DESPITE having recently graduated from the University of Ulster with a degree in physiotherapy, former U25 National Champion Megan McGrath has chosen to focus on forging a career in the dressage world with the help of Irish international rider James Connor.

Megan joined Connor’s team, which is based at Scuderie Della Malaspina near Milan in Italy, as a working pupil last autumn, a position she secured with the help of her long-term trainer Heike Holstein. Her duties include warming up and cooling down Connor’s top horses, including his World Equestrian Games mount Casino Royale.