Latest news with #eventing
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Teenage equestrian star takes on the sport's elite
A teenage equestrian star from the south of Scotland has been tipped as "one to watch" by British Eventing. Tara Kane, 15, from Annan, was recently selected as the only solo Scottish competitor in an upcoming international championship. She has been rapidly rising through the ranks with her Connemara pony, Anna, and the pair will now fly the flag for their country at next week's event in Bishop Burton in Yorkshire. Tara said it was "quite unbelievable" that she would be competing with some of the best eventers in the world. The teenager has produced a string of impressive results recently, including successfully completing clear rounds at Badminton Horse Trials in 2024 and 2025. Widely considered the pinnacle of the eventing world, Badminton was an event that Tara watched on television growing up. However, she is now competing alongside world-class eventers, tackling the three disciplines of dressage, showjumping and cross-country. "I feel like it's quite unbelievable really," she said. "I'll be in the warm-up ring looking over to competitors like Ros Canter, who's one of the best in the world, and here I am on my little Connemara pony. "I bought Anna as a four-year-old and I've home produced her, so everything that we have achieved together has been through sheer hard work." Tara recently beat one of her heroes in a dressage test, when she scored higher than Olympic gold medallist, Oliver Townend. As a teenager competing in adult and horse classes, most of the fences tower over both jockey and pony. Her achievements have not gone unnoticed. "Tara is one of the youngest riders competing at this level and to have completed a clear round at Badminton aged just 14 is both rare and extremely impressive," said a British Eventing spokesman. "Her selection to represent Scotland at the upcoming championships is a well-deserved recognition of her talent and composure under pressure. "She's certainly one to watch." Competing at international level requires a significant amount of training and dedication, with Tara riding every morning before attending school at Lockerbie Academy. In order to compete at Badminton this year, she had to sit her school exams on Monday before a six-hour drive south to compete on the Tuesday, with British Eventing making special allowances in order for her to participate. Tara's parents, Margaret and Edi, work full-time to support their daughter in following her dream. However, competing at this level is expensive and Margaret has to work overtime to cover the cost of entry fees, travel and accommodation. More stories from South Scotland Listen to news from Dumfries and Galloway on BBC Sounds "It's surreal for us as a family to see Tara's name on the entry list alongside riders who we watch competing all over the world and to have royalty arriving in helicopters to spectate," she said. "We do everything ourselves and we don't have any sponsors. "Some of Tara's competitors have the pick of the best horses and teams of people around them to cater to horse and rider. "I think it makes it even more special when Tara achieves the results she does, and we'd like to thank her coaches who work so hard." The dream is to reach the top of the sport, perhaps even a future Olympics Games. Both Margaret and Tara are working as hard as they can to realise those ambitions. Canter secures second five-star victory in six weeks
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Annan teenager rubs shoulders with equestrian world's elite
A teenage equestrian star from the south of Scotland has been tipped as "one to watch" by British Kane, 15, from Annan, was recently selected as the only solo Scottish competitor in an upcoming international has been rapidly rising through the ranks with her Connemara pony, Anna, and the pair will now fly the flag for their country at next week's event in Bishop Burton in said it was "quite unbelievable" that she would be competing with some of the best eventers in the world. The teenager has produced a string of impressive results recently, including successfully completing clear rounds at Badminton Horse Trials in 2024 and considered the pinnacle of the eventing world, Badminton was an event that Tara watched on television growing up. However, she is now competing alongside world-class eventers, tackling the three disciplines of dressage, showjumping and cross-country. "I feel like it's quite unbelievable really," she said."I'll be in the warm-up ring looking over to competitors like Ros Canter, who's one of the best in the world, and here I am on my little Connemara pony."I bought Anna as a four-year-old and I've home produced her, so everything that we have achieved together has been through sheer hard work."Tara recently beat one of her heroes in a dressage test, when she scored higher than Olympic gold medallist, Oliver Townend. As a teenager competing in adult and horse classes, most of the fences tower over both jockey and achievements have not gone unnoticed. "Tara is one of the youngest riders competing at this level and to have completed a clear round at Badminton aged just 14 is both rare and extremely impressive," said a British Eventing spokesman."Her selection to represent Scotland at the upcoming championships is a well-deserved recognition of her talent and composure under pressure."She's certainly one to watch."Competing at international level requires a significant amount of training and dedication, with Tara riding every morning before attending school at Lockerbie Academy. In order to compete at Badminton this year, she had to sit her school exams on Monday before a six-hour drive south to compete on the Tuesday, with British Eventing making special allowances in order for her to parents, Margaret and Edi, work full-time to support their daughter in following her competing at this level is expensive and Margaret has to work overtime to cover the cost of entry fees, travel and accommodation. "It's surreal for us as a family to see Tara's name on the entry list alongside riders who we watch competing all over the world and to have royalty arriving in helicopters to spectate," she said."We do everything ourselves and we don't have any sponsors."Some of Tara's competitors have the pick of the best horses and teams of people around them to cater to horse and rider."I think it makes it even more special when Tara achieves the results she does, and we'd like to thank her coaches who work so hard."The dream is to reach the top of the sport, perhaps even a future Olympics Margaret and Tara are working as hard as they can to realise those ambitions.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Canter secures second five-star victory in six weeks
Olympic gold medallist Ros Canter won the Luhmuhlen Horse Trials to secure a second five-star win in six rode Izilot DHI to victory in Germany to claim her fourth five-star level win. The former world champion was second after the dressage and cross country phases behind Olympic team-mate Laura Collett, who won the 2023 Collett, last out riding London 52, knocked down a rail in the showjumping finale to slip to third overall."It's hard to get my head around it to be honest. I'm very proud of it because it's not always about riding, it's confidence and I've had to work very hard at that," said Canter. The reigning European champion was part of the British eventing team to win gold at the Paris Olympics last summer and won the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials for a second time in May. Canter added: "The dream was always there because I loved watching old videos of Badminton and Burghley but I didn't think it would ever be me."The 39-year-old also paid tribute to her coach and mentor Caroline Moore, who died in March."I think Caroline would have found this very special."
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Race Across The World left out HUGE part of winner's life as fans ask ‘why wouldn't they mention that?'
IT was a tense sprint to the finish line in last night's finale of Race Across The World. But fans were baffled that a huge part of the winner's life had been left out of the series. 5 5 The final episode followed the pairs travelling from Goa, India, to the southernmost tip of India, Kanniyakumari, 1000km away. But after a 51-day cross-continent race, it was mother and son duo Caroline and Tom who took home the £20,000 prize. The pair, who were leading the race from its fifth episode earlier this month, beat brothers Melvyn and Brian, sisters Elizabeth and Letitia and young couple Fin and Sioned to the finish point. And it was an emotional moment for the duo, as they opened the all-important guest book on their arrival. Celebrating their win, Caroline broke down in tears telling her son: 'We must never doubt ourselves, ever, ever, ever again.' On-screen Caroline has spoken about giving up her career to become a mum and how the show has given her the chance to do something for herself. But what hasn't aired on the BBC show is that Caroline is a successful eventer. In her everyday life, the Race Across the World winner has a number of achievements under her belt when it comes to horse riding. Just before she joined the show, she won the 2024 British Eventing BE80 grassroots league when riding 14-year-old horse Really. Caroline has had Really for almost a year now, according to British Eventing. Secrets of BBC competition show exposed in one-off special episode after fans slammed 'fake' scenes Since Race Across the World came to an end, she has returned to eventing and has continued to be successful This season, Caroline topped the British Eventing's BE90 March/April OBP League. In May, she told The Horse and Hound: "It's lovely to be back and I'm looking forward to the championship. "Eventing has got a little bit of the challenge of Race Across the World because you have to be prepared, fit, determined and have an aim in mind." Fans questioned on social media why this was never aired in the show and one said: "Horseandhound magazine has an article about Caroline. "A successful eventer for years, and Tom who Caroline had when she was 40. "Have lost trust in this programme and the phoney sob stories. Such a shame." Another added: "Why wouldn't they mention this on the show!" A third explained: "I'm not dismissing her feelings about her role in life, but her whole I'm just a stay at home mum who has never done anything in my life attitude rubs a bit thin when you take her sporting career into account. "She's not just an amateur, she has been doing it for 25 years + (i.e. all the time she was running a house)." Another added: "I don't like how Caroline is making out that she is just some poor housewife who has never had a life when actually she is a very successful eventer." "She is making out that she hasn't done anything for herself since getting married, this is simply not true," explained another. While one poster said: "I think that's more of an age thing, and your children getting older. "My Mum kept going on about having lost her purpose and confidence when I went to uni even though she had a very successful career." But another disagreed: "Caroline is successful in Eventing (horse sport) which, to me, makes her sob story seem a little disingenuous and designed to counter their obvious privilege. "They definitely have grown over the course of the series and become more likeable, I don't think the producers really needed to work as hard on it as they might have thought." Caroline also told the publication that her experience with horses helped her on the TV show and added: "Horsey people are generally quite grounded and extremely tough. "You can put up with being dirty and grubby and you just get on with it, and that really helped because dignity goes out the window very, very quickly. "You don't mind getting your hands dirty in both senses of the word. "And I was quite fit, which was probably the biggest help for me in the long run." 5 5
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Race Across the World leaves out mum Caroline's huge everyday life success
Race Across the World's winner Caroline is an eventer at horse riding competitions but that fact has missed the cut of the BBC show. The mum, 61, has raced across the world with her son Tom, 21, starting at the Great Wall of China and finishing in Kanyakumari in India. Along the way, the contestants have the chance to open up about their lives both the good and the bad. On-screen Caroline has spoken about giving up her career to become a mum and how Race Across the World has given her the chance to do something for herself. What hasn't make the cut of the BBC show is that Caroline is a successful eventer. Race Across the World is edited to fit eight one hour slots, plus a one hour reunion show. It would be impossible for them to capture absolutely everything in their everyday lives of those taking part. But horses and eventing is clearly something Caroline is very passionate about. In her everyday life, the Race Across the World winner has a number of achievements when it comes to horse riding. Just before filming the show, she won the 2024 British Eventing BE80 grassroots league when riding 14-year-old horse Really. Caroline has had Really for almost a year now, according to British Eventing. Since Race Across the World came to an end, the horse lover has returned to eventing and she has continued to make a success of it. This season, Caroline topped the British Eventing's BE90 March/April OBP League. While promoting Race Across the World, Caroline has spoken about her love of horse riding and eventing. In May, she told The Horse and Hound: "It's lovely to be back and I'm looking forward to the championship. Eventing has got a little bit of the challenge of Race Across the World because you have to be prepared, fit, determined and have an aim in mind. I'm glad to have eventing because otherwise I would have wanted to go straight back out and travel again.' Being a horse person, Caroline felt put her in good stead for taking part in Race Across the World. "Horsey people are generally quite grounded and extremely tough. You can put up with being dirty and grubby and you just get on with it, and that really helped because dignity goes out the window very, very quickly," she also told the publication. "You don't mind getting your hands dirty in both senses of the word. And I was quite fit, which was probably the biggest help for me in the long run." From competing in eventing to the race, Caroline revealed what spurred her onto the rollercoaster ride of the BBC show. She told Yahoo UK in May: "Do you know, I can't actually put my finger on it. It's just something I felt inside that actually just pushed me so strongly, and I couldn't resist it. I just had to do something for myself that didn't involve looking after other people and it involved me proving that I could be independent... "Tom said 'yes' apparently just to keep me quiet because I was already obsessed. I was determined to get on and I was just going to give it my all. I know it doesn't look like that at the beginning of the programme. I just had to do it and I don't know why. "I think because I had just been looking after other people for so long and had never had to make decisions or never been consulted that this was something that I could choose to do for myself." Yahoo UK approached Race Across the World representatives for further comment. Race Across the World's final is on at 9pm on Wednesday on BBC One.
