Equestrian success for MSc student

The college congratulates Diana Baltazar Cordero (Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, 2022) who recently competed in the Equestrian blue varsity match, won first place individually and helped secured Oxford’s victory over Cambridge.

Diana reports:

The competition involves two disciplines: dressage, where horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements with high precision, and show jumping, where horse and rider are required to navigate a series of obstacles. At the university level, participants are challenged to showcase their skills on unfamiliar horses, assigned at random.

My passion for horses started when I was a child, I had my first riding lesson at nine years old, and since then, I have not stopped. I believe there is no better feeling than cantering on a horse’s back and the fraction of a second during a jump when you feel like flying. There is something special about the relationship that horse and rider develop to become a team, where the communication has to be meticulously, physically calculated.

I enjoy riding as it is a community sport. I have shared my successes with trainers, other riders, friends, family, and especially my mom. She has been the primary supporter of my riding. As the sport gets challenging, it is essential to have people supporting you, and my mom has always been that for me, even now, while I’m so far away from home.

Back home in Mexico, I had the opportunity to compete at a state and national level. But as an underrepresented sport, could not continue riding after graduating from my bachelor’s degree. I never imagined I would be able to continue my training here in Oxford before I arrived.

Horses have taught me about discipline, responsibility, and hard work. I believe this sport has shaped the way I encounter my academic and professional challenges as well. As part of the Oxford University Equestrian Club Squad, we are provided with training lessons every week as well as strength and conditioning sessions at Iffley Road Sports Centre. The team consists of very talented undergraduate students, so as a graduate student, I feel grateful to have learned from them. It’s challenging to balance the training, the academic workload, and the social activities as I’m also treasurer of the Oxford Mexican Society. However, I believe that having the support of my teammates, classmates, and collegemates, allows me to enjoy what I do every day.