H&H picks out the bright young things of the eventing world to look out for this season
1. Holly Woodhead, British (pictured, above)
Age: 21
Base: Marlborough, Wilts
Top ride: DHI Lupison, an 11-year-old gelding by Lupicor, owned by Holly’s father Ian and stepmother Heidi.
Best results to date: team silver at the 2013 young rider Europeans and individual silver at the young rider Europeans in 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? This is Holly’s last year in young riders, so she will want to go out with a bang (and more medals) at this year’s championships at Bialy Bor.
What gives her the edge? Holly’s father is a renowned dressage trainer and her stepmother rode at four-star on The Biz. She as already proved herself a tough cookie by
returning to competition after missing the 2012 season following a serious skiing accident.
2. David Doel, British
Age: 22
Base: Chippenham, Wilts
Top ride: Miss Caruso, a 15-year-old mare by Flemmingh, owned by David and Jane James.
Best results to date: team gold and individual bronze at the junior Europeans in 2011, team silver at the young rider Europeans in 2013 and team bronze at the young rider Europeans in 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? This is David’s first year out of the young rider bubble, so it’s likely to be a consolidating season. Miss Caruso has competed at three-star with previous rider Chris King, so can give David valuable experience. The pair will start their season early with two-stars on the Sunshine Tour in Portugal, then aim for Tattersalls CIC3*and Nations Cup teams.
What gives him the edge? David has been one of the bright stars of the junior and young rider gang over the past few years and was the leading under-21 rider last year. His mother Maggie is a BHSI, a former grand prix dressage rider and advanced event rider. And David is based at the family farm, so he has good back-up.
3. Anna Wilks, British
Age: 18
Base: Forest Green, Dorking
Top ride: Touch Of Pleasure, a 10-year-old by Carnaval Pleasure, owned by Jenifer Gilbey.
Best results to date: individual gold at the junior Europeans in 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? This is Anna’s first year in young riders so she will
aim for the team trials and, if everything goes well, for the young rider European
Championships at Bialy Bor, Poland (13-16 August).
What gives her the edge? Anna has worked for Pippa and William Funnell since leaving school 18 months ago, so she has the best training in the world, plus the opportunity to compete some young Billy horses.
4. Tom McEwen, British
Age: 23
Base: Swindon, Wilts
Top ride: Diesel, a 13-year-old gelding by North Col, owned by Tom and Brook and Sally Johnson.
Best results to date: team gold at the young rider Europeans in 2011 and 2012, first
in the Bramham under-25 CCI3* 2013, 19th at Burghley 2011 and 19th at Badminton in 2013.
What’s on the cards for 2015? Tom will be aiming Diesel at Badminton (6-10 May).
What gives him the edge? Tom has made the step up from under-21s to four-star successfully and was selected for the senior European Championships in 2013, only to suffer the disappointment of Diesel failing the first trot-up due to a sore back. Based at Mark Todd’s yard, he is another rider with superb training and advice on hand.
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5. Elizabeth Hayden, Irish
Age: 20
Base: Maynooth, Co. Kildare
Top ride: Miracle, a 10-year-old gelding of unknown breeding, owned by Elizabeth’s
parents Joan and Martin.
Best results to date: individual silver and team gold at the junior Europeans in 2013
and individual bronze and team gold at the young rider Europeans in 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? Elizabeth is still in young riders so she’ll be aiming for the young rider European Championships at Bialy Bor.
What gives her the edge? Ireland is enjoying a rich vein of success at under-21 level and Elizabeth is part of this exciting young group, which also includes Harold Megahey and Cathal Daniels.
6. Ludwig Svennerstal, Swedish
Age: 24
Base: Swindon, Wilts
Top rides: Alexander IV, 12-year-old gelding by New Balance, owned by Ludwig, and King
Bob, a 17-year-old gelding by King Of Siam, also Ludwig’s own.
Best results to date: 20th at the 2012 Olympics, team silver at the European Championships in 2013 and eighth at Badminton in 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? Ludwig will aim both Alexander IV and King Bob for Luhmühlen CCI4* (18-21 June). King Bob will then be his first choice for the European
Championships (10-13 September) because he is better suited than Alexander IV to the hills at Blair Castle and wet ground, which, depending on the weather, could be a factor here.
What gives him the edge? Ludwig is already a veteran of three senior championships and has been successful at four-star with three different horses. He has been based in Britain since the autumn of 2009 and was initially part of the successful rolling circle of young Europeans at Christopher Bartle’s Yorkshire Riding Centre powerhouse. He is now based at Mark Todd’s Badgerstown yard.
7. Charlotte Sophia Hachmeister, German
Age: 21
Base: Aurich, north Germany
Top ride: Kassio 10, an 11-year-old gelding by Sky Master, owned by Charlotte.
Best results to date: individual gold young rider Europeans 2014.
What’s on the cards for 2015? Now out of young riders, Charlotte will start her season at Luhmühlen CIC2* (18-21 June) and then make the step up to CIC3*.
What gives her the edge? Charlotte combines her competitive career with studying agricultural sciences at Bonn University, and showed her tenacity when securing her young rider title by riding cross-country in a rain shower akin to a monsoon — she took the wrong route to the last fence as she couldn’t see the way, jumping it at an angle.
