DRESSAGE rider Sarah Mellor refers to herself as an ‘amateur’ but after speaking to the talented lady, it is clear there is a lot more than what meets the eye.

The Australian native moved to Ireland 21 years ago and is among the top names in dressage circles in the country. Here, she talks about her life with horses.

“My parents are Welsh and moved to Australia in the late 1960s on the £10 Visa Scheme. They both came from farming backgrounds and rode. My maternal grandfather stood four stallions and was one of the pioneers in crossing a heavy horse with a thoroughbred to produce what he described as an ‘agile workhorse’. I’d like to think that he contributed to the breeding programme of the modern sport horse,” Sarah explains when asked about how her interest in riding was first sparked.

“My younger sister and I were both born in Australia and my parents settled in the hills of Perth, Western Australia. I began riding in a local riding school and had my first pony at five years old.

“We used to hack our ponies 12kms on the lanes to go to Pony Club with mum following in the car. I have wonderful childhood memories of cantering down the lanes, jumping random logs and homemade jumps, riding bareback, playing pony games and riding around the kitchen on a mop.

“Like most young children, we cut our teeth in the show ring, but I was always more interested in what made my ponies tick and figuring out the key to having each pony perform at their best. I always preferred the training and while we couldn’t afford the best ponies or the best tack, my parents invested in lessons with really good coaches.”

A lucky break

A chance pony named Goldie led Sarah down the path of dressage. “When I was 10 years old we acquired, quite by chance, a 14.2hh chesnut mare with a flaxen mane and tail called Goldie. Without realising, we had stumbled upon a beautifully schooled pony (for the grand sum of $500) and I distinctly remember coming in from riding in the paddock – we had no arena in those days – and announcing that Goldie could skip!

“We soon realised that this wonderful little pony could do flying changes and move sideways. Although I did event until I was 16 years old, my heart was never really in it and looking back, it was that amazing skipping feeling on Goldie that was pivotal in my decision to specialise in dressage.

“A lady at our local Pony Club referred us to Zoe Harrison for lessons and so began a lifelong friendship with an influential mentor. Zoe is the author of Riding with Feel and herself a competitor in the Samsung International Dressage Competition.

“Under her watchful eye my love and appreciation of dressage grew and I became the under-12 Junior National Australian Champion and two years later I was given the ride on her Prix St George horse, Willpower.

“At 14, I became the youngest competitor at Prix St George in Australia. At a similar time, I was part of a talent-spotting programme with UK judge, coach and Olympian, Domini Morgan.”

Sarah finished school and went to university but the lure of competition was pulling her away. “After school I attended university and studied engineering, however I began working for a bank in Australia – a job that would allow me to ride and compete on weekends.

“By this stage I had trained three horses to PSG, often buying difficult horses that required sensitive re-training, which is what I enjoyed most. It was Domini who suggested a year in Europe riding and training would be of huge benefit to me.”

European adventure

Sarah was 24 when she arrived in Ireland to train with Gisela Holstein. She met her husband, Jimmy Cosgrave, that first summer in Ireland.

“Domini arranged for me to come to Ireland and stay with Gisela Holstein in 2000. It was in Enfield in the summer of 2000 that I met my husband Jimmy while on a birthday night out with friends (among whom were Judy and Isabel Reynolds and Heike Holstein).

“What started as a six-month experience is now 21 years later! I began working in banking at the end of 2000 and in 2001 I visited family in Wales who were also involved in horses.

“They took me to see a little chesnut gelding that they had seen at Pony Club and thought he might make a dressage horse for me. This little five-year-old British warmblood was Fahrenheit (Harry) who became the horse I trained to Grand Prix.

“Jimmy and I were married in 2005 and embarked on the project of restoring the derelict farmhouse on Jimmy’s family farm in Enfield. Our first child, Kit, was born in 2010 and 10 weeks later I won the Grand Prix at the National Dressage Championships on Harry.

“The following year I bought Let’s Dance (Bella) as a newly broken four-year-old in Germany and we also bred our first foal, Hotshot (Holly), from a lovely big mare we had bought in Wales – again through my cousins.

“A five-year period of ‘maternity leave’ followed while we had two more children (Millie and Tess) and I began competing again in 2016.

“All three children ride and we are lucky to have super little ponies borrowed for them. While not members of a Pony Club, their beginnings are similar to mine – cantering around fields, jumping homemade fences, riding bareback and playing horsey games together. Jimmy does not ride, but is designated groom, driver and eyes on the ground at shows for me.

“I work full-time in the bank and am lucky to be able to have the flexibility of working from home. I have two horses in full work, Bella at Grand Prix and Holly at Int 1.”

Busy schedule

“I’m an early riser and tend to be up before 6am. During the winter I log on and work until around 7am then go out and feed and ride one horse before 9am. Jimmy gets the kids up and off to school. I work until lunchtime and try to ride another during lunch.

“We do not have a horse walker, so in the summer the horse’s fitness is improved by hacking and hill work on the farm. At this time of the year I try to get the horses back out either for a light lunge or Millie rides Bella and I ride Holly – walking for an hour in the arena after work.

“I train with Johann Hinnemann as part of the HSI Development Squad and I have trained with Judy Reynolds for the past six years. Since Covid, Judy has been unable to travel to Ireland so we have regular Zoom sessions.

“She is very accessible and is great at giving practical advice. Having helped me from when the horses were first started, she knows them very well and keeps me focussed and motivated.

“Judy was back in Ireland recently and it was wonderful to see her and have her train in person. We are very lucky to have a rider and trainer of her calibre and international experience who is willing to invest her time in Irish riders.”

Sarah is proud of her achievements in sport. “When it comes to my riding I’m motivated by someone telling me that I can’t do something! I remember when Harry first arrived in Ireland as a five-year-old. He’s petite (15.2hh) and the friend who transported him laughed and said ‘hard to see how that pony will do dressage’. I laughed along, but thought to myself ‘I’ll prove you wrong’ – and we did when he went all the way to Grand Prix!

“I really didn’t think that Bella (by Sir Donnerhall) would go to Grand Prix. I often think how lucky I am as an amateur rider to have trained two horses to Grand Prix and it is an achievement that I am very proud of.

“Bella is a sweet and gentle personality and can find certain atmospheres overwhelming and become apprehensive. She is new to Grand Prix and I think another 12 months will help her confidence grow as she becomes stronger and more established at the level.

“Holly (home-bred by Hotline) is only back this season after an injury. She is a giant powerhouse and a quick learner and has already started the Grand Prix work. She is a performer with a big personality – I think she is a very special horse and am hopeful for her future career.

“I also have Holly’s half-sister (Christa, a home-bred by Christ) who was started last year by Finn O’Gara and was runner-up in her class in the HSI Autumn Development Series. I hope to bring her back into work in January – she is another big black powerful horse so I am interested to see how our relationship develops.”