What was not inevitable, however, is the level of success she has achieved as a three-day event rider.

Currently ranked third in Great Britain and number 11 in the world, Lucy is the only rider to have won all three National titles, crowning her Junior and Young Rider Championship victories by becoming Senior British National champion in 2006.

A veteran of five European championship teams at under 21 level where her successes included individual and team medals, Lucy is now poised to enter a new phase of her career with a place on the Beijing Olympic long-list.

Lucy’s outstanding talent and professionalism has been recognised and supported by the lottery funded World Class Development programme. She has nurtured and trained a string of young horses with Championship medal-winning potential and is widely regarded as an up-and-coming rider tipped for the top.

With an English degree from Exeter University, Lucy also dabbles in the world of freelance journalism. She currently writes a monthly column for Horse magazine and is also a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines such as Horse & Hound, Eventing and the Western Morning News, where her dry humour and distinctive style have earned her a substantial following.