Charlotte Philips - Dressage
Background:
"It has been quite a journey thus far - from starting at Pony Club at age 8 to now riding Grand Prix Dressage at age 19, and having my name among those who have represented our country at the Olympics. I have loved every single moment of my equestrian career so far, and regardless of where it takes me……I’m along for the ride!
Although I grew up competing mostly in show riding and in the Arabian show scene, dressage is certainly where I am supposed to be. I love the challenge of doing something correctly, and really don’t mind someone judging me on it! I know there’s always going to be an element of personal preference in any type of equestrian judging, however, that’s part and parcel of the sport –and I take it in my stride. Dressage is challenging to me at whatever level it is that I’m riding…whether that’s Prep on a young horse, or Grand Prix – as long as I’m riding and competing, I’m in my happy space.
I am fortunate to compete at the highest level of two fabulous Warmblood horses - one (CP Dresden) owned by Jane Bruce of Neversfelde Stud (who I compete at Grand Prix level), and the other (Revelwood Quidam) owned by myself (who is just at Novice level as he’s a baby). I regularly compete on CP Dresden now that COVID has enabled competitions to start up again - with my most recent competitions being Willinga Park Dressage By The Sea and the Sydney CDI-Lite. My results were better than I thought they would be at the start of this new partnership. I placed in the top 6 in the Open Grand Prix and the Freestyle at Willinga Park, and won the u/25 Grand Prix at the CDI Lite. It's one of those things that I know will live with me forever. I was lucky to get quite a few articles written about me during this time, so I've kept those in the drawer for when I'm old and I can show people that I actually did some amazing things when I was young!
I am always off competing, but I can only do this due to juggling the rest of my life around it. I work for PB Dressage in Berry as a stable hand, I am studying my Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) via correspondence, and ride six days per week. I have a very supportive family, and am also fortunate that I have an extremely supportive crew of like-minded people around me – but it still takes lots of work and time. I wouldn’t swap it for the world though.
I have recently been invited to join the Dressage NSW Young Rider Performance Squad, which means that I will have the opportunity to attend invitation-only coaching clinics with the best in the business, which will do a lot for my continuing education as an equestrian rider. I am still a member of my local pony club (Shoalhaven), and time permitting, attend hacking/showing events with my young horses for some socialising. I really enjoy catching up with all of the friends I have made over the last decade – as equestrian sports can be quite insular. I have also begun my dressage judge qualifications, and regularly judge at local events (both hacking and dressage) to ensure that I give back to those events that have always helped me out.
Being the Dressage sponsored rider for Illawarra Equine Centre is something I am quite excited about. I adore horses, thoroughly enjoy anything within the local equestrian community, and have such a great relationship with the amazing vets employed at IEC. We’ve had many emergency 4am visits in the last eight years we have lived in the area – and they always arrive with welcoming, calming presence. I hope to be just as positive as your ambassador, and look forward to keeping everyone up to date with my competition results, my training sessions and everything else that I get up to with my Equestrian partners Des, Que and Russell.
December 2021 Sugarloaf Cobbity Equestrian Club
Just before Christmas 2021, Charlotte competed at Sugarloaf Cobbity Equestrian Club.
This was her first competition in months due to the Covid lockdowns. Charlotte had a fantastic event and finished in second place with overall 63% which she was very happy given it was the first competition in a long while.
January 2022 - ACT Dressage Club
Another very successful outing for Charlotte and CP Dresden (Desi), at the ACT Dressage with their best results yet in the Grand Prix.
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They ended the day with 68.09% which is a great score to achieve at this level of competition.
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Charlotte reported that ACT Dressage Club put on a great competition and it was a fantastic day particularly after having to cancel her Victoria trip, when she caught the covid bug.
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The next event for Charlotte will be Clarendon Dressage, where hopefully she will get to improve on her scores yet again.
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Good luck Charlotte and Desi!!