At 23, Sophie Taylor has already spent more than a decade producing dressage horses with care, patience and an eye for detail that has not gone unnoticed by judges this season.
First known for her success on ponies, she is now beginning to make her mark in the senior ranks, led by a partnership that has been built slowly, deliberately, and entirely on her own terms.
Around the same period, she was also playing a significant role behind the scenes with another future star, producing George Clooney BS from a four-year-old and taking him to the 2018 pony Europeans at Bishop Burton in her final year as a pony rider.
Watching him later become one of Britain’s most successful dressage ponies ever under Abigail Gray came as no surprise.
“We always knew he could do it,” Sophie says.
Sophie Taylor and Jerrydale
But while ponies provided her foundation, it is her long-term partnership with Jerrydale – known at home as Jerry – that is defining the next phase of her career.
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Sophie bought the Everdale x Havidoff gelding as a four-year-old from Van Olst Horses, having tried around 10 horses on a trip to Holland with a close family friend.
“He was by far my favourite,” she recalls, “although he did scare me a bit because he was so hot. I’d just finished on ponies, so it felt like a huge leap.”
That leap though has shaped everything since. Sophie has produced Jerry through every level herself, from novice through to inter II, including representing Britain on young rider teams in Belgium and France when he was just eight.
Their 73.24% inter II score at Hartpury in November marked a clear step forward, but for Sophie, the significance runs deeper than the score.
“It’s the longest journey I’ve had with a horse,” she says. “We’ve grown up together, learned the new levels together. He’s very talented and very quick to learn, so most of the time I’m trying to keep up with him.”
Recent progress has not been uninterrupted. Sophie’s 2025 campaign was shaped as much by life logistics as competition plans, with the welcome challenge of building a new house, stables and arena running alongside her riding.
But she admits the extended break from competition tested both her confidence and Jerry’s.
“Coming back after a long time away was hard,” she explains. “You have to rebuild belief, not just in yourself but in the horse too.”
Throughout that period, trainer Isobel Wessels played a central role.
“The best advice she gave me was not to lose yourself in the whole process,” Sophie says. “That really stuck.”
Plans for 2026
Now settled again, Sophie heads into the new year cautiously optimistic. Jerry, now 11, feels more established in his work and increasingly comfortable linking the grand prix movements together.
“He suddenly feels ready,” she says. “My hope is to go all the way with him.”
Alongside Jerry, Sophie is also beginning to bring through her six-year-old Jayson x Glamourdale gelding, Passion, whom she has owned since he was three.
“He’s incredibly talented, especially for collection and lateral work,” she says. “I’m hoping that with him I can apply everything Jerry has taught me.”
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
