Jessica takes two prestigious Young Rider of the Year Awards

18/12/2015

Young British team showjumper Jessica Mendoza has been awarded two more accolades in what has been an incredible year for the 19-year-old. Both were awarded yesterday during the London International Horse Show at Olympia:

• The 2015 Raymond Brooks Memorial Trophy
  Photo courtesy of Lewis Harding Photography and British Showjumping

The Raymond Brooks Ward Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the rider aged 25 or under who has shown the greatest potential for future success during the current season in any of the FEI disciplines. The Duchess of Cornwall presented Jessica with her trophy in front of a packed Olympia audience on Thursday 17 December 2015.

Previous recipients of this Award have gone on to become big stars of the international equestrian world including Ben Maher, Zara  Phillips, Charlotte Dujardin and Pippa Funnell.

• The British Equestrian Writers’ Association (BEWA)’s 2015 Worshipful Company of Saddlers Award

Jessica was the recipient of a bespoke saddle presented by Mr Charles Barclay, The Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company and presented to Jessica at the BEWA annual lunch during the week of Olympia.

The saddle is awarded to the young rider (25 years or under) 'judged to have made a successful transition from Young Rider level to senior competition, whilst conducting themselves with maturity and dignity and presenting their sport well to the media'. 


 “This time last year, I never dreamed that 2015 was going to be so exciting,” said Jessica who is currently based in The Netherlands. “But none of it would have been possible without the team behind me who I would like to take this opportunity to thank – my parents, my owners and sponsors, my brilliant groom, Lisa; and not least little Spirit T who is ‘the love of my life’.


In November, the FEI (the international governing body of the sport) announced Jessica as the winner of the Longines ‘Rising Star’ of 2015 award, and in October, she was crowned British Showjumping's Young (Under 21) Rider of the Year.