‘I’d love to win the gold I was so close to this time’ – riders to watch in 2023

Phoebe Hughes hit the headlines in 2022 when she led the dressage at the young rider European Championships, finishing fifth after a few time-faults across country and a pole down in the final phase put paid to her gold medal hopes.

“It was my first year in young riders and I was honestly not expecting it,” says the 19-year-old. “I’d love to be re-selected and come out with the gold I was so close to this time. I’m still young and learning and I’ve got two more years to get back to the top of the leaderboard.”

The rider is based with British five-star rider Hector Payne and his girlfriend, Norwegian rider Yasmin Olsson Sanderson, five minutes from her parents’ home near Andover.

“I’ve just started university, so I know while I’m away the horses are looked after really well by Hector, Yas and the team at the yard,” says Phoebe, who is studying sociology at Exeter. “Yas came to the Euros and helped me with everything – we joke that she’s my babysitter.

“Every step up to the next level is an unknown quantity so that’s where Hector and Yas come in. I’ve been there four seasons and they’ve been a huge part of it all, including introducing me to Ian Woodhead, who’s been a massive part of my flatwork.

“Exeter is a two-hour drive from the yard and I’ve only spent one full week at uni this term – horses definitely come first, though my father might not like that! I’m doing uni as a back-up. I would love to make a career out of eventing, but it’s a tough world to be in. Also I’m very clumsy and prone to getting injured, so I’d hate to get an injury that would stop me riding and be left in the dark.”

Phoebe Hughes is not from a horsey family, but the Hughes moved to the countryside just before she was born and “my parents got sucked in by parents who’d lived here all their lives”.

“I have three older sisters and my parents hoped we’d all stop riding at 16, but they couldn’t get horses away from me,” she says. “I’m very fortunate that my grandfather now owns both my horses – he invested after my granny passed away a couple of years ago and he knows more about British Eventing than I do! I get random emails from him about it every week and he loves it as something to do.”

Phoebe’s grandfather George Brooks currently owns her young rider horse Top Biats and her second horse Fabris. Phoebe won the junior CCI2*-L at Belsay in 2021 on Fabris, but passed the ride over to Yas for 2022 – resulting in an intermediate win, a second at CCI2*-S and a step up to advanced – so she could focus on Top and her studies.

As well as Hector and Yas, Phoebe names Lucinda Fredericks as a helpful influence on her eventing career.

“I’m great friends with [Lucinda’s daughter] Ellie and Lucinda has been a great mentor for my mum, Camilla,” says Phoebe. “We went up to Burgham with them for my first international in 2020 and Lucinda held my mum’s hand.”

Phoebe Hughes: ‘I fell in love with this horse’

Phoebe’s young rider horse, Top Biats, was bred by Phillipe Brivois, who is best known for breeding William Fox-Pitt’s five-star winner Oslo (whose Biats suffix was removed during his career) and Kitty King’s European team gold medallist Vendredi Biats. “Top” started his eventing career with William, winning Barbury CIC2* (now CCI3*-S) in 2014, then moved to Hector, with whom he won at the same level at Nunney in 2018. He became Phoebe’s ride at the end of 2020.

“I stole him off Hector,” smiles Phoebe. “I wasn’t looking for another horse but I fell in love with Top watching Hector ride him when I was training with them at Rosamund Green. I was obsessed with him. When we were up at Burgham Mum happened to ask how much he was and it went from there. I tried him the next day, he was vetted two weeks later and before I knew it, he was mine. I couldn’t be more grateful to my grandfather for investing in him.

“He adores attention and cuddles and is the dopiest horse on the ground – you can leave him standing with the door open and he’d never leave you. He’s so much fun to ride – anyone who hates dressage would love it on him. There’s nothing boring about it and you can learn new tricks every single day.

“He has huge amounts of scope and a huge stride, and that makes him tricky across country. There are points where I think I’m going to fit in two strides instead of three so it’s a learning curve for me to make him more economical without having to take such a while to bring him back.”

The pair won the youth CCI2*-L at Bishop Burton in 2021 and stepped up to three-star in 2022.

Phoebe Hughes explains: “Last season it fell into place when we went to our second three-star at Kelsall Hill and won – I was really just going to get my last minimum eligibility result for Houghton three-star long. I didn’t even wear a watch across country and came in bang on the optimum time.”

The rider explains that she hadn’t suffered from nerves until the Europeans when she went into the showjumping in the individual gold medal position.

“I’ve always been level-headed and not affected by pressure, but that changed when I realised the extreme pressure of the Europeans and we had a pole,” she says. “We only had four poles the whole season so it’s not bad, but it’s not my best phase and we’re going to work on it.

“Top went on his holidays straight after the Europeans so he was back in full work for the start of the Christmas holidays, ready to do a lot of training and British Showjumping.”

You might also be interested in:

‘It was like he’d already read the book’: William Fox-Pitt pays tribute to five-star winner put down aged 20

Vendredi Biats – from a ‘disappointing’ first viewing to triple medallist with Kitty King

Why a pat on the neck isn’t what your horse would choose and how to use rewards effectively in training

Top eventing stars to move to new yard in 2023: ‘It’s exciting but daunting’

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