Hilary Scott remembers the moment she dreamed of becoming an Olympian. It feels like it was only yesterday.
She was 12 years old and a keen pony club rider from Moree in north-west NSW, when her family made the trip to Sydney to watch equestrian legends Andrew Hoy, Phillip Dutton, Stuart Tinney and Matthew Ryan ride at the Sydney Olympic Games.
The experience ignited Hilary’s love for riding; a passion that propelled her to an Olympic Jumping debut on mount Milky Way in Paris.
“My dream was to go to the Olympics,” she says.
“I distinctly remember running around at the Sydney Games trying to get to where the riders were.
“I watched a lot of the Eventing but then at the Jumping, I tried to get to where all the riders were. I was lucky to get the signatures of all of the top riders.”
Hilary followed in her mother’s footsteps taking up riding as a hobby on her family’s farm.
“You take living on a farm for granted as a kid because you're running around outside 24/7,” Hilary says.
“As you get older and you start to travel the world or go different places, you realise how fortunate you are to have space and have connection with animals and nature.
“I look back on it now and I'm so incredibly grateful. I feel like being in touch with that side of the world from a young age is really special.”
Hilary tried her hand at all the equestrian disciplines, before eventually settling on Jumping.
“I have the utmost respect for all Dressage riders and all Eventing riders, but for me I loved pure Jumping because it's very black and white,” she says.
“You either have a fence down or you don't. You're over the time or you're not. It's very clear.”
Hillary and mount Milky Way have a long jumping history.
“I've known her since she was born,” Hilary says.
“She'll turn 17 this year; she is older, she knows her job. It's a matter of keeping her fit and strong and happy.”
Hilary will join fellow debutante Thaisa Erwin and five-time Olympian Edwina Tops-Alexander as part of the first ever all-female Australian Jumping Team. The trio also compete in the Individual Jumping event.
In Paris, men and women compete together, with Team and Individual medals awarded in the three equestrian disciplines: Dressage, Eventing and Jumping.
Australia hasn’t medalled in Jumping at the Olympics, with a best result of seventh in the Team Event in both 1964 in Tokyo and 2008 in Beijing, and a fourth claimed by John Fahey
in the Individual Event in 1964.
The Olympic Jumping events begin at Chateau de Versailles on 1 August at 7pm (AEST).
This article was originally written for The Australian Olympic Team. You can read the published version here
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