Steph Taylor
Steph Taylor, from Hampshire, is a young professional dressage rider who runs a successful small livery yard in the heart of Meon Valley as well as competing her gorgeous three horses, Kapri, Inanda and Perugia.
Tell us about the horses that got you where you are today…
I got my first pony when I was 13, a super cheeky New Forest Pony who was bred by my Nan. Flora mostly taught me how to stay on and about resilience!
At 17 I got my first dressage horse, Dazzle. I couldn’t get him on the bit and I couldn’t get him to canter more than 20m! We grew together and I trained him up to Intermediare 1 before he retired and became my mum’s horse.
I then got my first young horse at 19 and oh my word if there’s going to be any horse that tested my stickability and patience, it was Perugia!. She was absolutely psychotic when she was younger and spent most of her time on two legs or bolting (including during a dressage test!). There were a lot of blood (literally), sweat and tears but in hindsight I laugh as I got some great videos from it to look back on. She’s now competing Prix St Georges/Intermediate 1 and has mellowed out a lot! She makes my two current young horses look completely sane but luckily not a lot phases me now because if it.
How do you relax at the end of the day?
What’s your biggest luxury in life?
Definitely my horses and being able to keep them at home. I’m so grateful to have my parents support which means I can own and enjoy such beautiful, talented horses.
When the going gets tough, what keeps you motivated?
What do you think is the biggest challenge you face as a professional rider?
For me, it’s my mind set and hoping I can do my horses justice. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well and be on top of my game all the time. Realistically that doesn’t happen to anyone but it’s so easy to fall into the trap of the ‘grass is always greener’ on social media where no one ever seems to have bad days! I nit pick a lot, and sometimes hate uploading videos of myself riding as all I can see are my faults and where I could better. I know where I need to improve and if it’s not 100% all the time I do beat myself up about it. But I’ve got to remind myself I’m only young and horses aren’t machines.
