Story republished in full with FEI permission
5 Things you didn’t know about…. Mollie Summerland
© Mollie Summerland Facebook
The FEI recently caught up with Mollie Summerland.
Mollie Summerland is one of Great Britain’s top young Eventing riders, and went into the stratosphere when she won the CCI5 * of Luhmühlen last weekend.
The 23-year-old became the youngest-ever winner of the event, finishing first her gelding Charly van ter Heiden and ahead of Germany’s Christoph Wahler. Superstars Michael Jung, Tim Price and Jonelle Price were also competing!
It was a brilliant win for Mollie — who was previously based with Pippa Funnell — just a couple of weeks after she was part of the GB team that won the recent FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ competition at Houghton Hall.
She certainly has a bright future ahead of her. So (just) before she becomes a household name, we thought we’d let you in on five things you should know about this rising star.
1. Her horse of a lifetime is…
Her current horse Charly Van Ter Heiden. He was bought as a 5yo who had never jumped and Mollie has produced him herself. Quite successfully, at that, judging by their 5* debut at Pau last year and then the famous win Luhmühlen. She’s said in the past that he was a difficult ride initially, but now says that “we went around our first 5* together and have a very strong partnership.”
2. Her best piece of advice to young riders is…
“No matter how many people make you feel like you are not good enough or tell you that you won’t make it, never give up. You are the only person that gets to decide when to stop and when to keep going. If you want something, go get it!”
This is from the girl who reportedly announced at only 11 that she would ride at the Olympics one day and despite coming from a non-horsey background, looks well on her way to do just that. Words to live by, we think!
3. Her best memory of horses is…
“It’s a day that changes my life,” Mollie said after achieving her win with Charly in Germany last weekend. The two built up a big lead ahead of the field in dressage before avoiding penalties in cross country and jumping.
She adds: “Finishing third individually in the Nations Cup in Belgium was a special day. Our friends – who we bought Charly off in Belgium – came to watch and support us so there were big celebrations that day!”
Mollie adds that she has loads of great memories with her horses, so this was one of the trickier questions for her to answer. And understandably so – as we all know, the euphoric highs of riding make the lows completely worthwhile.
4. If Mollie wasn’t a pro rider she’d be…
A psychologist. “I think it would be a really rewarding job. I find it fascinating how our minds work” she says. “I’d like trying to help people work through lots of different issues. No day would ever feel the same in that job I don’t think.”
5. She’s no early bird
Unlike most riders who seem to be up at the crack of dawn and ready to get on their first horse at ridiculous-o’clock, Mollie is exactly the opposite.
“I’m such a night owl! I find it hard to switch off and relax. Especially when I get back from shows, I struggle to get to sleep. I think my adrenaline must still be up!”
Not surprising really – have you seen the size of those five star fences? Just looking at them is enough to get most people’s adrenaline pumping.
Luckily, she’s not too inclined to hit the snooze button on show day and says “I hate being late so I’m really good as getting up early for shows, but I’m not the best at consistently waking up early day to day.”
Watch some great action on FEI TV this weekend as the FEI Eventing Nations Cup is held in Strzegom, Poland…
Story republished in full with FEI permissoin. Images by Mollie Summerland Eventing (Facebook)
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