Flying the flag for Scotland in tremendous style is rising star young showjumper Fraser Reed.
The 23-year-old horseman has enjoyed plenty of success through ponies and into senior ranks but 2024 has been a year of exciting new opportunities and the talented young rider is grasping every chance he can.
Fraser joined the East Sussex yard of Matt Pike earlier this year, where he joined his friend and fellow Scottish showjumper Sandy McLean, and he qualified for the prestigious evoke under-25 British championship at the London International with his top horse Westbank Rio.
“Getting that qualification was really good,” says Fraser, who jumped round for just eight faults in the final last year with the same horse, owned by his mother Aileen.
Fraser qualified this time around at Morris Equestrian Centre, near Kilmarnock, after sharing the spoils with another brilliant young Scot, Emma Crawford (Dukes Of Hazzard).
“I missed the first qualifier, then I was there or thereabouts at the second, so I thought I might as well go for it at my third!” he says. “Rio also won the qualifier last year at Arena UK. I jumped at Olympia on ponies, too, but the under-25 British Championship is a great class to jump at an amazing show.”
Fraser Reed: born and bred in Fife
Showjumper Fraser Reed was born and grew up near St Andrews in Scotland, where his mother is a riding school instructor.
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He started competing on ponies at the age of seven, qualifying for all the prestigious finals including Horse of the Year Show. At the age of 16, he and his pony Harry were part of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning team at the pony European Showjumping Championships in 2017.
A couple of years ago he left Fife and joined Irish showjumper Richard Howley at his base in Yorkshire for two years.
“My time at HK Horses with Richard and Morgan was my education really,” he says. “It’s where I learnt the trade, how to work the horses, how to get them prepared for the day. It was a really good place to learn and I value that so much. I really like his programme and the way he rides.”
Fraser is now based with Matt Pike, where he “can get stuck in”, building on all the foundations he’s laid.
“I did ponies with Sandy McLean, so I grew up with him, and he phoned me in the summer saying he needed a hand on the yard with Matt because they had plenty of horses to ride,” explains Fraser. “There’s two really promising five-year-olds and a few six-year-olds, then we’ve a seven-year-old called Bingo 55 who is jumping the 1.40m classes and Matt’s given him to me to run for a bit.
“We have so many lovely horses here, coming in and out all the time, but Matt is also striving for a better string of horses to stay in the yard – whether that’s one or two of the nicer five-year-olds or an older grand prix horse.”
“Westbank Rio and I have learnt together: he’s amazing”
Fraser describes his long-term ride Westbank Rio, an 11-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Riverland Roi x Douglas as his “faithful old partner”. They qualified for both the Grade C and Foxhunter finals at last year’s Horse of the Year Show and have stepped up consistently to international classes and the bigger tracks at home this year.
“I’ve had him for three and a half years now and we’ve learnt together. He’ll forgive me after a bad round and he’ll also help me out of a few bad places!” says Fraser. “He’s very careful, he has all the jump and he does a lot of clear rounds. He’s jumped clear in all these grands prix and four or five ranking classes this year. He’s been amazing for the start of my career.”
As for future ambitions, Fraser is maintaining a level head.
“We’ll head to Europe at the start of 2025 possibly to try to get a tour or two in, and try to pick up some good placings in the rankings classes then we’ll see where we are after that,” he says.
“I’d love to get on a three-star Nations Cup team next year if I still have Rio. That would be a great goal to work towards and would be a fantastic highlight if we could get there.”
It’s a marvellous era for young Scottish riders, with the likes of double Olympic gold medallist Scott Brash for the next generation to look up to and be inspired by.
“Scott and Richard Howley have been great role models for me to try to mould myself around,” says Fraser.
You can’t do better than that and showjumper Fraser Reed is definitely an exciting young talent who is really going places; keep him on your radar in 2025.
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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.
