11 things you might not know about dressage rider Sarah Millis

Discover 11 things you might not know about international grand prix dressage rider Sarah Millis

1. Sarah’s old grand prix horse Korenbloem O’Neill is still in work: “He does the odd lesson, but he’s no novice ride; he’s still sharp as a three-year-old,” says Sarah.

2. Katja Kuistila, the owner of Sarah’s last grand prix horse HP Frontier, has two horses now in training; a nine-year-old and a 10-year-old.

3. Sarah’s go-to bit is a loose-ring double jointed lozenge snaffle: “I like everything to go in one of those”.

4. She has trained with Kyra Kyrklund and her husband Richard White since she was 19: “She’s the rider and trainer I respect most because of her talent in producing the goods even from horses thjat aren’t the most naturally talented.

5. Sarah has no sponsors: “I’ve always meant to, but I’m no good at putting myself out there to get any.”

6. She is fanatical about checking tack before mounting and even insists on all keepers being turned around the correct way.

7. She never mounts from the ground: “I’m not bendy enough and I don’t think it’s any good for the horses’ backs”.

8. Her favourite TV shows are The Voice, Silent Witness and CSI – though she often falls asleep in front of them.

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9. She is in the second term of the three-year World Class elite coaching programme, which aims to produce trainers capable of stepping in and helping combinations, quickly identifying the rider’s needs.

10. Sarah’s favourite food is steak, but she admits she is a lousy cook, and David is the boss in the kitchen.

11. She believes that as long as you can handle nerves, they are a good thing before a test: “If you’re not nervous, you’ve stopped caring enough“.

Don’t miss our Access All Areas feature from Sarah Millis’ West Sussex Base in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine out today (Thursday 19 February 2015)

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