Emily Collins

Emily Collins and Taj

Hi, my name is Emily Collins and I'm 15. I first started riding at John Road Barn in Sidney B.C when I was 10 years old, on an old horse named Bob. I rode him for a while and then my confidence grew and I started to lease a pony named Sophie. I had so much fun with Sophie and although she wasn't always very well behaved I learned a lot and got completely hooked on riding. I rode her for just over a year and then as I realized that I was soon going to outgrow her I started saving money to buy my own horse. I finally bought Maartje (Taj) a month before my 13th birthday. She is a 15.2hh Canadian Warmblood, and when I bought her she was 8 years old, and being used as a broodmare. For a year I just trail rode and occasionally went to jumper shows, but never really expected much of her. I went in one dressage show and scored a 70%, although Taj jumped out of the ring. ( it was only a schooling show so the judge let me jump back in and finish my test).

My coach, Xan Griffith, really got me into dressage, and I started showing and training consistently in the winter of 2003. For my first year I rode training level and I only went to 2 shows. I won Overall Junior High Point and Champion Training Level at the 2004 Capital City Classic in Victoria, as well as Training Level Champion and PaRC Overall Champion (10-14) at the Rising Stars Show in 2004. I also won the Victoria-Saanich CADORA Junior High Point and Training Level Champion with an average of 71.36% at the end of the year, and a $500 scholarship from V-S CADORA. I trained all winter and moved up to FEI Juniors this year. It was a big jump for both me and my horse and I also had to get a part-time job to support my riding. I plan to show at this level for the rest of this year, and next year as well. I would like to show FEI Young Riders within the next few years, and eventually make it to Grand Prix with Taj