Fiona Cox
I graduated as a Veterinarian in Queensland in 2004. I now work part time for Sydney Equine Practice, predominantly with lamenesses and performance horse management. 4 years ago I decided to take my part time hobby of dressage to the next level and began riding semi-professionally.
I recently retired and sold my FEI horses so have a number of my young ones coming through - Yondella First Assassin, who I bred, is proving to be a little star. I also have a young horse champion Freestyle MS and the beautiful Andalusian Norio who I compete for clients at medium level. I have a feisty young chestnut Jazz mare I hope I will be raving about next edition!
I ride about 6 horses a day, 4 to 5 days a week, so life is very busy! I really enjoy teaching dressage when I can fit it in. I love the Black Horse Clothing range as they are hard wearing, practical, comfortable and stylish. It's not uncommon for me to have to jump off a horse and see a local patient in my breeches so the professional look of my Black Horse jodds is essential.
FAVOURITE BLACK HORSE BREECHES
GET TO KNOW ME
My age is | 38 |
I live | The Southern Highlands, NSW |
I would describe my occupation as | I work as an equine veterinarian for Sydney Equine Practice as well as training dressage horses |
My favourite breeches are | 'Aimee' breeches - they are super sticky and a little thicker for the Highlands cold weather |
I started riding when I was | about 7. My sisters and I used to ride bareback on a Shetland pony called Laddy. One of us had to control the bitey end while the other got on. |
My first pony | was a Palouse called Redwing who had a habit of bolting |
The highlight of my career so far is | not an event, it's training young horses up levels. |
My biggest riding influence is | my coach Sue Hearn. |
The best piece of advice I have for up & coming riders is | learn to work with difficult horses safely. It teaches you a lot of handy training tricks. |
When I'm not riding I'm | working as a vet or doing the garden on the farm. |
The word that best sums me up is | hard working. |
My pre-comp secret weapon is | visualising my tests. |
The greatest challenge I've faced is | a chestnut Jazz mare. |
If I won lotto I would | see all the amazing animals of the world. |
I would tell my 13 year old self | to start dressage lessons earlier. It's easier to not learn bad habits in the first place. |