Since then, Holly and her Mum’s very talented horse Lorenzo, have gone on to become National Champions, winning the elementary silver class at Stoneleigh in September. Despite one heart stopping moment when Lorenzo unexpectedly spooked he went on to win, with a test watched by Holly’s Horse Care apprenticeship assessor, Gemma Catling, who later cheered her round her lap of honour.
When we asked Holly how it felt to be National Champion she said ‘How does it feel? Unbelievably amazing, I still can’t believe it and I will never forget the feeling when I found out! I was third from last to go and because we had the spook, I didn’t think I would be in the top ten, so we’d taken everything back down to the lorry and just kept checking on line for the results. Then I saw my score – 71.20% – which put me in the lead. We still had one more score to go up, but twenty minutes later I was so happy to find out we’d won and we starting popping the champagne!
We then asked if all the cold, wet, early mornings and disappointments along the way were worth it and what advice she would have for other youngsters just starting out? Yes all the hard work and disappointments and tears have been well worth it, they have made us better and stronger, even the 3am starts to get the yard done before we set out to competitions!
My advice would be to never give up, keep working hard, always set a goal each month so you get used to pushing yourself to do things and make sure you always enjoy what you’re doing. I love what I do and yes sometimes it’s really tough, but you get such a good feeling when it all pays off and all your work is rewarded.