From The Talland International School of Equitation
Tess Harwood riding Watteau
Tess Harwood, 14 years old this month
I have always loved horses and started riding on Saturday mornings at our local equestrian centre in Australia when I was 4 years old
My parents bought me my first pony when I was 7 years old and he was just 3. I still have Biscuit (Bellevue Blueberry) today and he is now training at Medium/Advanced Medium.
In Australia I entered my first dressage competition when I was 9 years old and competed up to Elementary on Biscuit and my second horse Ben, a pure bred Arabian. Together, Biscuit, Ben and I won a number of Novice and Elementary Championships.
My family and I moved to the UK at the end of August last year and I was fortunate enough to start training at Talland where I was able to ride their wonderful school horses and be trained by Pammy Hutton, Hillary Hughes, Charlie Hutton and other members of the Talland Team.
Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to train and compete on Don Perry, an amazing schoolmaster who has competed to Intermediate I and has even won Bronze at the European Championships.
After 3 months of training on Don Perry with coaching from Pammy Hutton and Hilary Hughes, I competed in my first Advanced Medium test at Abbey Dressage where we finished 2nd in both Open classes.
I now have a new competition horse called Watteau, a KWPN Warmblood by Rohdiamant & Jazz who is 7 years old. Pammy Hutton travelled with us to Germany and Holland in search of a new horse and we all fell in love with Watteau!
It is my goal to compete at Junior Internationals on Watteau and eventually become a successful Grand Prix Rider.
Having the opportunity to train at Talland under the guidance of Pammy Hutton, Hillary Hughes, Charlie Hutton and the Talland Team has given me the opportunity to live my dream.
