A life with horses really does start at pony club!

Lilydale & Mooroolbark Pony Club former member Lilly Trevorrow is living proof of just this.  Lilly has spent the last 7 months travelling across America with 3-time Australian Olympic Show Jumper Matt Williams and his incredible team of horses.  To Lilly, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Here is Lilly’s story:

I am a member at Lilydale & Mooroolbark Pony Club and I have always been encouraged to seize opportunities when they presented themselves. That may have been just having a go at rally or competing at State or Nationals.  Through Pony Club I was lucky to be chosen for an amazing trip to China with Pony Club Australia in 2018!  So, hearing about this wonderful position with Matt I just went for it!  Straight after finishing my YR12 exams, I flew out to Los Angeles California where Matt was currently competing at the amazing Desert International Horse Park.   From there this wonderful opportunity has taken me to horse shows in 4 states across America and now up to Canada where Matt will compete for Australia in the CSIO5* nations cup!

Meeting and being able to watch such elite show jumping athletes up close at the 5* venues we have travelled to in the last 7 months has allowed me to gain incredible knowledge about the top of the sport.  More closely, I have been able to watch the true dedication riders like Matt have for the sport and how this allows opportunities such as Olympics and nations cup rides to arise.

Being a groom for an international level rider is something that you just want to pour your heart into as you get to know the incredible animals that you work with. You are there every day with them making sure that they are always feeling at their best and that everything is perfect behind the scenes so that when they step onto the international stage, they are ready to perform.

Recently Matt was invited to compete at a 3* show jumping event that took place during the Kentucky 3DE, the biggest Eventing show in the USA.  Here he and ‘Dandy’ rode among some of show jumping’s best to achieve great placings and FEI ranking points. Now we are heading up to Canada with our 3 top Grand-prix horses to compete for AUS in the nations cup and then head onto Spruce meadows to compete.

The team and I regularly post about our travels on our Instagram pages, @williams_equestrian & @lillytrevorrowequestrian so if you want to follow along with the Williams Equestrian journey or hear more about a groom on an international adventure be sure to follow our pages!

Stay tuned for a post event report from Lilly.  Good luck to Lilly and her team from everyone at Pony Club Victoria!