Noted dressage rider Fiona Bigwood made history back in 1996 when, aged 21, she became the youngest-ever British rider to be selected for a senior European championship. 20 years later, she joined another elite when she was part of the British dressage team that won silver at the Olympic Games in Rio. She has also helped Team GB to take silver at the World and European Championships. She currently runs a successful stable in Brantridge Park, West Sussex, with her husband.
Bigwood was born in Camberwell in April 1976 and started riding at a local riding school when she was seven years old. Thanks to her mum’s persistence, she ended up receiving training from international trainer Marion Larrigan and learning dressage on former Grand Prix horse Salute. She trained further in Denmark and Germany before competing for Britain at the 1993 Junior Equestrian Championship and three consecutive Young Rider European Championships between 1994 and 1996. Her big break, however, came when she was selected for a senior European championship aged just 21 and also won the British National Elementary title. She brought her first stable in 1998.
By 2014, Bigwood was firmly established as one of Britain’s best dressage riders. However, a freak riding accident at a show left her with eye-nerve damage and double vision, meaning that she needed to wear an eye patch to ride. With strength and talent, she continued to compete at the highest level and enjoyed the biggest achievement of her career in 2016 when she won silver at the Olympics in Rio.
