Jessica McConkey Takes Over Ride on Tom Goode's Dior as U25 Schoolmaster

Dressage

Great Britain

British Young Rider team member Jessica McConkey has made the transition to the Under 25 division on a new horse, Tom Goode's Grand Prix ride Dior.

Dior is a 16-year old Dutch warmblood stallion by Gribaldi out of Venannie (by Goodtimes x Tolbert). He is bred by A. Veenhof in The Netherlands

Samantha Geddes

Dior is owned by Sam Geddes, who bought the colt as a weanling and started him herself. She competed him first as a four-year old before sending him off to British Olympian Emile Faurie for further training at his Heath Farm in the Cotswolds.

Dior is AES licensed and Sam has a few offspring on the ground, but his main focus has been sport.

Career Starting Ride

The ride was allocated to Thomas "Tom" Goode, Faurie's assistant rider, in the spring of 2013 and the pair wen from young horse level to Grand Prix together.

They were selected to represent Great Britain at the 2013 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where they finished 13th in the consolation finals for 5-year olds.

In 2016 they debuted at international Prix St Georges level in Hartpury and finished second twice. They won silver in the 2016 British Intermediaire I Championship.

In 2017 they moved up to Grand Prix and their international Grand Prix debut, both for horse and rider, was a the 2019 CDI Keysoe, where they posted a 67.078%. For the next five years they showed at CDI's in Bolesworth, Hartpury, Lier, Keysoe, Le Mans, and Wellington Heckfield.

Jessica McConkey

At the start of the 2024 show season Geddes agreed to lease Dior to British young rider Jessica McConkey, who need to move up to the Under 25 division or into the senior ranks.

McConkey has leased Dior for one season and is based at Heath Farm.

"The partnership came about at a really good time with me making the step up to U25 even tho we had a late start to the season only being together since end of February- early March," Jessie told Eurodressage. "It's all only doable since I have such amazing support from Tom and Emile."

With Dior she now made the leap to Under 25. The new pair debuted nationally in March at Onley in the Intermediaire II, winning with 71.91%.

"Emile said I had to do our first Inter II within two weeks of having him!” said Jessie. “Actually, it worked in our favour as I’m better under pressure. Dior knows everything and I call him ‘the Professor’."

They then went to Hunters and Addington where they raked in two more wins. Their international debut was last weekend at the CDI Hickstead, where they were fourth in the Intermediaire II (69.029%) and fifth in the Short Grand Prix (66.97(%).

"Dior and I are still getting to know each other in and out of the arena, with each show our partnership gets stronger which makes me super excited for the rest of the season," she stated after Hickstead.

Lady Gaga

McConkey's international career started on pnies in 2016 with Holsteins Derwisch (by FS Disagio). Aboard the Danish mare Lady Gaga (by Quaterback x Solos Landwind) she represented the U.K. at the 2018, 2019 European Junior Riders Championships and at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 European Young Riders Championships.

Lady Gaga has moved to British junior rider team member Myles Graham.

"We still own Lady Gaga," McConkey told Eurodressage. "She started with her new rider Myles Graham at the beginning of this year and it's so lovely to watch her continue to campaign at Junior/Young Rider level and still for GB under a Myles."