S P OT L I G H T
Dancing with Destano
A
ustralia’s Simone Pearce competed at her first Olympics last year in Tokyo. Her tests
were eagerly watched by dressage fans here at home, glued to the live broadcasts and keen to see how she faired. Unfortunately, things didn’t go entirely to plan, but isn’t that so often the way. In the equestrian world, setbacks are
Current holder of all three Australian Grand Prix records, Simone Pearce is a force to be reckoned with, writes KIRSTY PASTO.
unavoidable. Just ask any athlete who competes in any discipline at a professional level and they’ll confirm! However, the trick to overcoming disappointments is to possess an equal measure of perseverance and resilience, which the 30-year-old farm girl from Echuca in rural Victoria, has in spades. There’s not a time Simone can recall when horses weren’t a part of her life. “My parents are both into horses, so I
My parents are both into horses, so I was born in the saddle. was born in the saddle," she explains. However, like many other Australian youngsters who grew up with a passion for horses, she often found herself at auction yards in search of an affordable prospect to bring on. “I remember going to the Echuca sales as a kid, and we bought some off the track racehorses to see if they could jump. I grew up riding every breed you could imagine, in every discipline you can think of. I tried everything,” she reminisces. So if you’re thinking that rising through the dressage ranks requires a financially secure or otherwise privileged background, Simone proves this is not the case. But it was the time Simone spent developing her riding and training skills on any horse that happened to come along that has stood her in remarkably good stead. “My speciality here in 10 | E Q U E S T R I A N H U B I S S U E 4 • 2 0 2 2
