British showjumper Antonia Platt makes her World Cup debut

British showjumper Antonia Platt and Marvin Van De Waterhoeve in action in the World Cup leg of Verona — British showjumper Antonia Platt and Marvin Van De Waterhoeve in action in the Longines FEI World Cup of Verona.

(Image credit: credit unknown)

“This is what I’ve been dreaming of,” says young British showjumper Antonia Platt, who has just returned from making her five-star debut at the prestigious Jumping Verona show in Italy.

Not only did the 22-year-old rising star line up against the likes of world number one Henrik von Eckermann and European champion Steve Guerdat for some top tier competitions, but she qualified for her first ever World Cup class, coming home with a very creditable 12 faults on horse of a lifetime Marvin Van De Waterhoeve.

“We’ve had him since he was nine and I’ve always said he’s a five-star horse, but I’m not that experienced – we don’t really have enough horsepower to get the ranking points, so I haven’t really had these kind of opportunities up to now,” explains Antonia. “It’s taken time to get to this point, even though I’ve grabbed every opportunity available to me. But I’ve always believed in him.

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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.

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Antonia Platt: “A learning curve for both of us”

Antonia says of Marvin: “He has the odd quirk, but we have a very special bond.

“He’s incredibly special to us. It was a learning curve for both of us and he made a few green mistakes in the World Cup, but at the start of the year I said to my mum that I wanted to jump a World Cup qualifier, but I never imagined I would qualify for a World Cup at my first five-star.”

“I’d love to get to some more of these big shows now – it’s literally what I dream of,” says Antonia, who was previously on young rider teams. “Marvin has been amazing though.

“We’ve got a few younger horses, but like everyone we’re just really desperate for some more horsepower. But I’ll focus on the young ones over the winter and take them to MET in January.”

“Right now, this is beyond my wildest dreams – I’ve always believed I could do it, but for it all to come to reality so soon is just amazing.”

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