Jodie Hall McAteer, who competes regularly at five-star level, discusses opportunities for young riders and keeping up with ever-changing rules
I was competing in the London leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) for the third time – it’s crazy how quickly time flies. The Global shows were overwhelming in the beginning but you find your feet, get used to the cameras and atmosphere and don’t feel so completely out of place in the warm-up.
The opportunities the Global Champions League (GCL) teams give to under-25 riders have been a great contribution to the sport. In my first season, with the Cascais Charms, I was able to get into 10 five-star shows in six months. It was a bit of a shock but I learnt so much from the experience. There is no way, as a young rider, I could have stepped up without this format.
For the past two years Georgina Bloomberg has had me jumping with New York Empire and the team is filled with good riders. Being alongside people you look up to is a great support for someone coming into the sport. It’s a good opportunity to jump with riders from other nations and you get to know their systems as you ride together.
Just before I went in to jump one of the classes in London, I had a reminder of how as a rider you need to keep checking the rules, which are often updated. When I was in hind boot control, the steward noticed that I had vetwrap round my bit, which is no longer allowed, only latex. The rule was brought in only two weeks ago.
The round went well, but we had to change the bit and it did cause a bit of stress!
The hamster wheel of shows
You miss spending time with family and friends when you’re on the hamster wheel of international shows – it’s probably the biggest sacrifice you make, and when you’re not having a good time you can feel very far from home.
So it was nice to be back in England with everyone’s support – and there were a lot of familiar faces in London. My sister Ellie was jumping the two-star, while Hyde Park Stables, which my mum, Mandy Hall, runs, was sponsoring some classes and providing the pony rides.
As the stables are busy with tourists at this time of year, they didn’t have enough ponies to spare, so we brought my first pony, Rosie Lee, who is now 29. She loved it and was really well behaved, although that wasn’t always the case.
I have a scar on my eye from when I fell off her trying to win a memorial trophy that was being presented at our riding school for points accumulated over 10 shows. I had Rosie in the first class and my other pony in the second.
After I cut my eye open, my dad took me to hospital but I still wanted to jump, as I had to compete in the next class to win. There was a four-hour wait, so I screamed in A&E until he relented and took me to Boots to get a butterfly plaster so I could go back to the show.
I still have the trophy at home, and we still have Rosie. Having her here was a nice reminder of how it all started. You can get caught up in results, but at the end of the day all of the top-level riders were once boys and girls riding round on their ponies.
● What does your first pony mean to you? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your views published in a future edition of Horse & Hound magazine
- This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 17 August, 2023
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