At first glance, Ava MacCoubrey seems like a typical horse-crazy teenager. She enjoys spending time at the barn, hanging out with her friends, and sharing funny photos of her equine exploits on social media.
But the 16-year-old native of Cobourg, ON, is anything but ordinary. The top-ranked FEI junior dressage rider in Canada, MacCoubrey is a world-class athlete with a talent matched only by her determination to be the best she can be.
MacCoubrey started riding at the age of seven, begging her parents for lessons after returning home from a family vacation where she had the opportunity to ride. She progressed quickly to owning her own pony, on which she competed in pony jumpers and low-level eventing. The pair were always successful during the dressage portion of events, so when a bad fall prompted MacCoubrey to give up jumping, focusing on the dressage ring seemed like a natural step.
At the age of 13 she knew she wanted to pursue the sport seriously and turned to two-time Olympian Jacqueline Brooks for coaching.
“I can’t even begin to explain how much Jac has helped me over the past two-and-a-half years,” MacCoubrey says. “I have grown so much as a rider and as a person. She honestly is a miracle worker!”
MacCoubrey’s first FEI mount was Pablo, a 1997 KWPN gelding owned and trained to grand prix by Lori Bell. The leased schoolmaster – although known to be difficult – proved a perfect match for his new young rider and the pair made their CDI debut in the winter of 2016. In that successful first season together they qualified to represent Canada at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC), but MacCoubrey’s goal of competing there would have to wait for another year.
“We qualified to go to NAJYRC in 2016, but the competition was held in Colorado, a 30-hour trip,” MacCoubrey explains. ”I didn’t want to risk Pablo getting hurt or sick on such a long journey, especially because he was already 19 at the time and I wanted to be able to compete with him for one more season. Pablo’s not the easiest, but he has taught me so much. He is kind of a princess and he likes things done his way. He took me through my first CDI and my first winter season competing in Florida. He’s done so much for me and I didn’t want to take any chances with his health.”
Despite the difficult decision not to compete herself, MacCoubrey still travelled to Colorado for the championships to support the Canadian team and groom for American Nick Hansen, a fellow student of Jacquie Brooks. Hansen and his horse Ritter Benno, a 2001 Westphalian gelding, swept the Young Rider division that year, winning gold medals in each of their three classes.
Hansen turned Ritter’s reins over to MacCoubrey in February 2017 and she found herself in the enviable position of having two FEI horses to ride and compete with throughout the winter season in Florida and back home in Ontario during the summer.
“I am so lucky to lease Ritter,” she says. “He is the complete opposite from Pablo. He is super laid-back; you could honestly do anything to him and he wouldn’t care. It was a hard transition because Ritter is also a completely different ride, but the change really helped me improve as a rider.”
By the end of the 2017 competition season, MacCoubrey held the top Canadian spot in the FEI Junior Rankings with Ritter and the number-two spot with Pablo, numbers 32 and 65 in the world, respectively. She qualified for NAJYRC with both horses and, as the 2017 competition was much closer to home in New York, chose to ride Pablo. The pair earned a top-10 finish in the individual competition, a fitting way to end Pablo’s FEI career.
Looking ahead, MacCoubrey hopes to medal at NAJYRC while still in the junior age category, and has her sights set on competing in the young riders and U-25 grand prix divisions. Making those dreams a reality won’t be easy, as she balances the demands of training and competing with high school, friends, family, and the everyday life of being a teenager.
“Juggling schoolwork with horses and wintering in Florida is definitely a struggle, as I’m sure many people can relate,” she admits. “I do all my schooling online which does make it a little easier, but you have to remember to stop riding once in a while and do homework! My family has sacrificed so much for me to able to follow my dreams so I’m very grateful that I’m able to do that.”
Coach Brooks is confident her young student has not only the talent, but the determination and work ethic to reach her goals. “What has set Ava on a course for success is that she already has an understanding of how hard you have to work to achieve results,” says Brooks. “She recognizes the whole package that comes with success in dressage. She is the first in the barn in the morning feeding, mucking, and turning out, and the last to bandage and do night check for her horses. She has had nothing handed to her and both she and her parents work very hard to give her the best possible chance at success.
“Talent will get you partway, but it is Ava’s talent combined with her ability to work that will take her as far as she wants to go.”
