Lillian “Burke” Simpson

Hi my name is Burke Simpson and I am an 18 year old eventer. My horse, Oshi, is a 14 year old Hanoverian mare who I’ve had the pleasure to own for the past two years. In our time together we have worked our way up to Preliminary level and aim to compete at our first 2* event this summer of 2019 as part of the North American Youth Championships. Being included in the Alberta High Performance development team is an honour and an essential step towards my pursuit of Young Riders. I believe that with the support of such a dedicated team of professionals and the experience I will gain from other members and skilled coaches I will be closer to my goals, and overall a more developed rider.

As my mother is the owner of Simpson’s Equine Activities, I have grown up riding horses and competing. Throughout the years I have been fortunate enough to attend many clinics and receive the valuable insights of highly trained coaches that have continuously aided me in improving. Some notable opportunities riding has offered me included the opportunity to train with Equine Canada Level III coach and dressage judge – Lynda Ramsay, Olympian – Hawley Bennett, and a month of a half of training in California with 3* level Rolex rider – James Alliston. These are a few of numerous experiences which have greatly improved my riding. Paige Dinnie has taken on the position of head coach at the Diamond Willow branch of Simpson’s Equine and has been working tirelessly to help myself among many others accomplish their goals. This past season, Oshi and I made many advancements together and as a result of our hard work we were awarded top Training level pair in Alberta by the Alberta Horse Trials Association. I was very honoured to receive such an award and went on to compete in my first Preliminary level event at the fall Spokane Sport Horse Trials. Our first Prelim was a success, in which we placed 4th overall. The successes of last summer have inspired me to continue pursuing higher levels and my goal of being on the 2019 Young Riders team.

I will be graduating this June with plans to attend university in Ontario, so I fully intend to make the most of my last opportunity to run Young Riders with Oshi before I leave.