Canada’s Olympic dressage riders and national team members are household names among followers of the sport. But there’s a new crop of up-and-coming riders poised to enter the limelight that fans should be watching. Among them is 31-year-old Ariana Chia of Winnipeg. HorseSport.com sat down with the rising star to learn more about where she came from and where she hopes to go.

When did you start riding?

Growing up, my family wanted us all to be involved in sports, music, etc. I took musical theatre, piano, and swimming lessons until the age of seven, when I had my first riding lesson. After that I refused to do anything else! So I started riding five days per week and dropped all of my other extracurricular activities.

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