‘They have to fall in love with the basics’: how to set young riders up for success discussed at FEI Sports Forum

How to support and develop young riders to set them up for success in future was debated by top coaches and rising stars at the FEI Sports Forum (30–31 March).

Youth athletes accounted for almost half (49.99%, 21,375) all FEI registrations in 2025, of which 74.1% were female. FEI data from a snapshot survey also shows the average age that former youth champions (who won a title between 2013 and 2015) stopped competing internationally is 22 years old, but that most (62%) are still in the equestrian industry and 75% would be interested in competing at FEI level again.

The FEI invited 20 up-and-coming riders to take part in the 2026 sports forum and also had two panels, covering subjects including coaching, support structures, access to horses and shows and the double-edged sword of social media.

Corinne Bracken, performance manager of the Hong Kong Jockey Club who trained British youth squads for many years, spoke about the importance of treating each rider as an individual, and why she loves cross-discipline training.

“As you go on in your career as a youth athlete, if you’re jumping fences, you have to know about dressage. If you’re riding in balance as a dressage rider, it’s really good to ride over poles on the floor, because you understand the different way a horse moves,” she said.

“So I think the disciplines are completely interactive and when you specialise somebody in one sport too early, they don’t realise the benefit all those other things can bring to their total knowledge. I try to keep riders as broad-spectrum as possible. Even taking an older athlete to do a second discipline – a very successful showjumper – giving him a second discipline has improved his showjumping.”

She was asked about how she goes about engaging young people with the theory side of horsemanship, while also fuelling their desire to be in the saddle.

Mrs Bracken encouraged the industry to ensure the best coaches are working with youth and said how critical it is to grab their attention.
“They have to fall in love with the basics of the sport, and by falling in love with the basics, that will be the basis, the foundation, for the rest of their lives. But that’s the coach’s responsibility and it’s a huge responsibility,” she said.

Medal-winning British showjumper Joe Stockdale spoke of the importance of mentorship and having a support system.

“You can get coached all you want and you can understand how to ride and how to jump, but there’s so much more behind the scenes that when you first start out, you have no idea what to do,” he said, giving examples such as entering international shows, travel post-Brexit and management of the horses.

“You can’t be one-dimensional and just be a good rider nowadays. You need to tick so many boxes to just survive and keep your business alive.”

Hallye Griffin, director of FEI sport at US Equestrian, spoke about the ethos the national federation has on its pathway programmes.

“We know that not everyone’s going to make it to the elite levels, and it’s OK if they’re not all going to make it to a podium. They don’t all become members of medal-winning teams. What’s most important is that we’re developing good horsemen,” she said.

FEI secretary general Sabrina Ibáñez said it was a “source of pride” to see young people contributing on every topic at the forum, their knowledge and their enthusiasm.

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