4 minute read
Delivering Dreams
DELIVERING DREAMS
We have exciting news
There’s always plenty going on over at Delivering Dreams HQ, and we have exciting announcement.
There’s a lot to be said for mentors. A mentor is someone who can advise and guide you, and draw on their personal experience to help you to improve and take another step towards achieving your dreams. Many well-known identities who have reached the top in all walks of life, from entertainment to industry, and from the business world to the sporting arena, credit the role of mentors in helping them along their path.
So, what better fit for the Delivering Dreams program than to be able to offer a lucky winner mentorship from an elite equestrian. Fiona Todd, General Manager of the Equestrian Hub, is absolutely delighted with this innovative addition to the program. “The support of some of Australia’s best known and loved equestrian athletes has made this ground-breaking scheme possible. We are all absolutely thrilled that our dream of launching this level of support has finally been realised. It’s been in the planning stages for quite some time, so we’re very excited it’s here and cannot thank our mentors enough for their generosity and participation.”
The Delivering Dreams mentors are not only athletes made great through their own performances and achievements, they’re also role models with a genuine desire to support the next generation of riders and to help them reach their full potential.
Although we will be adding to the list over the coming months, we’re proud to announce that we can now offer mentorship from show jumpers Vicki Roycroft, David Finch, Mattea Davidson, Shane Davidson and Charlie Brister; dressage greats Heather Currie and David Shoebridge; eventers Jade Findlay and Emma Mason; Alannah Richards from the show ring; and from the pen, champion reiner Mick Taylor. Previous Delivering Dreams winner Jamie Hocking represents the world of vaulting, and our very own show jumping and confidence coach Christine Armishaw rounds out this comprehensive list of talented equestrians.
We’ll be announcing more details about this exciting program over the coming weeks, so be sure to stay up to date.
For more on our wonderful mentors, visit equestrianhub.com.au/deliveringdreams-scholarship/mentors.
TOP LEFT: Dressage great David Shoobridge (Image by Jessica Atkins Studio). TOP RIGHT: Vicki Roycroft, one of Australia’s best known equestrian athletes (Image by Stephen Mowbray). ABOVE: Eventer Emma Mason and Marcus (Image courtesy Equestrian Australia).
DELIVERING DREAMS
Update with Emma
It would seem our 2021 Delivering Dreams winner has been pretty busy since we last spoke to her.
Now she’s had a chance to settle into her Delivering Dreams win, we thought we’d catch up with Emma Hulse for an update on how she’s travelling. She’s certainly not one to let the grass grow under her feet, and has settled into a regular training schedule with her Warmblood x Thoroughbred Eagle Elms Fiderstar (Fiddy for short). “Winning Delivering Dreams gave me the push I needed to get back into riding after a ten week holiday. Now I try to get into the saddle up to five times a week. We jump once a week and I love doing simple pole work. I find setting up two poles and doing stride adjustments really helpful for my show jumping. On the other days I focus on flatwork and keeping Fiddy relaxed as he can get quite anxious if he gets things wrong.” Building a bond with Fiddy is something that Emma has very wisely worked on. “I found he was difficult to bring back into work after two years off with his former owners. He was flighty, nappy and anxious, but we took things slowly and I spent a lot of time with him before and after riding to develop our bond. We’re definitely besties now though,” she says with a chuckle, “whenever he gets frightened he puts his chin on my shoulder. It’s very cute!”
With the competition season in mind, Emma has been focussing on 95cm eventing classes, while keeping 105cm in her sights. She's keen to keep their training consistent so they can achieve the results needed to progress through the grades. “I’d be absolutely thrilled to complete a 1* eventing class, it’s something I’ve aspired to for a while now, so I’m looking at getting some solid training in with my coaches.”
It turns out that Emma is a great one for planning, marking out events she’d like to enter on her calendar, and then, with the approval of her coaches, working out a schedule that allows her to progress through the year without too much pressure. “It doesn’t always go to plan,” she adds, “but it’s good to start somewhere.”
With her strategy on keeping things fun and building Fiddy’s confidence, Emma has a very healthy outlook: “There’s plenty of time to kick all the goals, but you never want to lose the balance of fun and work.” We couldn’t agree more.
