life - EQUESTRIAN
They take on professionals
and beat them!
YOUNG
amateur
riders
Alice and Emily Sheen are
so dedicated at what they do
that they are even starting to
beat the adult professionals.
The twins, who are just 13, show
and ride Mountain & Moorland
ponies at competitions all around
the country.
Their involvement with ponies
started when they were just
toddlers and were allowed to sit on
the back of mother’s horse when it
was brought in from the field.
From the age of three they were
64
showing on a lead rein and doing
so well in competitions locally that
parents Mark and Cate decided to
see how well they would fare on the
mainland.
By the age of four they had
qualified for the UK National Pony
Championships and the girls haven’t
looked back since.
They are consistently winning
or being well placed against stiff
competition from professional
producers – people whose job it is to
train and bring on young ponies.
Their aim now is to qualify for the
Horse of the Year Show and Olympia
– something they have been just on
the cusp of achieving at qualifying
shows around the country.
Dad Mark says his daughters, who
go to Archbishop King Middle
School, work incredibly hard riding
almost every day and spending
anything between two and five
hours a day with their ponies.
“The girls are very dedicated and
whether they come first or last
they are exactly the same and they
are always the first to congratulate
others.”
Showing is an expensive business
and Mark their father, says his girls
would not have been able to achieve
half of what they have done so far if
it wasn’t for W ightlink.
He says: “They sponsor 25 ferry
crossings which is fantastic.
“It costs £100 to get a lorry across
before you even pay for the cost of
the diesel or entries.
“We wouldn’t be able to do this if it
wasn’t for them.
“We are also very grateful to Paul
Whittington Engineering.
“If we’ve ever had a problem coming
up to a show Paul has dropped
everything to get us back on the
road.”
Sponsored by Froghill and Brickfields