SKYE McCoullough is just 15 years-old, but her dedication to Equestrian Eventing has her competing against senior athletes across the nation. Most notably, Skye competes at events that riders such as Shane Rose a three-time medallist and three-time Olympian are entering. Skye said "eventing is one of a few sports where juniors and seniors will get to compete against each other." "When Olympic riders are developing young horses through the lower grades I get an opportunity to mix with the best." Brushing shoulders with high profile athletes is just reward for the hours of time Skye puts into her horses Absolute Crush, and Royal Reggie at her family property in Kalkite. The young athlete wakes up at dawn to train one horse before going to school and coming home to immediately train her second horse. This is a six day a week schedule which sees her travel all around the country on her weekends. Skye’s horses follow a fitness program to prepare them for the season which includes, muscle strength, conditioning, and coordination as well as 'wind' fitness and cardiovascular capacity she said. “As a rider, we also need to be fit, with good core strength to sustain a correct, balanced position over fences” Skye said. Skye has been riding since she was 9yo and was also diagnosed with type one diabetes (TD1) at 9 years old but says it's just another level of management. "T1D is a huge part of my life that requires constant management and offers additional challenges," she said. “T1D never stops, it is a constant challenge to balance T1D with everything life throws at you, like school, sport, mental health, sleep, food and exercise, and training my horses." Skye is currently competing two horses, Reggie (Royal Reggie) and Solly (Absolut Crush) both of which are 'off the track' (ex-race horse) thoroughbreds that she has trained along and are currently competing at CCI 1 star level. Skye has goals to move up the levels and eventually represent Australia at an International level. I love thoroughbreds Skye said. "Although they were bred for racing, their intelligence and trainability make them perfect for adopting to the challenges and different phases of Eventing. Trust is one trait required to get them over distracting obstacles and jumps that are purpose designed to be distracting and challenging, Skye’s mother Sally McCoullough said. There are no hard or fast rules about how long it takes to progress on a particular horse Skye said. “It can take up to a year to get a good relationship with a horse, it all depends on the horse and rider combination and how they suit each other. If a horse doesn’t trust you, it will be a little bit backed off, it may even stop," Skye said. Jindabyne High School is supportive of her ambitions when travelling to events, for example on a Friday Eventing counts towards her normal sports day at school. Skye is lucky to train with local Equestrian Australia Level 2 Eventing specialist coach, Merran Wallis. Merran has over 30 years experience competing and coaching up to International level and has a wealth of experience that she passes on to her students. Skye spends every spare moment either riding or as a working student at Merran’s facility, always looking to improve her skills as a rider and absorb all the knowledge and expertise that Merran has to offer. Sally said some riders train just for show jumping for example, that’s all they do, Skye trains for each discipline individually. Skye is still a junior rider and she requires exemptions for being under 18 when competing open senior’s competitions.” The 2024 Eventing season starts in two weeks time with the Sydney Eventing Autumn Classic at Sydney International Equestrian Centre, followed by National Capital Horse Trials held in Canberra which Skye is planning to compete in.
