PROFILE.
DOWNSIZING and FOCUSING
LOCKDOWN GAVE NIKKI BARKER TIME TO REFLECT AND MAKE EXCITING PLANS FOR HER GRAND PRIX HORSE DURABLE, WHO IS PROVING HIMSELF AS A SIRE AS WELL AS IN THE ARENA. BARBARA YOUNG REPORTS.
L
ike everyone else, it’s been a challenging year for Grand Prix rider/trainer Nikki Barker, who began 2020 on a high, making a successful debut at Grand Prix level in January with uber-talented stallion Durable, before Covid-19 put plans on hold. However, as a self-confessed ‘highly motivated and ambitious rider’, Nikki, who rose swiftly through the dressage ranks after being talent spotted as a child and earning places on Pony and Junior teams, says she refused to let the pandemic overshadow her positivity and vision for international success. Instead Nikki has been using her time at home in Newmarket wisely, combining targeted training with a few outings to High rofi le shows to keep her hand in. LEFT: NIKKI BARKER HAS COMBINED TARGETED TRAINING AND SELECTED OUTINGS FOR THE STALLION DURABLE, WHO HAS ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AT GRAND PRIX THIS YEAR.
BRITISH DRESSAGE // Issue 8 2020 // 7
