Originally from Cornwall (about as far away as you can get from the eventing world!) 18 year old Millie is currently based at Downe Farm in Devon working under Tim Cheffings as his second rider.
Millie’s love for riding started at just 6 years old when some family friends were kind enough to loan her their little New Forest pony, Ashleigh. Ashleigh was a typical mare and as stubborn as they come, she certainly taught Millie a lot, especially not to give up!
Along the way Millie has been lucky enough to ride and own lots of horses and ponies, from a 12hh Appaloosa right up to her current 16.2hh Hanoverian, and most things in between! Each horse has taught Millie something, from the very basics of horse care and management to further down the line, how to ride her first CCI2*.
From the age of 10 Millie was out on her own hacking around the Cornish countryside. The most valuable lesson Millie learnt throughout all the ponies that have come her way is, when you get thrown off you get back on and try again. It not only improves your seat but also gives you the determination to brush yourself off when things go wrong and just carry on, an asset that has helped Millie through her eventing journey.
Millie started competing at local shows and events with her super cob, Zazzoom. ‘Zazzy’, as he’s known at home, was so naughty but could turn his hoof to almost anything. Running across the country was where he excelled. He was always the fastest pony on course and both Millie and Zazzy would both come home with a smile on their faces! He is now happily living out his retirement at home.
Next came Mac’s Joy and he was a real star, he taught Millie how to jump and how to ride across country. She even started to enjoy dressage, something her and Zazzy had never been a fan of, and they always came home with a rosette. Mac went on to help another young rider to go out and enjoy eventing.
Millie’s first proper event horse came in September 2017. Flint (Rainbow boy) appeared as a complete surprise on her birthday, with everything organised by her dad in secret.
Flint was a lovely boy, with a can-do attitude and always wanting to please. When he arrived, Flint was still quite green. Millie worked hard to teach him how to gallop, get him fit and give him more experience. He was as brave as a lion across the country and it was with Flint that Millie’s love for eventing started. Millie and Flint went on to have lots of great results and he’ll always be a special horse to her.
As a young teenager, as well as competing in British Eventing, Millie also had opportunities to represent her local riding club in team events. These events included the Naf Five Star National Championships 110cm Show jumping and The Eventers Challenge in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. The experiences and support Millie received from these opportunities helped further enhance her love of the sport.
In 2019 Millie went looking for the next event horse to take her to Novice and beyond with hopes of getting on the u18 (now u19 for 2021) South West team. Millie, her trainer (now boss) and her dad drove the length and breadth of the country visiting lots of yards and trying lots of top horses, but not quite finding the right one until one very wet & windy day they travelled all the way to the North Yorkshire home of Nicola Wilson where Millie found ‘Monti’. Ironically Monti’s show name is ‘All We Need’ and he certainly is just that! Monti was bought on sight from Nicolas owners and she hasn’t looked back since.
Monti is a horse of a lifetime; he moves like an absolute dream, he jumps anything and is bold and quick across the country, a very special horse, as Millie says, he is her everything.
Despite Covid, 2020 was an amazing season for Monti & Millie and she cannot wait to see what they can achieve together this year.
Millie has been very lucky to have lots of support from various people throughout her career so far, great trainers and the support of friends and family. She’s now lucky to have her dream job riding for Tim Cheffings who is mentoring her towards her goals, she is incredibly grateful. Millie’s biggest fan is her dad, Darren. You’ll usually see him nervously watching Millie compete, doing the horses studs or giving out his usual pre-phase advice. Millie couldn’t do it without him.
Millie is always looking for horses to compete or horses to add to her team so please get in touch if you’d like to speak about future rides and partnerships.