Nineteen-year-old British show jumper Jessica Mendoza enjoyed an illustrious career in ponies and juniors, winning two team gold medals and an individual silver before stepping up to the senior ranks last year. With her mother’s 14-year-old bay mare, Spirit T, Jessica made her senior team debut at the European Championships in Aachen. After a shaky start, the youngest (in 40 years of British show jumping) and least experienced of the squad ended up playing a key role in helping Great Britain achieve Olympic qualification. The recipient of the Longines FEI Rising Star Award for 2015, Jessica has every intention of realizing her Olympic dream in Rio.
Born and raised in the UK, Jessica and her family are now conveniently based in the Netherlands in the heart of the competition community. In addition to daily training with dad Paul, Jessica takes advice from decorated Dutch team rider Eric van der Vleuten, as well as the occasional dressage lesson. “The dressage has really taught me how to ride a lazy horse,” admits Jessica. “Surprisingly, the trick is no legs; dressage teaches them to do the work themselves.”
What is a typical day like at home in Eindhoven?
We are at home Monday to Wednesday and I am on my first horse at 8:30 a.m. I’ll ride four or five, mainly flatwork before lunch. We have a big lunch as a team, my parents Paul and Sarah, my grooms Lisa and Kevin, and my rider Ivan. Ivan exercises the horses and jumps the young ones when I’m away competing. Dad trains me and Mum is in charge of the yard. After lunch I’ll go back to riding and finish the day at 5:30.
What’s your earliest horsey memory?
I remember being led around the garden on my first pony, a Shetland called Holly.
How did you get started with horses?
My parents rode a bit and rented a yard where my mother had some eventing horses. She stopped competing when I was about five, but she has a horse now which she rides. I started doing showing [in-hand and flat] classes, then went on to working hunters and at nine I moved into the pony jumpers. First it was 12.2 hands and then they just got bigger; I had most of my success at 13.2h and 14.2h. I made my first British team when I was 13.
What’s the biggest difference between riding ponies and riding horses?
I think ponies have an in-built ability to look after themselves. They are much quicker-thinking and can get themselves out of trouble. They are like Jack Russells compared to Labradors. With horses, if you make a mistake, you generally pay for it.
What was the hardest part of transitioning from juniors to seniors?
In juniors, more riders make mistakes in the jump-off, so the margins are wider, but at senior level the margins are much finer and you can’t afford to miss a beat.
Have you always “made” your own mounts?
We always aim to have a mix of youngsters we bring on and already-proven horses, but because I want to get to the top quickly, we have tended towards horses with a bit of age, otherwise the wait would be too long.
When did you realize you could earn a living in this business?
I think when I was riding Tixylix and she gave me so much success I knew then that I could do it. But a turning point in a professional sense would have to be when I finished my A levels and moved to Holland to pursue this career.
Can you name a high point and a low point?
My high point would have to be 2015. It was phenomenal, but also gave me my low point, which would have to be the first few days of the European Championships in Aachen – until I turned things around – when I wasn’t happy and really thought I’d let the team down.
Is there anyone in particular who has enabled you to pursue your dream?
My parents. They have played a huge role. They have put everything into me and supported me completely.
Have you had to make many sacrifices along the way?
Yes. Leaving everyone behind in England. I don’t get to see my friends as much as I would like.
Horsepower aside, to reach the top of any sport you must be ultra-competitive by nature, but is there another ingredient that gives you an edge?
I think I am good under pressure and I don’t let nerves get the best of me.
How would your friends and family describe you?
Energetic and competitive in everything I do. They would also say I was greedy! I love to eat and I eat a lot. I’m not sure where it all goes.
What’s the most important lesson you have learned so far?
Don’t give up even when things aren’t going the way you want. You can pull through. Aachen taught me that. The fences in Aachen were bigger and wider than anything I had encountered before. Aachen taught me to respect every fence as a challenge in itself.
If life hadn’t taken you where it has, could you see yourself in another profession?
I could either be an artist, or I would be a restaurant owner. I did A level art and I paint a lot. I also love cooking and I cook a lot. I’ve actually sold some of my paintings of funny animals. Oddly enough, I can’t seem to paint horses.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Brazil. I go every year to an island south of Rio on the day after Christmas with my boyfriend, Michael. He has a boat and we spend the whole time swimming and sunbathing.
Where would you most like to go that you haven’t been?
The Maldives. The pictures just look so amazing with all the huts dotted along the sea.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Ice cream with melted Mars bars. I’d eat it every day, lunch and dinner!
What’s on the horizon for you?
I hope to be selected for some Nations Cups with Spirit. Going to Rio is my ultimate dream. With that in mind, I won’t try for the World Cup Finals, because it will be too much to ask of Spirit to jump in more than one major championship in one season. My goal is to keep her fresh and not over-jump her. It’s all about horsepower and I would love to have more top horses; if there are any Canadian owners out there who would like to join Team Mendoza, please give me a call!
