Competing in the 2021 Prix St Georges Sky Park Dressage Championships at Werribee (Image by Shoulder Fore Photography).
to competing at Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I level.
YO U N G R I D E R
Ahead of her time With an extraordinary string of successes already behind her, the dressage world is Bella Plumridge’s oyster. CLAUDIA BRODTKE learned more about a young rider whose career has so far been stellar.
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inner of the Sydney 2019 CDI-P and 2021 CD-Lite P, 2021 CDN-P Australian Freestyle Record holder, 2021 FEI Pony Winner at the Victorian Young Rider Youth Championships and the Boneo Classic, and winner of the 2019 Australian Leg of the World Youth
Dressage Challenge Championship and Overall World Youth Dressage Challenge Champions (pipping over 60 other riders worldwide to the post in the process), at just 15 years old Bella Plumridge has enjoyed remarkable success – and all on the Arabian Riding Pony she has ridden from elementary
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Hailing from Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Bella grew up watching her mum training with Charlotte Pedersen, who has coached Bella since she started riding. Surrounded by dressage horses, Bella was entranced and watched the movements in awe, dreaming of one day riding them herself. Bella has ridden for as long as she can remember and as soon she was able to ride off the lead, she attended Pony Club and found her favourite disciplines in dressage and show jumping. Her first pony, Lily, a 12.2hh pocket rocket arrived when she was four. A year later and Jerry came along, a four-year-old breaker who was so bombproof that she remembers having to work hard to encourage forward motion! Currently Bella has four horses in work: FEI Small Tour Arabian Riding Pony Illawong Harvest Moon (bred by Kate Law) has been her partner for five years, and Tres Bonne NZ, a 16hh Warmblood x Thoroughbred x Clydesdale is
