By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
HUNDREDS of riders applied for the chance to represent Australia at the Penang International Horse Show, but just two made the cut- Tooradin teenager Sophia Landy emerged a winner.
Sophia took out second, third and fourth places across different events over the course of the four-day competition, and team Australia won the overall event.
“It was an experience of a lifetime against high level young riders from all over the world,” Sophia said.
The unique horse show is a borrowed horse event, meaning all competitors ride on a horse that has been picked out of a lottery.
Sophia, who is accustomed to riding unfamiliar horses, said she wasn’t fazed by the unknown.
“I think that’s the reason I got selected because I do ride lots of different horses,” she said.
Starting her love for horse riding and competing at the age of six, Sophia, 18, made the big move to Tooradin, during VCE, from her family home in Melbourne.
“I’ve lived on the estate for two years now, and I love it, I can ride every day,” she said.
Filling her days with riding and study has led the former Methodist Ladies College student to aspire to a career in the industry, and her recent trip to Malaysia was nothing short of inspirational.
“The highlight of the competition for me was at end of the show when I came third in the open class show jumping,” she said.
Sophia, who broke in her first horse at 14 years of age, is currently building up her own instructor and horse training business at the Tooradin estate.
