August brought celebrations for those in the equine community as the Southern Hemisphere celebrated the official day for all horses’ birthdays. However, for local rider Sophia Hill, that wasn’t the only celebration, as she also began her travel journey for the 2026 FEI World Equestrian Games. Sophia is part of the eventing team representing Australia, her first time being selected for the Australian team for a major event. “I feel honoured,” Sophia said. “This has been a dream for a long time, and I am really excited to get the opportunity to represent Australia on the world stage.” The games this year are in Aachen, Germany. Although it will be the first time Sophia has competed in Germany, she is confident. “I have competed in both the UK and the US now at five-star events, and the enormity of the occasion doesn’t daunt me,” she said. Before the event begins, Sophia first headed for pre-championship training in Belgium to meet up with other riders and prepare. “Australia has a really exciting team filled with young talent, alongside Andrew Hoy, and we are definitely planning on being competitive," she said. Sophia has been having much individual success, this year alone receiving third place at the Grand Prix Aikin USA and being a part of the Senior Oceania winning team. For the rider, though, she feels participating in the world games is a “step up”. “The prestige of the major five-star events is incredible, and something that’s hard to imagine without seeing them,” Sophia said. Despite the pressure of competing on such a global stage, Sophia appears focused on her performance. “My goal is always to put my best possible performance forward and to be competitive,” she said. “I try to approach each phase individually and focus on my performance one step at a time.” “The one thing that stays the same is the relationship with the horse,” Sophia said. Sophia’s main horse for the event, Humble Glory, nicknamed ‘Hughie’, is described by Sophia as being the “most incredible horse for me”. “He is definitely my horse of a lifetime, and I owe my success to him,” she said. Hughie has taken Sophia to the top of her career, which only continues to reach new heights, performing with her at every five-star event. The pair have travelled to New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, the US and now Germany, all in the last three months. “When I first got him off the track, I never imagined he would take me all around the world, compete at multiple five-star events and be selected for a World Championships,” she said. The success of Hughie is also attributable to legendary horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, who originally trained him under the racing name ‘Camon Houdini’. Gai Waterhouse wished Sophia luck. “While Camon Houdini did not find great success on the racetrack, it is wonderful to see one of our former thoroughbreds excelling in a second career,” she said. “We’ll be cheering her on from Australia.” Sophia is sure to expect cheers across Australia, especially from those in the local community, as she always returns after her big events to her home of Mansfield. “I always look forward to getting home, riding on my own arena and training my young horses,” Sophia said. For now, Sophia remains focused on the upcoming event.
