Zoe Boyd is a fellow equestrian blogger from England. I stumbled across her page ‘That Sassy Rider’ via an interview she did with another blogger and was immediately hooked. She is funny, intelligent and insightful and best of all she is truly a horse person. If you’ve scrolled through any of her social media feeds or Insta stories then you’ll also have seen her gorgeous whippets.
Where did your blog name ‘That Sassy Rider’ come from?
Ummm originally I rode a rather sassy Arab, so the blog was ‘That Sassy Arab’ and then it was pointed out that actually I was equally as sassy ???? so I changed it to That Sassy Rider. I tend to ride horses with a lot of sass so it fits in rather nicely.
How did you start riding?
I didn’t start riding until I was 17, I randomly ended up getting a Welsh D on loan through a friend of a friend, and I was self taught for a few years until I could afford lessons. It was from then I became addicted.
What drew you to the sport of eventing?
I’m not really an éventer as I’ve only ever competed in about 5 ODEs, I am more of a show jumper. It’s the thrill of a jump off that I love, it’s a huge adrenaline for me.
What motivates or inspires you to continue progressing as a rider?
I think it’s how horses keep your head out of the clouds, they are so up and down, they teach you not to be complacent in life as everything can change in a split second.
Tell us about your current horse Harry Heinz:
Harry is a 7 year old Anglo Arab, who is by Kings Composer. He is owned by a lady who has had him since a yearling. I’m yet to compete him but at present I don’t have my own transport so a lot of training is going on behind the scenes.
Tell us about your previous horse Ali:
Ali was an Arab who was 18 when I stopped riding him. We did incredibly well together and competed in the British Riding Club National Show Jumping Championship.
Have there been any other influential horses in your life?
I have ridden quite a few horses in my time, I can’t really pick one – although I rode a black TB called Panama and she taught me a few lessons in how to sit up and grip on!
What has been your greatest achievement as a rider?
Reaching the BRC National Champs, being from Cornwall and riding other people’s horses, those opportunities don’t come very often. Just qualifying for them was the highlight of my year, actually getting there was a dream come true.
Excitingly Zoe now has a second horse to ride a compete in addition to Harry – Winnie!
You can follow Zoe on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThatSassyRider/, and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsassyrider.
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