Seventeen-year-old Marie-Ayesha Barilits-Gupta has been selected to receive nine months of fully-funded training and support from British dressage and external professionals as part of the National Academy programme, funded by Sport England. She was chosen from a pool of 40 young riders who attended British dressage Foundation Academy training camps between October and December.
Barilits-Gupta demonstrated exceptional progress in competition, effectively implemented training plans, and showed commitment to improvement in various areas such as strength and conditioning, athlete profiling, goal setting, and performance planning. She excelled in the British dressage youth system after moving to the UK from India, where she is now pursuing a degree-level course in equine biomechanics.
In 2024, Barilits-Gupta clinched the Junior Championship at the Sheepgate British dressage Under 25s Championships and was the reserve champion in the Young Rider Championship at the same event. Both British dressage Youth Academies aim to develop well-rounded equestrian athletes by providing technical dressage knowledge and broad life skills to young riders in the British dressage Youth system.
