Dressage was her first plan – but “football interrupted”, said Lionesses captain Millie Bright ahead of England’s World Cup final this weekend.
Millie will lead the team out to take on Spain in the final at 11am on Sunday (20 August) – but had her life gone otherwise, she might have been trotting down a centre line instead.
During an interview with Lionesses Down Under on 8 August, the day after England beat Nigeria on penalties to secure a quarter-final place, Millie was shown video messages of support, including one from her former employer, dressage rider Hannah Esberger-Hancock.
“We’re all so proud of you,” Hannah said in the clip. “Can you remember working here, all those years ago?
“I remember your mum picking you up after work and taking you to training, then you went to Doncaster Belles, then Chelsea, which was amazing. Then England – wow – and now captain.”
Hannah said the team had seen Millie’s work ethic on the yard.
“You were such a grafter here, like you graft on that field, and I see that same dedication and devotion to the sport that you gave a horse,” she said. “We all wish you the very, very best of luck.”
Millie Bright said Hannah’s yard was more than a workplace, it was somewhere that taught her teamwork.
“It’s crazy how it’s a completely different sport but it works the same,” she said. “They’re amazing people, who are still supporters and friends.”
Asked if a career in dressage had been where she was headed, Millie said yes, and that she had come to a crossroads; although she will be able to go back to dressage, she would not have been able to do so to football.
“That was the plan and then football interrupted,” she said. “I will return to it.”
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