In October, Year 1 Built Environment student Antony Iren competed for Great Britain in the FEI European Reining Championships in Germany, finishing 5th out of 180 riders.
This is the second year running that Antony has represented Great Britain in the Young Riders category. Reining is known as the Western form of dressage and it’s a discipline which requires the rider to perform one of a set of patterns with smoothness, correctness and control, all done at galloping speed. Antony started riding lessons and soon became interested in the Western style of reining, as he says, “it’s really fast, all action and you can be casual and wear jeans, breaking from the traditions of English riding.” Antony also explains how, because they are raised as working horses, “it’s a natural style of riding which is much less stressful for the horses.”
Here’s something you might not know: reining is the fastest growing sport in Europe, with 18,000 people taking part this year compared to just 3,000 last year. Robbie Williams is a fan as is racing-driver Michael Schumacher’s wife (who offered to buy Antony’s horse off of him – he said no, of course!).
Well done Antony, it’s a great achievement.
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