Sophia Hill claims podium at Adelaide equestrian tournament

MANSFIELD'S Sophia Hill was nine years old when she begged her parents for a pony. "As long as I can remember I've always been pretty horse crazy," she laughed. "My first pony was called Little Sally and I used to spend all my time riding around on my grandparent's farm without any lessons. "I always loved going fast and learning as I went." Sophia and her 11–year old thoroughbred Humble Glory, nicknamed Hughie, recently debuted at the Adelaide Five Star Equestrian tournament. Up to 25,000 spectators gathered in Adelaide's Victoria Park across three days to watch Australian and New Zealander riders compete in a difficult and highly complex track. The tournament is comprised of three phases – dressage, cross–country and showjumping – with riders competing for the lowest penalty score. Any course incidents including refusals are penalised and falls result in elimination. "The five star event is sort of like a triathlon, you need to be quite well–rounded for all three disciplines," Sophia explained. "Cross country on the second day is certainly the biggest and toughest test for the horse. "The course is 11 minutes long and we're travelling at 507 meters per minute with about 30 jumps. "So it really tests their [the horse's] bravery and boldness." After a grueling three days, Hughie claimed third place on the podium, a feat Sophia said "still hasn't quite sunk in". "I was actually the only competitor in Adelaide to jump double clear – meaning I didn't get any penalties in the jumping phases," she said. "Competing at a five star event has been a life–long dream of mine and it's something Hughie and I have worked towards for six years." For Sophia, the partnership between a rider and their horse "was everything". "You can't just hop on any horse and achieve a result, there's years of training," she explained. When Hughie arrived in a stock crate outside Sophia's property in 2017, she "didn't see anything special in him on looks alone". "As I started to work with him I noticed his trainable nature," she said. "He was a really clean jumper and he was incredibly brave." Sophia recently won three events at the Tonimbuk International Horse Trials and triumphed at the EV Summer Horse Trials. When she's not competing in national equestrian tournaments, Sophia devotes her time to training fellow riders and horses. Her Mansfield–based coaching practice specialises in performance and helps riders improve their technique and connect with their horse. In the future, Sophia would love to travel overseas with Hughie and compete in other international five star events. "It would be amazing to go and compete at Badminton or Burghley," she said. "Let's wait and see."