BEu18s & supporting the future of the sport- Meet Eilidh MacAuley

As Frickley u18 championship creeps one day closer, Scottish 100 team captain Eilidh MacAulay and the mighty Casper have now made the long trip South and are on site checking out the site (and the grass in Casper's case!). We caught up with Eilidh to find our how they have been preparing for the week ahead...

My name is Eilidh MacAulay and this week I am heading to the National u18 Championships at Frickley Park with my horse Casper as part of the amazing team Scotland.

Casper has been part of the family for almost 3years now and he is definitely the one in charge. He came to us a pure showjumper which proved tricky at the beginning of our journey together as cross-country was a rather alien phase to him. However, once the penny dropped and we realised we jump into water and not over it there was no looking back.

In preparation for the Championships my main aim was to keep Casper smiling and continue to build his confidence in all three phases. We have kept training simple and fairly minimal when it came to jumping and spent sometime challenging him in his flatwork sessions with my trainer Joanna Wilkie with an aim of further improving his flexibility and polishing his dancing shoes closer to the event itself. It’s an understatement to say that Casper is a diva in the white boards so we have to keep his brain working or he will easily get bored and begin spicing things up. Hopefully this week I can convince him that keeping his composure is the best idea.

Further preparation for us included regular sessions from Audrey Anderson Equine Touch Practitioner, someone who has been vital to Casper’s comfortable consistency and we are very grateful of the work she puts in. We are also lucky to be sponsored by Julia Craig Saddle Fitter who has been regularly checking Casper’s tack which I feel has been very important.

Casper and I are so excited to be Captains if an amazing Scotland 100u18 team this year and we are so grateful to Sarah and Apt Cavalier for their generosity and support! We cannot wait to spend the next few days as part of the best team with the most amazing riders, horses, coaches, support teams and of course coordinators, Rose and Lucy, who are truly incredible!!

With the Championship now so close it pushes me to reflect on the amazing partnership Casper and I have and I cannot wait for the challenging championships this week at Frickley Park, I know that he will try his heart out for me and the rest of the team and I really can’t ask for any more than that can I?

Photographs by Apt Cavalier photographer Dave Cameron who also sponsors Eilidh and Casper #TeamDave