“I grew up in London; my cousin introduced me to eventing”

ANY rider who has spent three years training with double Olympic champion Michael Jung is worth taking notice of, but Sofia Sjoborg’s upbringing wasn’t a typical country childhood.

The Swede grew up living in South Kensington as her parents were both working in London. Her father Mattias is Swedish and her mother Juliet was born and raised in America but her heritage is Croatian.

“Mum started riding when she was about 30 so she’d take me with her to a riding school about 45 minutes out of London on weekends,” says Sofia, who speaks English, Swedish and Croatian. “My dad’s sister, Sara Sjoborg-Wik, had horses and my cousin Hedvig Wik evented up to four-star. During summers in Sweden, I started helping Hedwik at competitions. That was the first time I came across eventing.”

When Sofia was 15, she moved to the yard of Jonathan Chapman, who is still her mentor. In 2016 she took junior individual European bronze on DHI Mighty Dwight.

After her A levels, she moved to Germany to work for Michael, and a year out before university turned into a longer break from education; she was based with Michael from 2016 until 2019, landing a European young rider team bronze in 2018.

“Being at Michael’s took everything to a more professional level with the horses’ management and routine,” she says. “A typical journey to an international is eight hours in Germany and we’d get up at 1am to travel when there was no traffic and it wasn’t too hot for the horses.”

Sofia is now in the “constant scramble” of juggling studying integrated mechanical and electrical engineering at Bath university and riding, with her horses in a barn at British Olympic dressage rider Laura Tomlinson’s yard.

The 17-year-old grey DHI Mighty Dwight took Sofia to a cross-country clear at her first fivestar, Pau, last autumn. He will now be aimed at Badminton, with cross-country day on Sofia’s 24th birthday.

In 2020, Sofia was told she should retire Dwight, who is “very sensitive” and struggled with the change of returning to Britain, but she decided to give him one more chance. Sofia’s farrier Glen Taylor went on a course so he can fit the Wehrli Traction Shoes which Dwight had worn in Germany – they are shaped around the pedal bone, have a broad bearing surface and speed up the breakover point to increase comfort and alleviate pressure on the flexor tendon and suspensory ligament.

Sofia’s other top horse, Bryjamolga VH Marienshof Z (Belle, pictured), was 13th at the senior Europeans last year and will be aimed at the World Championships.

“She’s a fiery mare who always wants to go and do something, but tries really hard,” says Sofia.