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Melissa GALLOWAY

Melissa GALLOWAY, New Zealander Dressage athlete.
Name Melissa GALLOWAY
FEI ID 10166024
Gender Female
Date of Birth 04/03/1993
Competing for New Zealand - NZL
Registration Dressage 2024
Last update 25/07/2024
FEI Database



Dressage 70x70
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport? She was introduced to the sport by her mother, who used to compete in equestrian jumping. She took part in her first dressage event at age 12.
Why this sport? "My sister and I used to sit out by the kitchen and beg mum to let us ride her horse. And eventually we got a little Shetland pony we had to share. We went through Pony Club and that whole thing."
Club / Team Van Olst Horses: Den Hout, NED
Name of coach Anne van Holst, NED; Vanessa Way [personal], NZL
Further Personal Information
Family Husband Lachy
Residence Den Hout, NED
Occupation Athlete, Horse Trainer
Languages English
General Interest
Memorable sporting achievement Winning the 2018 U25 Grand Prix Dressage Championship in Taupo, New Zealand. (megsandsoph.com, 04 Aug 2019)
Injuries In 2022, she broke a leg when she was kicked by one of her young horses. She had to have 8 weeks bed rest and then a full rehabilitation. (fei.org, Jul 2024)
Sporting philosophy / motto "Dressage is pretty much the perfect combination of [dancing and horse riding]. And I love the challenge of it. No one has ever got 100% in dressage, so everything can always be better. The feeling you get when you're in complete harmony with your horse is really indescribable, and trying to reach that feeling all the time is what keeps me driven." (eurodressage.com, 31 Dec 2020)
Famous relatives Her father competed in wakeboarding at international level. (eurodressage.com, 31 Dec 2020)
Ambitions "The Olympic Games means everything to me. I have had this dream to ride at the Olympic Games in Dressage since I was 11 years old… maybe even earlier! I wrote it on the wall in primary school as my dream." (fei.org, Jul 2024)
Other information MOVE TO EUROPE At age 17 she left New Zealand to compete in Germany with trainer Hubertus Hufendiek. She spent a year in the country before starting her own business in Marlborough, New Zealand. In 2021 she returned to Europe, taking up an assistant rider role at Van Olst Horses in Den Hout, Netherlands. The move was facilitated by her coach, Vanessa Way. "We'd been talking about me going over there at some stage for quite a few years, but the most important thing was finding the right place. Because all my horses are Dutch bred, and also I could base my horses there, potentially ride for them and have a job, which is very rare, to be able to go somewhere and actually be paid, otherwise it's a very expensive thing to do." (eurodressage.com, 09 Nov 2021) JOEY Her Paris 2024 Olympic horse, Windermere J’Obei W, is out of a full New Zealand Thoroughbred mare that raced. She has had him since he was one-and-a-half years old. They have been together in New Zealand, Australia and The Netherlands.
General highlights She qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics and also appeared at the 2024 FEI Dressage World Cup Final and 2022 FEI Dressage World Championship. She dominated Australasian dressage in 2023 as she secured big wins at the Australian Championships in the CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle, setting a New Zealand record, and taking out the CDI-W Grand Prix the day before.