Biography

It will be a first Badminton for British rider Georgie Strang (30) who is based at Foxhill, near Swindon. In 2017 with Badminton entry Cooley Earl Georgie completed Pau four-star (20^th).

Georgie was taught to ride by her mother Debbie who rode for Great Britain in endurance and now runs her own livery yard and riding school at the family farm in Kent.

Georgie competed in all Pony Club activities as well as competing show ponies being placed at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and the Royal International (RIHS). As a member of the Romney Marsh Pony Club she contested the Pony Club championships on six occasions finishing second in 2008 and winning the Urky Newton bursary for the best cross-country round and the horsemanship award for showjumping. In 2004 she represented the South East at the junior regional novice championships and the following year was short-listed for the British Junior team.

In 2009 she gained the ride on the four-star horse Master Monarch with who she gained experience in international events and did her first three-star and in 2010 with Master Monarch won the prize for the highest placed rider U25 in the British Open at Gatcombe and made her four-star debut at Burghley. That year she was also selected to represent GB at the University Championships in Korea winning team silver.

In April 2015 with Cooley Business Time she made her Nations Cup debut at Ballindenisk and was a member of the winning team and later that year the pair completed Burghley (35^th).

Cooley Earl is an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. He is by the British-based leading sire Ramiro B (also the sire of Ballynoe Castle RM, Stellor Seaurchin, Cooley Again, Noble Bestman & Cooley SRS) out of the mare Regular Eaton of unknown breeding. He was acquired from Richard Sheane as a five-year-old and has been produced through the levels by Georgie. In 2014 they were 6^th in the national seven-year-old championship.