Rising star sets sights on representing Australia

Andrew Damsma is making his mark overseas and aims to compete in the FEI world championships for horse pairs next year.

Natural talent: Andrew Damsma, now living in the Netherlands, aims to represent Australia. Picture: Krisztina Horvath Hoefnet

ANDREW Damsma, 27, is another Australian carriage driver beginning to make his name overseas.

He has completed the first qualifying criteria to compete at the FEI world singles driving championships in Pau, France, in October this year and competed his horses in pairs at two Dutch national competitions in May and June last year.

Born in Warragul, Damsma grew up on a small hobby farm in Iona and is the youngest of four siblings. His parents came from the Netherlands to Australia as newlyweds.

The family farmed beef cattle as a hobby and horses were never in the picture, but when Andrew was 12 he saw his neighbour driving her pony, so after a quick lesson one afternoon he returned home with the Shetland pony, carriage and gear, and from there the passion for horses and combined driving sport began.

Before long his sister, Rhiannon, also started driving and the number of ponies on the farm soon outweighed the cattle.

“Andrew always had a natural way with horses and a real ability to train horses to achieve perfection,” said Rhiannon, who also drives competitively.

Damsma quit studying for his university degree to work for the European carriage driving champion Isjbrand Chardon in the Netherlands in 2015.

After a year working as a groom and back stepper on the carriage for Chardon, he moved to work as stable manager for reigning world champion and fellow Australian Boyd Exell and now works part-time for Exell and full-time for a young and upcoming Dutch dressage rider at DH Dressage.

The talented young man’s main long-term goal is to represent Australia and compete at the FEI world championships for horse pairs in 2021.

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