2023: Your New Year Goals

We’re already a few days into the new year – the tree is down, the food has been eaten, and our attention now turns to the next 12 months. We spoke to three riders across the sport to find out what their hopes and plans for 2023 are.

Wills Oakden

Q: Any New Year’s resolutions?
Ooh that’s a tricky one…I would say to not say I’m going to do something and then not follow through with it.

Q: Do you have any sporting hopes for 2023?
I have lots of hopes, but I’d rather not say them out loud!

Q: Any top tips for aspiring riders in 2023?
Now is a great time to work out what your overall objective for the season is. Plan your training and competition schedule around that objective to get the maximum performance out of your horse when it matters.

Bubby Upton

Q: Any New Year’s resolutions?
Try and be five minutes early to everything!

Q: Do you have any sporting hopes for 2023?
I have lots of hopes. I’d love to take one, if not two, horses into Badminton. I would also love to win the Under 25 title again for the second time at Bramham, and I’d love to take a new horse to Burghley too.

Q: Any top tips for aspiring riders in 2023?
With the prevalence of social media, try not to compare your training and your performance with other riders on social media. Just focus on yourself and your horses and your system – don’t get distracted by other people. There’s always a lot to learn from social media but don’t change what you’re doing just because you’ve seen someone on Instagram doing it slightly differently.