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Growing up in Australia, an elite Pony Club member and more – 7 things you might not know about the new under-25 national champion

Pippa Roome Pippa Roome

    • Greta Mason sprang to prominence when she won the national title in the British Horse Feeds under-25 class at Bramham Horse Trials last month.

    Here are a few things you may not know about Greta and her partner at Bramham, Cooley For Sure…

    1. Greta turns 25 next week, on 13 July 2022, so this year was her first and last time competing in the age-restricted class at Bramham.

    2. She was born in Australia and lived there for the first eight years of her life.

    “My family are English but Mum originally moved to Australia for work, really liked it and ended up staying longer, but the plan was always to move back,” she says in an interview on this week’s Horse & Hound Podcast, supported by British Horse Feeds.

    3. Greta was a member of the Burghley branch of the Pony Club. She did quite a bit of teaching for the branch as well as all the normal Pony Club activities and is in the elite group of ex-Pony Clubbers who hold the A test.

    4. Cooley For Sure – known as Murphy, because he’s Irish – was originally bought for her twin brother Silas, who evented him for a season at BE100 level.

    “When he decided he needed to study and focus on exams for university, I took over the ride,” she says. “Murphy is a massive part of our family and he is a character. He’s always been very keen, but has become easier in his older age. He’s very Irish and used to be a bit of a tank and like charging everywhere at 100 miles an hour. He’s always been a really nice horse to have around and he’s never been difficult, but he’s sharp enough, hence why dressage has always been our weakest phase and has taken time. It’s nice that training is paying off.”

    5. Greta Mason says she was “was never particularly academic” growing up and would be riding when she was meant to be revising, so she didn’t want to go to university and always had her sights on a career in horses. She has been based with Rodney Powell and Alex Franklin for two years.

    6. She works alongside her boyfriend, Matt Buckland, who has his horses in the same block of horses at the yard.

    “He does quite a lot of showjumping and is really good with young horses – he does quite a lot of breakers [backing horses for the first time],” she says. “It works well having him about and we work as a team.”

    7. Greta Mason plans to put herself forward for the Nations Cup at Ballindenisk in September, which would be her Nations Cup debut, and then aim for Pau Horse Trials as her first five-star at the end of the year.

    Hear more about Greta’s week at Bramham by tuning in to episode 110 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

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    Pippa Roome
    Pippa Roome

    H&H magazine editor and eventing editor
    Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
    Pippa Roome

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