Postcards from the Saddle: Olivia Hamood at Philippaerts

One of Australia's most talented young showjumpers, Olivia Hamood, is currently living in Belgium and working at the prestigious showjumping stables of  Ludo Philippaerts.

Olivia spent some time working at Philippaerts early last year and returned there, with two of her own horses, in October 2012. She's been having a fantastic time training, showing and flying the Aussie flag at such prestigious shows at Roosendaal and Mechelen. At Mechelen Olivia finished third in the 1.30 speed class and seventh in the 1.30 two phase CSIU25-A on her own horse, Eternal Flame (pictured).

Go Jump Magazine caught up with Olivia to find out what it's like being right at the centre of the European showjumping scene...

"Well this last month has been flat out with shows, training and preparing for Mechelen, but I have enjoyed every moment of it. This month I have started taking weekly dressage lessons with an incredible dressage coach 'Jan' who trains everybody at the stable here; I believe he is training the likes of Philipe Le Juene, Jos Lansik and Marlon Zanotelli just to name a few. I have benefited a lot from the lessons and I can feel myself improving and becoming more disciplined and polished in my riding. My highlight this month was probably the 2* show at Roosendaal in Holland. Pieter Clemens (one of Ludo's riders, also his nephew) won the Grand Prix in Roosendaal. The arena was absolutely stunning. There were Christmas trees everywhere and big red sashes and chandeliers hanging from the roof, along with colourful spot lighting for the evening classes and presentations.

The first day of the show, I will not forget, it was so cold there were icicles hanging from the roof of the stables!"

See more photos and read Olivia's complete 'Postcard', plus more great showjumping related articles in the January issue of www.gojumpmagazine.com

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