Equestrian Caroline Chew: “It’s a tough sport...but the journey has also been extremely rewarding”

As the countdown to the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024 begins, we speak to some of the top female athletes in Team Singapore’s contingent. Representing a diverse array of sporting disciplines including track and field, fencing, archery, and equestrian, these exceptional women epitomise the spirit of determination, skill, and perseverance. They tell us a little bit more about their sport, learning from setbacks, and how it feels to represent the nation in Paris.

Joey Tribbiani doesn’t share food. No, we’re not talking about the character in the TV show Friends, but Caroline Chew’s companion and partner in her equestrian journey: her horse.

The equestrian will be representing Singapore in Paris this year in the dressage competition, but has made the country proud several times in her horse-riding career: In 2010, she took part in the Youth Olympics and was the first athlete to present the Olympic Oath that year.

After being disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when her horse Joey was found bleeding from the mouth, she now has another chance to represent Singapore this year.

“It was quite a traumatic and intense experience – but it’s all part of engaging in the sport, and I had a great team of people around me who helped me through it. In the end, I compete in dressage for the love of horses, and that hasn’t changed,” she says.

Caroline is currently based in London, juggling her day job as a lawyer and the demands of competing professionally as an Olympian. She shares: “I work full time as a lawyer at Freshfields, one of the big multinational firms headquartered in London. This means I rotate between spending one week going into the office every day, and one week living out at the stables and fitting in training sessions very early in the morning. I’m then usually back at my desk by 10.30am and work often until late.”

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your journey as an equestrian?

I think it’s just staying the course and being disciplined, and trusting the people around you to guide you in the right direction to improve. It’s a tough sport that is dominated by Europeans and Americans, and to break through that as an Asian athlete from a little known country [in horse riding] has been very challenging, but the journey has also been extremely rewarding.

At what age did you start horse riding, and when did you realise that you wanted to start competing competitively?

Riding started as a way for my mum to get my siblings and I outdoors more, so it was very much a weekly family outing of sorts. It then evolved to become slightly more competitive when I was 10, and even more serious when I moved to the UK for university.

What’s one thing about dressage/competing in equestrian sports that is often misunderstood, and you would like people to know about?

It’s very different from horse racing! Dressage involves a lot of harmony and unspoken communication between horse and rider, so a strong partnership is really key – and a big part of why it’s so rewarding.