Laura Renwick Rider Profile

Laura Renwick is a rider who has taken the show jumping world by storm in recent years and is currently ranked number six show jumper in Britain, and the highest ranked female show jumper.

36-year-old Laura grew up in Essex, in a family centred around horses. Her mother owned a riding school, and Laura got her first pony, Pippin, when she was just one year old! When she was four she got a Welsh pony who was also four years old, and practiced her skills in Pony Club activities and events. She then got a 13.2hh with which she took part in various equestrian competitions on, but found that show jumping was the discipline for her. When she was eleven she was bought a JA jumping pony. Young Laura didn’t meet this pony’s seller, John Renwick, at the time: although she would later go on to marry him.

Laura did not immediately start a career as a professional rider, although she remained a passionate equestrian. She worked as an air hostess, did retail jobs, and lived and worked in Spain for a time. After learning that she wanted to work with horses, or failing that, at least to work in the outdoors. She started competing again on her young horse. She met John Renwick and together they went into business together, buying some young horses. Later they got together and were married, and had a son, Jack.

As fate would have it, it wasn’t until after having Jack that her career took off in a major way, with a rapid rise to prominence. Laura’s training skills are shown to the full in the results she gets from her horses, such as Limelight De Breve, who was an unproven 3-year-old when Laura bought and started training her. Laura and Limelight won the Foxhunter Final at the Horse of the Year Show in 2006 and the Seven Year Old Championships in the same year, making Limelight De Breve the only horse to have won both classes. To add to this, she took a silver medal at the World Breeding Championships on Limelight, making 2006 one of Laura’s proudest years.

Laura has experienced continual success since, including numerous top three placings in 2010 and being declared the prestigious Leading Showjumper Of The Year at the 2010 Horse of the Year Show, after taking 1^st at the Foxhunter Final again, on Parvati de Breve. Laura’s combination of skill, poise and style has garnered her sponsorship from Italian saddlery brand Equipe. She even took part in a risqué photography shoot, featuring her in French knickers and a T-shirt, to promote British Showjumping. At interview she has said the experience was a laugh and successful at raising the sport’s profile, but she probably wouldn’t do anything like it again.

As a consummate trainer and showjumper and Britain’s leading female showjumper, Laura aspires to take part in the 2012 Olympics. Her 2011 season so far certainly suggests that she’ll make it: among other top-ten placements she won Leading Rider at Lisbon, Lons le Saunier and Bourg on Bresse. If her success continues, Laura is certain to be seen at the 2012 London Olympics, and we wish her the best of luck!