My early equestrian experiences were pretty mixed. The earliest memory I have is riding my little pony on a beach. It bolted off with me and I managed to fall off and land on a rock – I was like, "I am never riding a horse ever again in my life, what a terrible idea it is". However, that changed when I got the family pony when I was about 12 years old and I never looked back.
I went to FEI Pony Eventing European Championships as a 13 and 14-year-old (2010 and 2011). I then grew out of Ponies and had a horse for a couple of years, but didn't compete on a team again until I did the Junior Europeans in 2014. I did two years of Junior teams at 17 and 18, followed by three years of Young Riders.
I think all of those Youth Europeans medals are still the most poignant thing. To win a medal for your country always has to be the number one thing that you can achieve.
I have a big yard with my partner, Emily King, and we have four international riders based with us. There are about 40 horses and we all ride, train and work together – the big goal is to be the best we can.
I try not to set long-term goals. I focus on more short-term goals to measure progression. Everyone wants to be World Number One, or win the Olympics, or Badminton – and, of course those are my dreams, as well – but I try not to get sidetracked by the destination and focus instead on short-term goals along the way.
I was on the World Class Programme before, when I was quite a bit younger, and I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I am now, in terms of all those small percentage gains you can get. You have access to experienced saddle fitters, vets, physio and nutritionists, plus being able to access different trainers that aren’t in my location and are really involved in British Eventing. I don’t think there's one thing, specifically that stands out, but all those small things can hopefully create that 1% difference in each area. I appreciate it all so much.