Isobel Knight is a twenty-year-old dressage rider based in West Sussex at Knights Dressage, the family owned dressage yard which she runs alongside her mum and sister. Isobel has competed through ponies, juniors, and is currently competing at young riders with her main horse Finero, as well as Prix St George and Inter 1. Hard working Isobel describes each day as busy and full on with a yard of twenty plus plus horses and says “I love nothing more than a super busy day in the yard around all the horses. I typically start the yard around 5am each morning as I love the quiet time in the yard with just the horses and couldn’t think of any other way to spend each day than doing something I love and being lucky enough to call it my job”.
How did you come to know Finero?
Isobel and Finero (Felix) at Myerscough Premier League
Finero (Felix) is a relatively new horse for me who I began riding last October, so it has been great fun getting to know him over the winter and I am very grateful to his amazing owners Angela & Dan for the opportunity. He’s such a cool horse who is always so willing to please and try hard for you! I have also been competing my mare Alivia for the past few years at Juniors and Young Riders. Livy is very special to me as she has helped me gain lots of experience and taught me a lot of the higher-level work and will now be stepping down and enjoying an easier life with us. I love being able to ride such a variety of horses each day from younger horses to advanced horses to help enable me to gain as much experience and learn as much as possible.
Tell us about Knights Dressage
Knights Dressage is our family run competition yard based in Loxwood in West Sussex on our own 95 acre farm. I help run this alongside my Mum Wendy and sister Alice. We offer full, training, competition and sales livery. We try to keep all our livery packages bespoke to suit each horse and owner. Alice and I are very lucky that our parents bought the farm 2 years ago for us to set the yard up together and have subsequently built all new facilities to enable us to do so.
How did horses come into your life?
Isobel with Finero at Wellington where the pair scored 72% in the Prix St George
Horses have always been a massive part of my life as I have always grown up around them. My Mum is very experienced having ridden her whole life so it was very normal for me to start riding at a very young age. Mum’s background with horses has always been jumping based and she has also owned a lot of jumping horses too so it was probably quite unusual for both Alice and I to take up dressage! Ever since I was really young I was always mesmerised by dressage and the idea of training horses to have the connection and understanding that they have in order to perform the movements in the arena. And I was never very good when it came to leaving the ground anyway so I think naturally I was just drawn to dressage!
Who has helped with your training?
I have had lots of training from many different trainers over the years and I think there’s always so much advice to be taken away from each trainer but currently I am really enjoying working things out for myself a bit more and trying to learn as much as possible by riding lots of different horses. Obviously, I do find training really beneficial, but I also think one of the best ways to learn is by riding all different types of horses and learning to adjust to riding them in a way that suits them best
What are your future aspirations?
I want to continue to grow as a professional dressage rider and keep building and expanding our business Knights Dressage. My aim is to continue competing at Young Riders this year, as it’s my final year and then to move up to U25 Grand Prix ready for next year as well as keep working hard to improve myself as a rider. Also, I want to focus on training and producing young horses up the levels and over time keep building up a good team of horses and owners.
What have been some highlights?
Isobel and Alivia at Hartpury Premier League in the Young Riders
There have been quite a few highlights to date, but I think one of the most important things is to even recognise the small things that feel like a big success to you personally that enable you and help you grow as a rider. One of my recent favourite highlights was being invited to U21 GB team training with Felix as that felt like a big achievement for us considering the short time, we have been a partnership. And although not in the competition arena but being able to start up our business Knights Dressage and run our own competition yard as I feel very fortunate to be in a position to do that.
What do you love about dressage?
I love the connection and trust you can build with the horses – creating a bond with them is my favourite part and being able to have them as your best friend and be able to spend every day working alongside them.
What tips can you give for anyone who is competing?
Always just have fun and try to not take it to seriously or over complicate things.
It takes a team to do dressage, who is in your support team?
I am very lucky to have the most amazing support team and there are definitely too many people to mention but my biggest supporters must be my incredible parents. They have always supported my dreams, and they are always there every step of the way to help and guide me. I owe so much to my Mum who is always there for me through the high and lows of a career with horses and gives up everything to enable me to do what I love the most and takes me to every show even if they’re endless hours away in the freezing cold. I am incredibly grateful for everything that my parents do as this simply would not be possible without all their support.
Your Top Tip
Work hard and be determined! And always ensuring the love and welfare of the horses is the most important part and will far outweigh any success in the competition arena.
What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?
Always be positive and grab every opportunity that you get given. And most importantly you need to treat every horse as an individual and ride them accordingly.
Want More?
If you enjoyed meeting Isobel you might like to view more dressage rider “chatting with” interviews here. You can keep up with Isobel’s progress and visit her instagram page here