Introducing the final three young riders who will be participating in the Oceania Young Rider competition at Melbourne International Horse Trials. As the Australian team will be chosen after the first horse inspection from the squad of six, here are the last two Australian riders, Naomi White and Gabrielle Pither while New Zealand's Tayla Mason is their team’s travelling reserve
Naomi White Photo courtesy Jenelle Christopher
Naomi White
19 years old
Live in Seville, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Working full time as a receptionist at All Victoria Conveyancing
I've been riding since I was seven on school ponies and I've had Tosca for seven years
Tosca is a bay thoroughbred x Arab x warmblood that was broken in at Wandin Riding Academy as a 5 year old then I got him. He is only 15.3hh but this was still very big when I was only 12 years old.
For the first year or two mum didn't like him much at all when I would come home with bruises and covered in mud from being bucked off on a regular basis. The phrase 'the talented horses are always evil' is what I'd been told and it applies with Tosca except he is not evil, but very cheeky!
I have so much trust in this horse and I know he trusts me to give him a good ride too.
This will be our second year competing at Melbourne in the CCI2*, so I am looking to better my fifth place of last year
I would love to thank my sponsors, Dublin Clothing, the NRG team and Hoofprints
Gabrielle Pither
Age: 20
Where I live: Albany Western Australia (about 5 hours south west of Perth) - we are a long way from everywhere!
Work/school: I am studying business through Charles Sturt University and have worked for Tallara Barwick and Dave Cameron since the Sydney International Horse Trials in April 2014. I am unsure of how long I will be based in Sydney for, but so far so good!
I can't remember a time when I didn't have a horse. I grew up on a farm in a place called Ongerup, where we farmed 10,000 acres, so more than enough room for a pony or two! My first pony was a very naughty grey mare that had a habit of tipping me off every second day; I guess my parents were trying to see if this riding thing was just a phase.
My horse Max Almighty (Max) is a 16.3 9 year old chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding by Ali Kingston. My family and I bought him as a 2 ½ year old from Janet Hatch and have broken him in and started him ourselves. It has been a very exciting and sometimes rather entertaining journey experiencing Max's progress.
He is very much his own unique person, and likes to think of himself the resident jokester. A collection of road cones and flat jolly balls reside in his paddock in hopes that they will deter him from his own rugs so that we don't wake up to a paddock coated in white rug stuffing. We still occasionally have to muzzle him at shows in case he is in chewing distance of the next door horse, sometimes a little embarrassing!
Our most notable performance was running 2nd in the CCI 2* at The Sydney International Horse Trials 2014 as well as several other wins at 2* level in WA. We have only just begun our competition career over here in the east.
Tayla Mason Photo courtesy Takethemoment.com
Tayla Mason - travelling reserve, New Zealand
Tayla’s home town is Kapiti Coast but she is currently flatting in Palmerston North as she attends Massey University. Tayla is in her second year of studying a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology and Sports Science. Once she has her degree, she will then decide whether it is full time riding or working or a combination of both!
Tayla got her first pony at the tender age of three. Her mother, Sonya, used to compete and is a big help to Tayla with her horses. Tayla’s coaches include Sean Cubbit and Penny Castle and she attended the Nga Tawa Pony Club.
Best results so far for Tayla include winning the Young Rider titles in both the One Day and Three Day Championships. She has represented New Zealand when she was 13 in the Children’s FEI Challenge at Foxton, coming 19th.
Tayla has been to Australia before, spending some time with the Creightons at Towoomba. She has visited Melbourne before but only when she was really young so has few memories of it.
Lucy with Diamonds is 14, and was purchased her as an unraced two year old that had trialled but not raced. Tayla’s mother rode her for some time and then put her in foal. That foal is now two years old. Tayla decided to try Lucy again and is very pleased with that decision.
