Matthew Dowsley and AEA Prestige won the Grand Prix Freestyle

© Roger Fitzhardinge

Matthew Dowsley is no stranger to the sport of dressage, and is set to compete at this week’s Australian Dressage Championships hosted by Boneo Park in Victoria

Equestrian Australia Dressage Committee Chair, Prue Spurrett is delighted to see him set to enter the Grand Prix ring again.

"I think we’re all just so happy to see Matthew back on the Grand Prix circuit - it’s where he belongs! AEA Prestige has so much presence it’s going to be an exciting combination to follow," said Spurrett.

Dowsley and AEA Prestige are certainly ones to watch this weekend at Boneo Park, both on Friday in the Horseland Grand Prix CDI-W and on Saturday in the Horseland Grand Prix CDI-W Freestyle.

He was introduced to horses at an early age, helping out at his parent’s riding school in the Blue Mountains as a five-year-old boy. In between helping out with all the work associated with keeping 37 horses, Dowsley and his siblings enjoyed participating in jumping and barrel racing.

“It was fun and a great way to start riding. We had five kids in our family. They were probably a bit more talented than me, but I stuck with it,” said Dowsley.

It was from the age of 14, after seeing dressage in the magazines and seeing Judy Dierks riding around that Matthew was hooked on the sport.

“It was so elegant and I thought, I want to do that. And you can always learn more, every day you learn something.”
39 years later, and with many elite titles to his name, he’s happy to be back on the Grand Prix circuit with his star-in-the-making AEA Prestige who he says “is the best horse he’s ever had”.

He got the ride on the handsome 13YO chestnut gelding, fondly known as Elvis, from owner and previous rider Denise Ceddia in 2015, but has actually known the horse since he was a four-year- old.

“Denise rode him beautifully but he can be a little bit naughty so he came to me. She’s thrilled that I like him so much,” he said. 
 Hitting the ground running, they scored in excess of 70% during their first season on the NSW Performance Squad, and Matthew and AEA Prestige have only gone from strength to strength.

For more information on the 2018 Australian Dressage Championships, please click here!

Source: Equestrian Australia press release

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