Stories of our Sport

Our first 'Stories of our Sport' for 2015 features Brittany Murphy, aged 17 from Brisbane.

What is your history with horses?

I started off with my 10hh Shetland called Star. My parents rode horses when they were children for mustering but that's as much horse experience our family had! Since then I have competed in every discipline I can manage from eventing to camp drafting! However now I have decided to focus on Show jumping and have just moved up into the Young Rider levels on my mare She’s a Diva. When I was 12 my QH Joe went lame and we had to find a new horse ASAP, that’s when mum asked me if we were going to be buying an Eventer or a Show jumper. However I just remembered that I wanted to do show jumping! I guess I just really enjoyed the difficulty of the accuracy, technicality, loved zooming around taking cuts and it goes higher than eventing! That’s when we found my beautiful mare Peace Image in horse deals and found ourselves going on an overnight, last-minute adventure to fly down to Sydney to trial her! I remember I sat on her for about 5 minutes and told dad I wanted her. I had her for 3 weeks (already won a Regional Champion title) and took her to our local Brookfield Show and competed in the 6 Bar however we got up to the 1.5m and mum had a panic attack and scratched me out (she said I was 12 and shouldn’t be jumping the same height as myself however I think Image and I wanted to keep going!) Since then it took us about 1 year and a 1/2 until we were competing 1.2m (from 80cm) and she definitely brought in the blue!!!

When/ at what age did you discover horses?

When I was in Grade 1 and we lived on our little 2 1/2 acre block in Anstead the western suburbs of Brisbane.

Who is your favourite horse/horses of all time?

It would have to go between my beautiful mare Peace Image who has taught me everything to do with jumping and my old fat 14.2hh Quarter Horse Joe who has competed and won in every discipline with every member of our family. We bought him very cheap as a camp drafter when he was 6 years old and he is now 19! He’s jumped bigger than himself in 6 bars, jumped completely tackless, and cleaned up state champions in Show jumping, Camp drafting, Sporting and Showman!

However it would be a dream just to pat Marcus Ehnings Plot Blue!

What motivates you?

Riding every day and feeling how much better your horse feels from the day before, getting to try new things and test out how far you can push your horse each day to do new and amazing things.

What are your goals in equestrian sport? 

It would be mine, and many others, to reach World Cup jumping level. Also to continue training my current horses to their maximum level.

Do you have any other hobbies?

I have just started a blog (check it out brittsblingyblog.com) however I have always enjoyed playing the drums and playing netball.

What would you do if you won a million dollars?

I would buy an awesome Semi-Trailer truck which could carry a heap of horses and then I would fix up our driveway so we could fit the truck!

What is your ideal horse holiday?

Our family already do our ideal horse holiday every year since I was 8 year old. We take around 5 of our horses to Cabarita Beach every year and canter them along the waves, some swim right out deep!

What is your favourite tv show or song?

Favourite song would have to Pink’s Try (love listening to it when I ride!)

Favourite TV show would be a tie in between Pretty Little Liars, Game of Thrones and Law and Order SVU!

Who or what makes you laugh?

I laugh at almost anything, but certainly one of friends (Lucy H) sends me into hysterics just by making eye-contact!

If you would like to submit your story for 'Stories of our Sport' please CLICK HERE to complete the submission form and return it, along with 2 photos, to [email protected]