Megan Lane is the fourth Canadian rider who is competing in Florida this winter,at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, with the aim of being selected to the Canadian dressage team for the World Equestrian Games, in Tryon NC, this September. I have asked all the riders the same seven questions. Here are Megan’s answers.
What age were you when you started riding? I was three years old. My Mum rode and when I was three I was given a pony to ride. So I’ve been riding all my life really.
When did you decide that you wanted to be a professional rider? I think I have always known that was what I wanted to do.
What other big championships or competitions have you ridden in? I rode in the Junior and Young Rider Championships in 2007 and 2009. I rode for Canada in the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France in 2014, the Pan Ams in Toronto in 2015, and the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Tell me about the horse you are competing with this winter season in Florida that you are you hope to qualify for the Canadian Team for WEG. Well….I have three Grand Prix horses. A sort of triple threat I guess. I have Caravella. I own her and have had her since I was doing the Young Riders. She is my veteran and she took me to WEG in Normandy and Rio for the Olympics.
The second horse is San D’Or. This is his second year at the Grand Prix level. He is owned by Deer Ridge Equestrian. I have been riding him since he was 3 and he is 12 now.
The third horse I’m riding is Zodiac. He’s also owned by Deer Ridge Equestrian. I’ve been riding him for 5 1/2 years now and have brought him up to the Grand Prix level.
What is the most difficult thing for you in a competition season like this, leading up to WEG selection? The co-ordination. It’s great to have three horses but you cannot ride more than two at the grand Prix level in a CDI (Concours Dressage International). So the difficulty for me it so plan a show schedule that will give all three horses a chance to be seen and to get qualifying scores.
If you had not become a professional rider what other career might you have chosen? Honestly…..I have no idea. But I love the environment and so environmental studies might have been a direction I could have gone in.
If you could ride any horse living or dead , in any discipline who would it be? Valegro. (Charlotte Dujardin’s Olympic gold medal winning horse) or Weingold (Isabell Werth’s horse that with Isabell is at the top of the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) rankings.
Thank you Megan. All the best of luck to you and Caravella, San D’Or and Zodiac for the rest of the competition season.
Leave a Reply