At just 23 years old, Naima Moreira Laliberté has already accomplished more than many riders achieve in a lifetime. The Montreal native earned multiple gold medals at the North American Youth Championships in both the Junior and Young Rider divisions, and helped lead Team Canada 1 to a silver medal last year at the FEI Nations Cup CDIO-U25 in Wellington, Florida. Her winning ways continued at the 2019 Pan Am Games as part of Canada’s gold medal dressage team, and – until the pandemic hit – she was on track to securing a spot on the 2020 Olympic team.
With such a long list of achievements, it might be tempting to sit back and a take a break, but Naima is just getting started. We caught up with her to learn about her path to success and what goals she has her sights set on next.
Where and why did you decide to start riding?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always had an obsession with horses. At the age of five I started taking lessons in a pony club. That progressed into trying some jumping as well as learning a more classical style of riding within the circus environment [Naima’s father is renowned Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberté].