Eva is a wonderfully dedicated rider who returned to riding after a 35-year break and has thrown herself into dressage with a calm, determined “let’s learn” attitude. She is committed to building her confidence, skills and partnership step by step.

Eva competes Beauparc Charleston (AKA Charlie), her kind and funny 11-year-old RPXWelsh gelding who can get a little hot and spicy out at competitions (but is getting better every outing), and she’s also starting a new chapter with Diamond Night Piccolo (AKA Pippa), her first young horse, a 5-year-old GRP who she’s bringing along steadily as they begin their competition journey.

Eva’s focus for 2026 is clear: improve accuracy (shapes and movements) and develop the mindset tools to manage competition anxiety so she can ride with more calm, focus, and confident leadership from warm-up through to the arena.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus team, Eva — we can’t wait to support you, Charlie, and Pippa as you keep building your competition journey this year.

Karen Kells

Horse: Naketano R WE
Level: EA Medium Pony Dressage Rider
Location: Eumundi, QLD

Karen is a committed rider who brings a whole lot of heart to her dressage journey. After riding from a young age and having a break from horses for many years, Karen returned to the saddle and has embraced dressage as her new passion, proving that progress is always possible when you’re willing to show up and keep learning.

Karen competes her talented German Riding Pony, Naketano R WE, and together they have worked their way from Preliminary to now competing Medium level, with an exciting 2026 goal of stepping up to PSG.

Like many dedicated competition riders, Karen’s biggest challenge is managing competition and performance anxiety. She can ride her tests confidently at home, but on competition day nerves can take over, affecting sleep, focus, and even causing those “blank at A” moments. The good news is Karen is more than ready to conquer it. Her mindset is clear: it’s time to build the tools, back herself, and learn how to stay calm and focused when it matters most.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus team, Karen, we can’t wait to support you and Naketano as you keep building confidence and focus on your journey towards PSG in 2026.

Melissa Hoskings – Taafe

Horse: Revelwood Martini and Hollingrove Titus
Level: FEI Small Tour Dressage Rider
Location: Warragul, VIC

Melissa is one of those riders who lives and breathes dressage. Passionate, hardworking, and deeply committed to doing the journey properly (both in training and in mindset).

What makes Melissa’s story so inspiring isn’t just the level she rides at, it’s the way she keeps showing up through the highs and the hard seasons. Over the years, she’s worked through the very real mental side of competition: shutting down comparison, trusting her own path, and stepping into the warm-up arena with more belief in herself.

The last few years have brought some incredibly challenging moments, including heartbreaking losses and setbacks, but Melissa’s focus this year is on rebuilding, with patience, purpose, and the kind of resilience that only horses can teach us.

Alongside her beautiful Warmblood gelding Revelwood Martini (Marti), she’s also beginning an exciting new chapter with Hollingrove Titus, a young horse who arrived at the right time and has brought fresh hope and direction to her riding. Her yearling, Squiggle, is also growing up fast and is already a special part of her team.

This year marks Melissa’s 12th year as a Dressage Plus Sponsored Rider, a long-term partnership built on commitment, growth, and a shared belief that mindset work matters just as much as the training plan.

Welcome back to the team, Mel, we can’t wait to support you through another year of progress, perspective, and proud moments with Marti, Titus, and Squiggle.

Mikayla Thomas

Horse: Evermore Despina and MacArthur Durtle
Level: FEI Junior Dressage Rider
Location: St Clair, VIC

Mikayla is a dedicated young dressage rider, competing in the Junior and EA open classes at many of the big competitions across Victoria and NSW, and proudly building her competition career with her two Warmbloods, Evermore Despina (AKA Dezzy) and MacArthur Durtle (AKA Turtle).

Mikayla is a go-getter, ambitious, hardworking, and deeply committed to doing the work properly, both in her training and her mindset. With Dezzy, she’s preparing for some exciting milestones, including her Advanced debut, and her first freestyle by the end of the year. With Turtle, a talented young horse, her focus is on building confidence and consistency in the basics, with goals to compete Novice and train Elementary by the end of the year.

What makes Mikayla such a great fit for the Dressage Plus team is her honesty and maturity around mindset. She openly shares that overthinking, motivation dips, and trusting the process can be challenges, and she’s ready to strengthen those skills with intention. Mikayla is passionate about showing other riders that mindset growth is part of the journey, and that progress is built through consistency, patience, and support.

We’re so excited to support Mikayla through a big year of goals, growth, and proud moments with Dezzy and Turtle.

Photo credit: James Abernethy Photography

Sally Cordner

Horse: Rhodolite
Level: EA Novice Dressage Rider
Location: Kilmore East, VIC

Sally is a dedicated dressage rider who’s passionate about doing things properly, training with purpose, building strong foundations, and putting the time into her partnership with her horse, Rhodolite (Tiger at home).

Tiger is a talented 6-year-old Warmblood with an exciting start to his career, including being named 4-year-old State Champion at the Dressage Festival and placing at Dressage with the Stars (DWTS).

Sally is part of the AOR squad and is now focused on building on a strong competition season. Her next goal is to step up to Elementary in the coming months and work towards qualifying for AOR State Champs, as well as the Dressage Festival.

Like many riders returning after taking a step back, Sally is currently working through a challenge that’s both technical and confidence-building: improving her sitting trot. She’s committed to doing the work, growing as a team, and keeping her mindset focused on what matters most, keep learning, keep showing up, and trust the process.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus team, Sally, we can’t wait to support you and Tiger as you keep climbing the levels and chasing those goals in 2026.

Samantha Outram

Horse: Kendhall Park Octavia
Level: EA Elementary Dressage Rider
Location: Cardup, WA

Samantha is a dedicated dressage rider, mum and busy working woman who has built a long-term partnership with her 14-year-old Friesian Sporthorse mare, Kendhall Park Octavia. Samantha bought Octavia as a freshly started 3-year-old, and over the past 10 years they’ve grown together through plenty of life changes, training milestones and competition experiences. In 2025, they finished on a high by winning both Elementary tests at their final competition and achieving their Novice performance medals.

Samantha and Octavia are currently competing at Elementary and training towards Medium, with goals to keep progressing their flying changes and step up when the time is right. Samantha is especially proud of having trained Octavia herself to this level and loves the feeling of learning and progressing together.

Her biggest mindset challenge is self-doubt, especially at competitions. Samantha knows they are capable, but those “I’m not good enough” thoughts can still creep in and affect how she rides under pressure. Her focus is on building stronger self-belief, enjoying competition more and learning to trust the work she has already put in.

This year has also brought some unexpected setbacks with Octavia’s health and recovery, so for now Samantha’s priority is simply giving her the time and care she needs. The long-term outlook is positive, and Samantha is already showing the patience and resilience needed to keep looking ahead.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus team, Samantha. We can’t wait to support you and Octavia through this next chapter and all the goals still ahead.

Sara Barden

Horse: Stellar Hit
Level: EA Novice Dressage Rider
Location: Merricks North, VIC

Sara is a dedicated rider juggling a full life alongside her horses. She is also a primary school teacher, equine sports massage therapist, and busy mum, while still making time to keep progressing in dressage.

She has a lovely team of three coming through, including her 9-year-old Warmblood mare Stella (whom Sara bred). After a challenging few years with some horsey setbacks, Sara is excited to have Stella feeling good again and is looking forward to getting back out competing this season.

Sara’s main focus this year is rebuilding her confidence to get out and about again, heading to clinics, returning to the competition environment, and finding her feet in busy warm-up arenas. She’s taking a steady, step-by-step approach and is committed to doing the mindset work alongside the training, so she can show up with more calm focus and belief in herself.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus Sponsored Rider Team, Sara, we can’t wait to support you through a year of confidence-building, consistency, and proud moments with Stella and the young horses coming through.

Sian Geary-Haynes

Horse: Soir De Lune
Level: EA Preliminary and HRCAV Dressage Rider
Location: Kinglake Central, VIC

Sian is a passionate and determined dressage rider who returned to riding after more than 10 years away while building her career and raising her family. She has worked hard to rebuild her confidence and is a great example of what can happen when you keep taking small steps forward, even when riding feels challenging.

Sian has owned her 11-year-old OTT Thoroughbred, Soir De Lune (AKA Benny), for two years. Benny hadn’t done anything off the track before coming to Sian, and together they have been steadily building their dressage partnership. After 13 years away from competition, Sian returned to the arena with Benny last year and has already achieved one of her early goals, scoring 65% in a test.

Her future goals are to work towards the AOR squad next intake and qualify for the AOR State Championships and Dressage Festival. Her biggest mindset challenge is the cycle of nerves, procrastination and negative self-talk, which can quickly turn into time pressure and even more anxiety around competitions.

This year hasn’t been completely straightforward, with both horse and rider injuries interrupting their training, but Sian is now back in the saddle and ready to keep moving forward. Her willingness to keep rebuilding her confidence and return to her goals after setbacks is exactly the kind of growth mindset we love to support.

Welcome to the Dressage Plus team, Sian. We can’t wait to support you and Benny as you build confidence, consistency and momentum towards your goals.

Photo credit: OneEyedFrog Photography

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