5 minutes with Alex Seppelt

This article is from the April 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

How old are you and how would you describe yourself? I am 16 years old and I have been riding since I was six. I started with pony club and since then have tried most disciplines through my club. I am a New South Wales Eventer from Western Sydney and I am competing EvA95 and looking at moving up to one star on my two horses Tilly (Chantilly) and Elliot (Fairview Metallica). When I’m not riding, I’m practising photography.

What’s your proudest achievement? My proudest achievements would be my two Interschool Nationals wins. The first was at the 2017 Nationals in Toowoomba, Queensland and my second was last year at 2019 Nationals at SIEC, Sydney.

What’s your worst riding habit? I sometimes slouch while I’m doing flatwork or dressage. I’m pretty consistent while I’m jumping because both of my horses need quite a bit of balancing, but because they are so smooth at home, I get a bit too relaxed.

What’s your most used app? My most used app is definitely Instagram. I have two accounts, one for horses and one for photography. I probably spent too much time browsing my feed, especially since I have two pages to browse.

Who’s your equestrian idol? Sam Lyle, not only is he a great rider and mentor, he is an amazing coach. He has been one of my cross-country coaches for about three years and he has taught me how to ride my horses the best I can, especially when they are a bit of a tough ride. I especially like how he takes a personal interest in the people he coaches, always interested in their progress.

What’s your after-school ritual? I usually catch the bus home, although I’ve started driving home when I can (on my L’s). When I get home I have a quick snack before going out to ride both of my horses. Once that’s done, I feed up with my sisters. Then I go up to the house for dinner and then I do homework or relax.

Among your friends, what are you best known for? Definitely horses. There aren’t very many people that ride at school, and I’m the only one in my grade. And I’m one of two boys. So everyone knows me as the horse dude.

What’s been your worst riding injury? I lost control of my horse when I had only had him for a month or two. He has always been very exuberant and I didn’t know how to control it. He jumped over the bunting surrounding the area and he galloped towards a showjump trailer. I couldn’t do anything, and right as he got up to it, he turned off to the side and I fell onto the bonnet of the car hooked up to the trailer.

What is the best gift you have ever been given? Horses. Both of them are great performance horses and I have learnt a lot since I started riding them. Both of them had competed higher before, so they gave me the confidence to move up the levels.

If you didn’t ride, what sport would you be doing? I would be playing soccer. When I was younger, I played soccer and rode, but as soccer and riding got more competitive they became more of a commitment and I chose to only ride.

Who’s your favourite YouTube channel? National Geographic. They make some quite interesting content about photography and wildlife. I also enjoy watching documentaries by them as well.

If you could ban one vegetable forever what would it be and why? Asparagus is the only vegetable that I don’t really like. I generally like most vegetables and don’t like most fruits, so I think asparagus is the vegetable to ban.

What do you want to do when you finish school? I hope to study a course of photography or film. I want to be a photojournalist or a wildlife photographer or cameraman.

What’s your favourite competition item? My Prestige jumping saddle. I’ve been using it for about a year and a half and it is the most comfortable and grippy saddle, especially for cross-country.

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