Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2017 | Page 90
Equestrian
Emily’s riding high on
Olympic star horse
Horse-mad Island teenager Emily Chapman was right in the
middle of her A-levels at The Priory School when her dream job
presented itself, working as a groom and nanny for a famous 3*
level eventer, sports horse breeder and trainer in Devon.
The timing wasn’t exactly ideal,
and it certainly led to some tough
decisions – not least, giving up
her sixth form studies and leaving
behind family and friends on the
Island – but for Emily, the benefits
far outweighed any risk.
Now, 18 months after taking
that giant leap of faith, she is
not only loving her job, but has
also become the regular rider of
an Olympics class horse, Simon
Porloe.
Emily, 19, whose family home is
at Merstone, was offered the ride
last November, after she had been
working for Lucy and Padraig
McCarthy at MGH Sport Horses for
10 months.
“They wanted Simon to
step down from high level
competitions, and offered me the
ride” says Emily, who admits she
was “totally shocked” to be given
the opportunity.
“At the beginning it was difficult
as Simon is not the easiest
horse” she said. “In fact it was
questionable whether it was going
to work out at times!
“However we kept going through
the winter and were ready for our
first event in March, where we
were double clear.”
She says that Simon’s owners,
Sarita and Christopher Perkins,
have been ‘amazing’ through
the highs and lows so far, always
pleased to hear how she and
Simon have been doing, and
going along to watch them
competing.
“At the beginning it
was difficult as Simon
is not the easiest
horse. In fact it was
questionable whether
it was going to work
out at times!”
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