Natalie Povey - Profile

Natalie lives in North Wales and trains in Oswestry, Shropshire with Grace Mew. Grace is a dressage rider, British Dressage trainer and judge who provides Natalie with all of her coaching and training experience.

Natalie is an up and coming Paralympic rider who is a member of the World Class Para Equestrian Dressage Development Programme for 2011/2013 aiming to compete in future international competitions and Paralympic games as well as aiming for 2012. Natalie is currently on the potential silver level of the programme after being promoted in November 2009 from start silver level. The World Class Development Programme aims to identify talented riders; its main aim is to support them to develop their potential to reach World Class and Paralympic Level so that they achieve the best possible results. This is achieved by providing an established training pathway, providing athletes with access to support services and the World Class staff that assist them with their performance. As a member of the World Class Development Programme Natalie attends squad training sessions every couple of months where she, her horse and coach work with the world class staff and she is reviewed every six months.

Natalie competes as a Grade 1B para-equestrian dressage rider in walk and trot dressage tests. She competes in National competitions and International competitions both at home and abroad. Up to now she has represented Great Britain at six international para-dressage competitions over the past five years.

In 2010 she was awarded the Para Rider Award for 2010, which is an award that is presented to the para rider whom the British Dressage Wales feels deserves recognition through their hard work and commitment to dressage.

Natalie's horse is called Westpoint First Lady, or Fizz, and is a 15.2HH, 11 year old bay British Warmblood mare who Natalie has had the ride since 2008. In March 2010 Natalie was given funds to purchase Fizz and has owned her herself ever since. Natalie says of Fizz: “Fizz is the smallest horse on the world class development para-equestrian development programme - standing at 15.2hh but she is a fairly well built British Warmblood as people always say she looks bigger than she actually is! She makes up for her size in other ways and defiantly lives up to her stable name at times!”

Natalie's aims for herself and Westpoint First Lady are to reach their highest potential. Natalie was born with Spina Bifida which affects the use of her lower limbs, she is only able to walk with the use of crutches and uses a wheelchair.

Natalie says of Para Dressage: “my sport is my life and without my horse I would be lost, my horse gives me the freedom that my disability can sometimes restrict.”

Natalie aims to get the best out of her horse whilst keeping her horse's welfare in mind. She believes that if a horse is happy in its work it will work with you, which maximises the performance and relationship with its rider.

Natalie says: “Achieving my goals is my ultimate dream and the feeling you get of hearing the national anthem played for you is an experience hard to describe as well as being unforgettable.”

http://www.nataliepovey.co.uk