South-east brand ambassador Jessica Leroy reflects on her time as an Equo brand ambassador in her final blog:
I can’t believe that this is my last blog as an Equo Events Brand Ambassador. The last 10 months have been brilliant. We’ve achieved more things than I would have ever hoped to achieve and have done more things than we would have ever dreamed to do.
When it comes to pinpointing specific highlights, I’m not sure where to begin with these, there’s a lot! There are two highlights that really stand out in my mind though – first and foremost is obtaining a British Eventing regional final qualification for the Badminton Mitsubishi Motors cup following a 2nd place at Borde Hill horse trials. I never thought we’d get a top placing but it has just shown what hard work, determination and a little bit of luck on the day can do – now to qualify for the main event!
The second highlight would be qualifying both Smokey and Hektikos for the Dressage Championship at Cobham Manor in August, we’ve been vising Cobham Manor all throughout the winter and I was so excited to see that we’d qualified, our flatwork has improved so much and it’s so rewarding to be getting some good results.
Beyond the two main highlights there’s also been 101 little factors that have made the last 10 months with Equo unforgettable. Thanks to Equo we’ve been able to have regular dressage lessons at Eden EQ with Luke Baber-Davis and have been able to put what we’ve learnt into practice with regular trips to Cobham Manor.
Never did I think that we’d break the 70% barrier at Novice with Smokey and get very close to it with Hektikos at Prelim, never did I think I’d get a personal best dressage score out British Eventing, staying consistently under 33 and nearly hit a sub 30 (my ultimate aim!), never did I think I’d be pinging around 1m open showjumping tracks at Felbridge Showground and more importantly never did I think that Hektikos would ever leave the ground again and we would jump ‘the pony that doesn’t jump’!
With the help of Equo we’ve had to opportunity to visit new venues, one of those being Cobham Manor as well as regular trips to the lovely Eden EQ, similarly it’s great to see local smaller venues get on board such as Great Dunton Farm as well as large competition centres such as BCA and Felbridge Showground.
We’ve also had the chance to meet so many new people and make some great and lifelong friends along the way – big shout out to the other Equo Ambassadors and all the Equo team.
Though competitions, training and results are only a small part of being an Ambassador. The thing I have truly enjoyed the most is watching Equo grow and develop from virtually nothing to the largest online booking portal for equestrian events.
I remember the excitement and buzz when it first launched and having only one or two pages of venues and events across the whole of the UK to now being able to do something every weekend with Equo within a 25mile radius of the yard! It has also been hugely exciting watching Equo being nominated for various awards and really holding their own against some big household names such as ITV hub.
To sum up this journey is very tough, it’s been brilliant, so much fun and totally unforgettable.
But, one thing that is true is that in 10 months I’ve not had to hand write a single entry form, post a single entry envelope or buy a single stamp – I think that’s a momentous achievement in itself!
Jess x
If you’ve enjoyed this blog then don’t forget to catch up with the rest of Jessica’s story in her other brand ambassador blogs.
If Jessica has inspired you to get out and compete then be sure to search upcoming events near you at www.equoevents.com.