Pivo Meets: Dylan Ward — Junior Para Dressage Rider

Welcome to Pivo Meets, a series where we get real and chatty with the faces of Pivo. This March, we had a little tête-à-tête with Dylan Ward.

A young rider and champ, Dylan is an inspiration to the world. After being diagnosed with bone cancer, he hasn’t let anything stop him from pursuing his love for dressage! Apart from winning the RDA National Championships, he has also qualified for a lot more competitions, with a dream to ride in the Paralympics.

At the age of just 10, he has won hearts with his passion, without letting the disabilities get in his way. He is always enthusiastic to ride and determined towards greater success. Supported and coached by his mom, Dylan was named as the The Horse & Hound Podcast Inspiration of the Year winner in 2023.

Here’s a peek into his journey, how Pivo has helped him with riding and everything that he has to share with the world.

Can you share the story of how you first got into horse riding? What drew you to the sport?

My mummy’s job is to ride other people’s horses and teach other people too, so my whole life I have been around horses. I sat on a pony for the first time when I was only a few weeks old and then when I was three we got my first pony Pepper, we still have him now.

What has been the most rewarding part of your journey as an equestrian so far?

It’s really hard to choose because I did a lot different things with the ponies before I got poorly with cancer, I used to do a lot of jumping then! But now I do lots of dressage! I think my favourite moment was winning my first championship that Flurry and I competed in.

What discipline in riding excites you the most, and why?

I love dressage! At the moment I’m training at elementary level and doing a few things that are in medium tests too I love learning all the lateral movements and because of my disabilities I have to teach the ponies how to do things in different ways it’s really amazing how they listen to me! When I’m old enough to do para dressage I want to work towards doing the Paralympics!

How do you structure your training sessions? What role does technology play in your daily training routine?

I’m very lucky that my mum is a trained riding instructor so she helps me every ride and works out a plan of what we are doing and if it’s poles, schooling or hacking or maybe even ground work!

My mum sorts the technology for me but she uses her phone video and to help me see how I’m looking and show me what I need to change and what I’m doing well! The pivo really helps as it means mum can concentrate on me rather than filming!

What specific features of Pivo have helped you the most in tracking your progress?

The way the Horse Tracking captures me and the ponies and keeps me in the camera all the time really helps me see exactly how I’m riding I love being able to watch it back!

Who has been your biggest inspiration or mentor in the equestrian world?

My friend Sir Lee Pearson is my biggest inspiration! My goal is to be as good as him when I’m older and win as many medals too!

How has video analysis using Pivo changed the way you train and refine your riding techniques? How has that improved your learning process?

It makes it easier for my mum to concentrate on me and what I’m doing all the time rather than worrying about getting videos which means that I get more out of each session I can then learn so much from watching it back too.

What are your future goals in your equestrian career? Any major competitions or personal milestones you’re aiming for?

My dream is to be a Paralympic dressage rider when I’m older! But for now I’m not old enough to compete in para dressage because you have to be 13 and older! So for now my next focus is the summer area festivals this year I’m stepping up to elementary!

Before using Pivo, how did you typically record and review your rides? How does Pivo’s auto-tracking compare to having someone manually record your rides?

My mum had to video as well as doing everything else so having the pivo helps her out so much! It makes it much easier for her.

How do you see technology like Pivo shaping the future of equestrian sports and coaching?

Having Pivo would make it really easy to have lessons over the internet rather than having to take the horses on the horsebox to my trainers! It also could be good to take to a competition to maybe film my test when I’m older and I go to competitions on my own without mummy.

What advice would you give to other riders who want to follow a similar path in the equestrian world?

I just work as hard as I can. I have to teach my ponies how to listen to me in a different way to other people because if my disabilities which is tough but because I work hard at it it gets easier. The most important thing to do is to have fun though, your ponies and horses can feel if your happy and enjoying your riding and they will feed from that and be happy and relaxed too!

Save 10% when you shop Pivo with Dylan. Use discount code DYLANWARD10

Connect with Dylan Ward – https://www.instagram.com/Panaero_and_peppers_adventures