TWO siblings, Laura and Steph Milner, from Huggate near Driffield, are feeling very hopeful for the coming year with their two very different equestrian disciplines – dressage and carriage driving respectively.

Laura, 21, started her dressage career at premier league competitions at 14, initially on a thoroughbred gelding called Tom, who took her to the National championships. In 2012, the pair took part in BD high performance camps and were lucky enough to be offered a place with Andrew Gould for eight months.

By 2014 Laura had purchased 17-year-old Wildstorm (aka Bouncer) and spent most of that year getting to know him. 2015 proved to be a very successful year, finishing in the top 10 at every premier league and in October the pair competed for Great Britain as a young rider at Le Mans CDI, France, where they finished sixth and eighth in two tests.

Alongside her riding, Laura manages to run her own equine rug cleaning business and has just become official stockists for Weatherbeeta rugs and opened an online shop. If that wasn’t enough, she also manages the family stud and livery yard at home, along with squeezing in teaching a few clients along the way.

Laura said: “We have some amazing homebred young stock here and are excited as this year is our first year to have them on the dressage circuit as they have now turned four. I will also be contesting the Small Tour classes with Bouncer at Premier Leagues, and 2 other horses to compete at a similar level. It is going to be a busy year.”

Steph, the youngest of the pair, aged 19, has been carriage driving for seven years, has already reached top flight standard, having competed in the FEI Europeans in Poland.

That start of Steph’s career began with a 38” Shetland stallion, then a 13.1 Welsh section C, both with whom Steph says taught her so much as they could both be very naughty.

The year of 2012 saw Steph begin her path towards the international circuit with the purchase of Josh, a Hackney x Welsh D. Within six months the pair were selected for Austria’s carriage driving European youth championships, where much to Steph’s delight they came away with the team gold medal.

The following year got even better for the pair and saw them crowned the British carriage driving novice national champions. Again, 2015 went even better, having moved up a level to intermediate, with a win at Sandringham and Lowther Castle along with a reserve national champion at Cirencester. Steph, who doesn’t let the grass grow under her feet, has even bigger plans for this year, with no fewer than four national competitions and the German European World championships in September.

Like Laura, Steph also runs her own business, but as a beauty therapist from her salon in Riccall near Selby, which she runs alongside her carriage driving career.

The pair are both sponsored by Equiform Nutrition, Merlin International and Baileys Horse Feeds, but with both their equestrian careers really getting off the ground with more international competitions, they are always grateful for any more sponsorships to help fund what is a very expensive sport if you want to stay at the top.