Jessie McConkey
Jessie McConkey is an International Dressage rider that has competed through the ranks for Great Britain, from ponies to young riders
Starting in the saddle from a young age, McConkey did a little bit of everything, from Showjumping, Eventing, Showing and unaffiliated Dressage.
With her preference leaning towards Dressage, she had her first taste for the International circuit on her pony, Holstein Derswich, who took her to her first two CDI’s in 2016.
From ponies, her desire and ambition to compete for her Country really took off once she moved onto horses. The first horse to join her stables in 2017 was a Danish Warmblood, Lady Gaga, and as an 8 year old, has taken her competing internationally all over Europe.
Despite the big step up from ponies to a powerhouse of a horse, in their first year together they competed at the European Championships in 2018 in Fontainebleau, where they gained a personal best, followed by winning the Junior class in Waragem CDI.
The partnership continued to grow as they campaigned for the Junior European Championships in San Giovani, Italy, in 2019. Following this, the duo scored another personal best, taking the win in the junior class at Le Mans CDI.
A win at Keysoe CDI saw Jessie and Lady Gaga set our their stand for their 2020 campaign, however, with the cancellation of sport due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the pair, along with every other athlete, missed out on campaigning for the Europeans. The pause in sport however resulted in Jessie finding her next talented horse, Wilson Stenzvang.
The time at home allowed Jessie to focus on finishing her A Levels, focus on her training of the horses before embarking on her full time career in Dressage. Being part of the World Class Programme,, she was fortunate to be mentored by Olympic Athlete Lottie Fry, which later led to an opportunity to work at the Van Olst Horses, based in the Netherlands, under Lottie’s wing where she gained invaluable experience.
From what was a short term placement with the Van Olst, it developed into Jessie being offered a permanent placement where both horses also joined her to continue training.
Working for Anne and Gert Jan Van Olst really set her sights on becoming a professional rider, being inspired daily by the opportunity of being lucky enough to ride extremely high quality horses and stallions, as well as being part of such a highly respected business and brand.
The training received from Anne Van Olst and Lottie Fry paid dividends especially at the new level of Prix St Georges. Despite little opportunity to compete due to the Global pandemic, McConkey and Lady Gaga were selected for the Young Rider team heading out to the European Championships in Spain in 2021.
After an incredible 15 months in the Netherlands, Jessie has now returned to her small family base in the UK, focussed on campaigning her 2 horses during 2022, and achieving great success, scoring PBs at the 2022 Young Rider European Championships at Hartpury.
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