.
Walking out to the cross-country course to watch their favourite riders in action, the group were in awe of the sheer speed and power required to complete this phase, as well as just how technical the track was, as explained to them by British Equestrian’s Christie Wright.
Having spent the day soaking up all of the action and the electric atmosphere of the Horse Trials, the group stopped by the trade stand of Jockey Club, who so kindly facilitated their visit today, to try their hand at the Equicizer mechanical horse, showing some incredible form for such young jockeys.
What was apparent in abundance throughout the day though was the children’s thirst for experiencing everything that horse sport has to offer, leaving excited and inspired at what futures lie ahead for them “I can’t even remember a time when horses weren’t in my life, and working with them would just be the dream”, Gesse smiled. Hopefully today, those 10 young riders realised that the dream really can become a reality.