Young Aussie riders to take on world’s best
Five teenage Australian riders will compete against the world's best at a prestigious mounted games competition in England.
Five of Australia’s most talented young horse riders are taking on the world next month as they join the best of the best in the UK.
Ava Cottle (NT), Isabella Swain (Tas), Emily Oliver (Vic), Kasey Butcher (NSW) and Madelyn Harney (WA) have all been selected to represent Australia at the Pony Club International Alliance’s International Mounted Games Exchange 2025 at Warwickshire, England.
An opportunity available to young riders in their 16th year, each rider was put forward by their home state, and will compete against other up-and-comers from Canada, the USA, the UK and New Zealand on August 10.
Accompanying the five riders is team manager Niree Weybury and coach Dan Foster, with Dan saying it’s a diverse team of various abilities on and off-horses.
“They’re all fantastic equestrian riders. We’ve got show jumpers on the team, polo cross riders, and then a mix of other abilities,” Dan said.
“It’s one of the only horse sports that Australia can compete on an international level, and the fairest because each country rides on borrowed horses.”
The competition is made up of 15 races, with each team given a set of five horses to race on.
After every three races, each team moves onto a new set, meaning each team will have a chance to perform on all 25 horses.
“It’s not so much about winning all the races, but about doing better on each set of horses than other teams do on that set of horses, that’s how you get your result,” Dan said.
Niree for her part has also coached Victorian state-winning teams and played a big part in bringing Dan across from Western Australia to coach the Victorian team.
Before the team flew out to Manchester on Saturday, the team is underwent a three-day training camp in Victoria, getting to know each other before they head off.
“So when we hop on the plane, they’re one Australian team, not just five individuals” Dan said.
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