14-year-old Sophia Doheny was the youngest competitor at the 2023 Grand Prix, which is the highest level of competition in dressage. She’s also the youngest ever Irish rider to compete at the event, held this year in Le Mans.
Sophia rode trusty Enrico (by Ehrentusch x Laomedon), an 18-year-old Westfalian gelding, on 15 April and secured 5th place with a score just over 64%. Dressage riders typically compete to precisely replicate a set pattern of movement and any deviation results in a lower score; 64% is considered a very good score at the international level.
In an Instagram post from a few months ago, Sophia captioned a photo of the hero in question with, “I love this horse with all my heart.”
Equestrian sports, especially dressage, are known for the wide age range of the competitors. 66-year-old dressage rider Mary Hanna of Australia was the oldest competitor in any sport at the Tokyo Olympics. Men and women also compete together in most dressage competitions.
But to compete at an elite level at such a young age is remarkable. And Sophia’s achievements don’t end there: riding 17-year-old gelding Batiqar, she won the FEI junior test.
Sophia trained for the event at Pamfou Dressage in the north of France and has said that she plans to stay in France over the summer to continue training. Given her early success, we can be sure we’ll be seeing more of the young athlete.