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Hi everyone! I’m Danni Fisher, I’m a 17 year old event rider from the South East. I’ve been riding since before I could walk and quite frankly don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t ride!
Picture credit: Ultimate images
Above is my horse Oscar (Storm Force III), he is a 7-year-old TB X ISH, but acts about 4! He behaves like a toddler who wants to play with everyone and everything and is permanently looking for trouble; picking me up by my coat; chasing his poor field mate, Basil, around and jumping out of his field. We bought him as a big gangly 5-year-old unseen from Ireland and yes, this was a bit risky but we watched all the videos of him and just fell in love. Luckily, this risk paid off, as he has turned out to be one hell of a horse!
For our first season together, we competed at BE90 and 100 and show jumped up to 1.10m, showing a lot of potential. However, Oscar does not have the cleanest of show jumping records, with poles flying left, right and centre! We had been working really hard on his show jumping and he was making great progress until his injury last May when he fractured the tuber coxae in his pelvis; caused by flying round his field at high speed and crashing into the wooden fence. After 6 weeks box rest (probably the longest 6 weeks of my life… he was NOT a good patient!) and then 6 months field rest, his rehab began with 1 month of in-hand work, 1 month of trotting and lots of pole work to help his strength. We have just started a month of cantering and if he continues to behave we will be able to jump a cross-pole early next month! Fingers crossed I will have him back out eventing in May/June time!
Picture credit: Ellie Osborne Photography
This is Sid (Sidney Rebel), he is a 14-year-old ISH who actually belongs to my mum and we’ve had him for 10 years. Sid is a mix between a fit, young energetic teenager, a diva and a grumpy old man, he is such a character! I’ve been fortunate enough to event him throughout the 2020 season and will continue to for the 2021 season. Sid is quite frankly a god in horse form! He has a 100% clean cross-country record; he’s been a blood donor at Liphook Equine Hospital for a mare with colic and he went to the Badminton Grassroots Championship 2019 with my mum. I’ve been competing him at BE100 and BE100OU18s and we had a great 2020 season with 5/6 top ten placings and 2 regional final tickets. Our aim for the 2021 season is to get out to as many events as we can and hopefully be selected for the BEu18 National Championships for team South East and to step up to Novice. We will be focusing really hard on our dressage over the winter and well, lockdown 3.0, so we can really nail it for the coming season!!
Picture credit: Ellie Osborne Photography
I plan to use the 2021 bursary training budget to help improve mine and Sid’s dressage for the season, to hopefully get more sub-30 scores. I will also take Sid show jumping with my trainer, Justin Clubley, to see if we can get more consistent clear rounds as adrenaline tends to get the better of me sometimes and we occasionally have one of the last fences down! When Oscar is back in full work, I will use the funding to help his show jumping as well, so that he can improve his overall jumping method and help us get better adjustability in his canter.
I’m really looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store for us, after a great start with the news of winning this bursary! (Another big thank you to the team at HorseQuest!)
Hope you all enjoy following us on our journey!
So you guys can get to know me a little bit better, here are ten questions I have answered from the team at HQ:
1. Last song you listened to?
I Want to Break Free - Queen!
2. Favourite pizza topping?
I know it is basic but definitely Pepperoni.
3. If you could ride any horse, who would it be and why?
I think it would have to be Laura Collett’s, London 52. I mean he’s just awesome isn’t he! He is so beautiful and just looks so incredible to ride!
4. Tell us your best joke?
Teacher: Give me a sentence using the words defense, defeat, and detail.
Student: When a horse jumps over de-fence, de-feet goes before de-tail.
5. Favourite holiday destination?
I think Meganisi in Greece.
6. Rider you aspire to be like…
It’s got to be Christopher Burton, he is so quiet in his movement and aids, making everything look so effortless, and he’s got such a lovely bond with his horses.
7. Favourite film?
One of them has to be Chalet Girl. Such a feel-good film!
8. Least favourite food?
Tuna!
9. Most interesting fact about you…
Well, I was born with extra bone in my toe!
10. What three items would you take to a desert island?
Definitely Vaseline, chocolate, and fluffy socks. I know I’d get hot, but you can’t beat a pair of fluffy socks!
And finally, you can watch Danni's application video here:
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