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Lucy Olphert Showjumping, Queenstown (2026)

18/06/2026

Right… so while the rest of us are at home, Katie’s casually ticking off every equestrian bucket list item imaginable. 🤩Living the dream!👌

15/06/2026

An awesome video of super student Katie Wilson in a recent training session with Olympic gold medallist and World number 2 Laura Collett!🇬🇧👏 Thank you Laura for taking a chance on our Katie! Big future ahead for this Dunedin based rider!!🤩👌

14/06/2026

Finally home after what has been a HUGE six weeks on the other side of the world. There have been so many incredible moments along the way and I will share some of them over the coming weeks but without a doubt the biggest highlight has been helping my long term sponsored rider Katie Wilson settle into a working student position with Olympic Gold Medallist and World Number 2 Laura Collett!🇬🇧

I first started working with Katie over five years ago, and from the very beginning I knew there was something special there.

In 2022, at just 16 years old, Katie joined me in France for her first Global Amateur Tour experience, finishing in the top 10 of her category at the highly competitive La Baule Summer Tour. But it wasn’t the result that stood out most. It was her attitude.

Katie’s hunger and dedication to improving every aspect of her performance, including her flatwork, was every bit as impressive as her jumping. As a teenager, she possessed a maturity and work ethic well beyond her years. I began trusting her with my own horses while I was overseas, and every Christmas holiday she would come and ride for me. No matter what horse needed riding or what job needed doing, she approached it with enthusiasm, initiative, and a genuine desire to learn.

When the opportunity arose for Katie to join the Global Amateur Tour again, this time on our very first UK Eventing Tour, I encouraged her to stay on afterwards and gain some overseas experience. Little did we know where that decision would lead.

When Laura visited New Zealand earlier this year for a clinic series, she too saw something special in Katie. A few conversations later, Katie was invited to join Laura’s team for the UK summer.

Before heading overseas, Katie put an exclamation mark on her season by riding seven horses at the Young Event Horse Championships, recording six placings and taking home three titles. BOOM!💥💪

Since arriving in the UK, she has had opportunities that many young riders only dream of. She’s shadowed Laura at some of the biggest competitions in the world, sat in on lessons with Great Britain’s Olympic coaches, and even jump schooled several of Laura’s exciting young horses. That level of trust is an enormous compliment and a testament to the rider and horsewoman she has become.

Katie, I couldn’t be prouder of you🥺

Watching your journey unfold has been incredibly rewarding. Seeing opportunities like this come your way reminds me exactly why I love helping young riders chase their dreams. I know you’ll be bringing home a wealth of knowledge, experience, and inspiration, and I have no doubt this is only the beginning of a very exciting career.

If you’d like to follow Katie’s journey in the UK and beyond, head over to Katie Wilson Eventing and show her some support. Trust me, this is one rider you’ll want to keep an eye on!🙌

30/05/2026

UPDATE! What an incredible few weeks it has been here in the UK and Europe leading the Global Amateur Tour.

Safe to say that after our rather eventful arrival in Germany, which looked more like a cross-country scene from Badminton thanks to lack of navigation and obscene luggage situation, we did eventually make it back into the showjumping arena and managed to stay there for the remainder of our time in Krautland!

With 12 riders from five different countries including South Africa, the USA, Australia, Namibia and New Zealand, it was always going to be an adventure. And what an adventure it was.

Hauter Horses absolutely delivered with the most incredible line-up of horsepower. Honestly, I could quite happily have taken every single horse home with me 🛍️

Away from the arena, we explored the famous Heidelberg Castle, raised countless glasses and shouted “Prost!” in German beer gardens, dined and danced in ancient monasteries, and even squeezed in a day trip across the border to the fairy-tale town of Colmar in France for some delicious French brie, fresh pastries and plenty of laughs amongst the colourful streets.

We also spent three unforgettable days at CHIO Aachen, the Wimbledon of equestrian sport. Watching the world’s best riders battle it out for the Rolex Grand Prix was something truly special. We were lucky enough to meet Ireland’s Cian O’Connor as well as Christian Ahlmann and Henrik von Eckermann, not to mention walk the Rolex Grand Prix course itself!!Too many highlights to pick a favourite 🤷‍♀️

What continues to amaze me most about these tours, though, is the people.every tour brings together strangers from different countries, backgrounds and walks of life, and somehow they leave as friends. The connections made, the stories shared and the memories created are what make these experiences so special.

One moment that will stay with me forever was being gifted a beautiful pounamu by the Morrison family from Matakana, New Zealand. In Māori culture, pounamu is traditionally gifted rather than bought for yourself, and this was the first pounamu I have ever been given. I honestly cannot put into words how much that meant to me. Thank you Eva and Jared!It was an incredibly thoughtful gesture that I will treasure forever 🩷

Over the coming weeks I’ll share some more specific highlights from the tour, but for now here’s a photo dump from our media guru Elise Ford Photography who travelled all the way from Dunedin for her first G*T experience. Elise absolutely smashed it, and I cannot wait to share more of her work!

A huge thank you also to my co-pilot Becks. Thank you for the laughs, the endless support, the caffeine, and for somehow helping keep me sane over the last three weeks. You girls are the real MVPs 🫶

I never take for granted how lucky I am to do something I genuinely love. To travel the world, work with incredible people, and help create experiences like these is something I will always be grateful for.

Until the next adventure💕

11/05/2026

I’m not crying you’re crying! 😭

Some moments in this sport are bigger than results. Yesterday was one of them.

Watching Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo make history at Badminton Horse Trials is a moment that will stay with me forever.

Coming off a Burghley win last September, having a baby in January, then returning just 3 months later to win Badminton for a third time is nothing short of inspiring.

What struck me most wasn’t just the performance itself, but the way she carries herself. The focus. The calmness. The graciousness. And above all, the genuine love and respect for her horse Walter. No drama, no theatrics, just incredible horsemanship at the absolute highest level. Mad respect.

These animals give us absolutely everything. They carry our nerves, our pressure, our dreams, our mistakes, and they still go out there and try for us anyway. They don’t care about trophies or prize money or headlines. They just trust us completely.

Moments like yesterday are exactly why experiences like the Global Amateur Tour are so special too. Getting to stand ringside and witness the very best partnerships in the world up close is something that reminds all of us why we fell in love with horses in the first place. 🖤

So, who’s coming to with us to Badminton next year? Riders of all ages and levels + spectators welcome!
https://www.globalamateurtour.com/badminton2027

06/05/2026

The most incredible afternoon at Olympic gold medalist Laura Collett’s yard, captured perfectly by our superstar media whizz from Dunedin Elise Ford Photography! 🎥

04/05/2026

UK update 🇬🇧✨

We kicked things off in Oxfordshire, lucky enough to stay at Baldon House… a real life manor and the dreamiest way to start the trip. A quick stop into Holland Cooper (damage was definitely done) followed by an afternoon wandering through Oxford, including a whip around the Oxford University Museum of Natural History which was seriously fascinating… especially getting to see the evolution of the horse over time 🐴

We celebrated Katie’s 19th with a visit to the semi wild ponies at Port Meadow before heading to our tour base in Bourton-on-the-Water for the next 10 days… and wow, it really is as dreamy as everyone says.

Elise, Becks (my co Chef d’Équipe) and I have scored the most beautiful little cottage for the week… unfortunately located directly above a funeral parlour, but we’re choosing to overlook that minor detail 🤣

That night wrapped up with dinner at a quintessential English pub alongside our G*T UK trainer Daniele Bizzarro and his lovely fiancée Dani.

The rest of the riders arrived Friday and have spent the last couple of days getting stuck into some seriously good training. Unreal group, unreal horses, and plenty of laughs along the way. Yesterday afternoon was spent at the Farmers Dog beer garden, owned by none other than Jeremy Clarkson… because when in the Cotswolds, right! 🍻

Today the riders step things up with their first cross country schooling session, followed by a visit in the afternoon to the yard of Olympic gold medallist Laura Collett. Selfies with London 52 anyone?! 🤳

This location has been a dream of mine for a long time, so to finally be here experiencing it like this is a pretty cool moment!! Our Kiwi media guru Elise Ford has absolutely nailed capturing it all 📸

We have one space left on our September tour, which includes 6 days of training plus two days spectating at Burghley. And remember… you absolutely do not need to be a professional to join the Global Amateur Tour. Riders of all ages, stages and nationalities come together on these tours and that’s what makes them so special!

For more information, head to the website link below or flick me a message!

https://www.globalamateurtour.com/uk2026sept

29/04/2026

Nothing says welcome to England like a pint of lager in a proper English pub 🍻 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

After 27 hours of travel, questionable airport decisions and plenty of caffeine we’ve finally landed in the UK ahead of the global_amateur_tour very first eventing edition!🙌

There’s a bit of Dunedin representation here with sponsored rider Katie Wilson along for the ride and our new media intern Elise Ford from Elise Ford Photography behind the camera! 🎥

We’ve got a pretty epic lineup ahead including six days of training with the legendary Dan Bizzarro, an exclusive masterclass and stable visit with Olympic Gold medalist Laura Collett, two days spectating at Badminton Horse Trials, and plenty more adventures in between!

We’re based in the Cotswolds, just a stone’s throw from Didly Squat aka Clarkson’s Farm. Honestly feels like we’ve landed in the middle of a postcard!😻

The rest of the riders arrive Friday. Stay tuned for more updates!

26/04/2026

As everyone usually posts their show updates immediately after a show… I figured I’d drop mine once the season’s wrapped up… when everyone’s missing the 10,000 Sunday night show updates from August to April. Perfect timing for maximum attention 😌

To say we finished the season on a high is an understatement. After stepping up at Ashburton to jump her first 5yo class and take the win, Pingo then carried on her winning form to Southland Showjumping, taking out the 1.10m Championship with a beautiful steady double clear (in standard Southland conditions)… and the only one to do so!⛈️💅

Acorn aka Adelaide Ccph also winning the 1.30m with ease and stepping up to her first Mini Prix for 🥈Would’ve taken the 1.20m too… but well her jockey was channelling that be present stuff… yup we started five seconds after the bell and nope i won’t be doing that again anytime soon!!🤦‍♀️

Onto Canterbury Champs…
Both girls keeping the form rolling, Adelaide zipping around the 1.20m Welcome Stakes to win by a lofty six seconds then jumping the 1.35m for 4th place. We decided not to start Sunday as quite honestly this amazing little horse had nothing more to prove to me🩷

Pingo added another lovely double clear to her resume in the 1.10m, just quietly doing her thing, also jumping a very big and technical 5yo track. Gosh she’s come a long way in 12 months!!

To say I’m proud of these two is an understatement.we’ve only jumped six shows this season, but the consistency speaks for itself. It’s easy to get caught up in chasing more shows, more classes, more miles… but at the end of the day they are athletes, not machines

They don’t need to be out there every weekend proving a point. They need to be produced properly, managed well, and given the chance to grow in confidence each time they step in the ring.

So for me it will always be quality over quantity… even if it means missing a few of those Sunday night show update marathons😜

Lucy Olphert Showjumping

18/06/2026

15/06/2026

14/06/2026

30/05/2026

11/05/2026

06/05/2026

04/05/2026

29/04/2026

26/04/2026

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