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Lily Attwood: “Confidence and self-belief are massive factors”

Thursday, 11 May 2023
The Next Generation

Photo © Nanna Nieminen/WoSJ. “For me personally, the mental side of our sport is really important. Going to these big shows and being surrounded by all the top riders, you can lose faith in yourself and that can reflect on to your horse,” Lily Attwood says. Photo © Nanna Nieminen for World of Showjumping.

 

Text © World of Showjumping

 


 

“I think the mental aspect of our sport is overlooked,” Lily Attwood tells as the 21-year-old speaks to World of Showjumping about her step up to five-star level and the challenges young riders are faced with in the sport today. Last season, Attwood was part of the Global Champions League-team Stockholm Hearts, and riding alongside some of the best riders in the world was an eye-opening experience for her. “For me personally, the mental side of our sport is really important. Going to these big shows and being surrounded by all the top riders, you can lose faith in yourself and that can reflect on to your horse,” Attwood says. “I am going to start working with a sports psychologist; not because I am mentally weak, but because I don’t want to underestimate its importance.”

“For me, confidence and self-belief are massive factors; confidence not only in yourself but in the team around you and your plan. You have got to take that, forget everything else around you and just do your job in the ring. I believe that everything will come together when you have put in the hours and have the dedication; you have to go to shows feeling ready. I am quite a confident person, however, there are times when my mind plays tricks on me and I start overthinking. As an example, I might be watching other riders, thinking I should be doing what they are doing, when I know I cannot change things when I am at a show – those are the things you need to work on at home.” 

A bigger step than expected 

Photo © Nanna Nieminen/WoSJ. "I felt ready to step up to five-star level, but I did not realize how much of a step up it really is," Lily tells. Photo © Nanna Nieminen for World of Showjumping.

Last season was Attwood’s first on the GCL-circuit, and she had only done two five-star World Cups before being sent to Miami and Mexico. “I got into the team quite late last year, and I was not expecting it,” she tells. “However, I felt ready to step up to five-star level, but I did not realize how much of a step up it really is – so I had a couple of rounds not on the team to see how I would cope with it all. I jumped one round for the team in Mexico, and had one down – so that was good enough. From there on, every single round I jumped for the team, I had one down – nothing worse, nothing better. It was frustrating; we were jumping these rounds good but not good enough – that was definitely weighing on my mind. It seemed like I was not able to jump clear, like I could not do it. My first clear was not until Paris, quite a long way into the season, which was a good feeling.” 

“To be surrounded by such good teammates and all these amazing riders was great, and there are so many things you can learn just by watching,” Attwood continues. “I felt like I could ask anyone for help, it was a great atmosphere and it is really a great community to be in. This season, I am on the same team again and we started the season in Doha. Last year, I never really had a good enough plan because I was not high enough on the ranking to go to any other five-star shows than the GCL. This year, also being with a new trainer, I want to be better organized. I hope to pick and choose my horses for the shows and aim them towards specific classes and events that suit them and really work backwards from my goals rather than working forwards throughout the year. That is definitely something that I did not manage well enough last year, but I have learned from it and came out stronger. Now I’ve got a year under my belt of doing these shows, I know what to expect and can plan better. I know now which shows suit my horses and which don’t. I have also been selected to be in the Education Program in the Young Riders Academy, which is exciting.” 

Riding for your nation

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ. "I would love to try and get more five-star Nations Cups under my belt during the summer and try to be as consistent as possible," Lily tells about her goals for this season. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

Result-wise, Attwood’s biggest achievement so far is her second place in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Paris last summer. “However, being selected for the Nations Cup final in Barcelona with the same horse that I won with in Paris, Cor-Leon, was a proud moment,” she tells. “It was something we had been working towards, and there were many ups and downs in our season. I thought at some point that it would not work out, but then just kept it as my main focus. Therefore, to be selected has been my proudest moment. In Barcelona, our team ended fifth and I did not have a good first day. It was my first five-star Nations Cup and I think I went there and put too much pressure on myself. While many people were trying to help, I was overthinking and took in what every single person told me, over-complicating things. This led to me going into the first day stressed, and because my horse is very sensitive, he got affected by it. After that, I told myself: ‘You can do this, go in there tomorrow and ride like you ride’ – and the second day was much better.” 

For this season, Attwood’s main goals are the European Championships – both for young riders and seniors. “I think I’d have a good chance among the young riders, and I have a couple of horses that I could bring," she says. "For the seniors, there are so many strong combinations at the moment that it is all about your form. However, I would love to try and get more five-star Nations Cups under my belt during the summer and try to be as consistent as possible. My best horse had a bit of a setback after Helsinki last year – he needed colic surgery – but he has recovered well and has now started jumping and showing again. So, I think it all depends on him when it comes to the senior team."

"Long-term, as I love competing for my country, I of course dream of the Olympic Games and World Championships – I want to do it all," Attwood says. "However, there are always so many amazing riders and combinations riding for Great Britain. At the moment there are definitely more young riders coming through than ever before, with Jodie, Jack, Harry, Joe… We are all close and have been riding together since we were on ponies. Having this community of young riders is really nice; doing this together week in and week out with my friends is extremely rewarding.” 

A small but dedicated team

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ. "I have been very lucky with what my horses have turned out to be, because with each of them, we bought them when I was just getting off ponies," Lily tells. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

Attwood’s favourite part of the sport is – naturally – the horses. “My love for the horses is massive,” she says. “They are always the number one priority. And when everything comes together, it is not just you as a rider celebrating, there is a team around you and having those good days is amazing for everyone behind the scenes. My family plays a huge role in my career; my mum is very involved. She is my number one supporter and I would not be anywhere without her. I have a great home groom and rider too, who I know is keeping the horses in shape when me and my show groom are away. That is something I don’t have to worry about, which is invaluable to me. I have a small team, but we are all very dedicated and everything runs smoothly.”

At the moment, Attwood has eight horses to compete with. “My three best horses are Karibou Horta (Landor S x For Pleasure), Cor-Leon vd Vlierbeek Z (Calvaro Z x Omar) and Calvaro’s Up To Date (Calvaro FC x Up To Date 8). Then I have an exciting 9-year-old called Johnnie Walker (Harley VDL x Numero Uno), that I think will take a bit of time. I need to be patient with him and not rush things. He jumps really good, but he is very spooky, so we need to gain more confidence around the smaller tracks. However, hopefully he will be ready in a couple of years. Then I have a new ride as well, Newmarket Influence (Newmarket Jewel x Ecuador), that I don’t know so well yet – we need to just get more experience together. He looks very promising and has done some good things in the past, so hopefully we can gel during this season.”

“We also breed a little bit: We have six homebred horses and the oldest one is five, my mum runs a small breeding stud at home,” Attwood tells. “I am really interested in that side of the sport as well. All the horses that I ride are our own, which is why we started breeding as well. I have been very lucky with what my horses have turned out to be, because with each of them, we bought them when I was just getting off ponies. I have had my three best horses for three to four years now; we have grown together and it has been a great feeling to see them turn out so well."

Strong on her own 

Photo © Nanna Nieminen/WoSJ. "Now, getting good results feels even more rewarding – I know I can trust myself," Lily says. Photo © Nanna Nieminen for World of Showjumping.

Even though Attwood grew up surrounded by horses, her family was not really into showjumping. “My grandmother had racehorses and whenever I would be at her house, she had a few ponies as well that I could ride,” Attwood tells about her background. “Those were actually eventing ponies, but my first own pony came from a showjumping family – so that is how it all really started. When I was riding ponies, I trained with Mark McCourt, who has done all the big showjumping events when he was younger. I had no idea about going abroad or anything like that, but he found me some good ponies. I went to my first European Championships when I was 14, and then Mark introduced me to Guy Williams.”

“When I turned 16, I went to train with Guy in France,” Attwood continues. “It was a big step to take; I went there with only two horses, without knowing what to expect. But Guy is such a family man and made me feel like I was a part of his family – it was the best place I could have gone. At such a young age, I got the opportunity to ride horses for him at shows and at home, and learn so many things on and off the horse about management, farrier and vets. Being on the road all the time, I learned so much from his groom Nat as well. It was a really great time in my life, and I am really glad I did it – I think I would not be where I am now without him.” 

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ. "My family plays a huge role in my career, my mum is very involved. She is my number one supporter and I would not be anywhere without her," Lily says. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

For the past three years, Attwood has been back in England, still training with Guy but based at her family’s yard. However, she is now planning a move to Belgium and has found herself a new trainer in Stanny Van Paesschen. “After Brexit it is just not logistically sustainable to be based in the UK,” she tells. “Recently, I have had some help from Stanny and that is where I am going to go and be based at. I met him last year in Barcelona during the Nations Cup final and then he was in Oliva at the beginning of the year. There, I asked him for some help. Guy has been absolutely incredible, but I felt like I needed to move on.” 

“Last year, myself and Guy did a lot of different shows, which forced me to do a lot on my own,” Attwood explains. “It was difficult, but I think that mentally it made me a lot stronger. It forced me to watch all the top riders and really engage in learning in a different way rather than relying on someone on the ground all the time. It got hard at times, but now coming out the other side, I do believe it made me stronger. In this sport, you have more bad days than good, so when it went badly, I started to think I was not good enough and it was hard to keep my self-confidence. Mentally, it was difficult because I started to feel like I could not do it alone, that I needed someone there all the time. But then, I noticed how I started to improve and realized that I could do it on my own. Now, getting good results feels even more rewarding – I know I can trust myself.”

 

11.5.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply. 

 



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