Chadwick’s inspiration is helping to spur Hannah towards the top

SOUTH Crosland’s Hannah Taylor caught the eventing bug thanks to close friend Anna Chadwick.
WINNING COMBINATION: Huddersfield eventing rider Hannah Taylor with her horse Utrillo III. Picture: Scott Merrylees.WINNING COMBINATION: Huddersfield eventing rider Hannah Taylor with her horse Utrillo III. Picture: Scott Merrylees.
WINNING COMBINATION: Huddersfield eventing rider Hannah Taylor with her horse Utrillo III. Picture: Scott Merrylees.

Anna’s mother, Sue, was and still is a high level British Eventing competitor and Taylor idolised her.

She still does, only 15 years on Taylor is pinching herself at sharing the same stage.

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Taylor, 20, is one of Yorkshire’s most promising young eventers who is now competing at CIC three-star on Utrillo III.

The Huddersfield ace’s sole outing at that level came at Bramham in June – where childhood idol Chadwick was competing alongside.

Taylor, only child to textiles director Amanda and former insurance worker Chris, admits Chadwick was the driving inspiration in her equestrian upbringing due to her friendship with Anna, who is now riding at BE90 level.

Taylor can remember watching Chadwick in awe as a youngster and longing to be like her.

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With those feelings still fresh in the memory it means the South Crosland rider is still in dreamland about her recent eventing uprising – with qualification for Bramham’s illustrious CCI three-star under-25 competition the big aim for 2015.

Taylor will take Utrillo III to Allerton Park this weekend and said: “For me, it all started because I had a very good friend called Anna and her mum is Sue Chadwick, who has ridden up to four-star level.

“She lives just above me and I was on her livery yard and it started from there really.

“I got the bug off Sue – going to competitions as a young child, helping her out and pretending to be a groom for her!

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“I trained with her quite a bit and she helped out a lot – especially with my horse Trilby when he was a baby.

“It started from there really. I carried on and then I just got even more keen for it.

“Sue was at Bramham this year but, unfortunately, her horse decided that it wasn’t playing ball on cross-country day but she’s had some fantastic results and she’s always been inspiring.

“To be competing alongside her is a bit crazy really because I never thought I would get as far as I have and when I got my horse he wasn’t bought specifically for the job.

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“He was bought for a 12-year-old girl but it’s turned out that he is a good horse who has got all this talent. We seem to click and he has just been an absolute star.”

Bought from Holland by her dad Chris, Utrillo III has Taylor’s star in the ascendency and the former Honley High School eventer’s progress is no surprise given that Taylor left school at 16 and has worked with horses ever since.

Taylor works full-time with Graham Sugden with spells with Pam Ashworth, Paula Crompton and Ruth Edge having given her the perfect grounding.

Wosskow Brown Solicitors are also on board as sponsors and Taylor admits that 2014 has been her best year with Bramham the undoubted highlight.

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“Things are going good and just before Chatsworth I managed to bag myself a sponsor so that’s helped out,” said Taylor, 21 next March.

“I’ve got the horse to go all the way – the horse is fantastic – but I have struggled financially to be able to go out and do everything.

“But with my sponsors I am managing to get out more often and they are helping with costs etcetera. They have helped quite a lot and the best moment for me was going to Bramham because I have dreamed of going there ever since I was a child.”

Utrillo will be 14 in 2014 and Taylor already has her grand plan as to what her 2015 highlight might be.

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As if sharing a stage with Chadwick was not enough, next year she could be competing in an event won by Zara Phillips in 2002.

Taylor added: “My next run is an Advanced run at Allerton Park and then I’ve got a CCI two-star at Osberton and if I get the qualifying run there that will put me another place towards Bramham’s under-25s next year.

“I did the short format this year and I’d love to do the longer format next year.”

Better still, Taylor has time on her side. “Bramham has just been one of those things that I wanted to do and when I got the horse I said ‘one day I will go to Bramham with him’.

“I never actually thought it would happen but it did.”