Showjumper Annabel Francis' dream ride - from orphanage to Olympics

From humble beginnings in Siberia, Taupo teenager Annabel Francis has taken the New Zealand showjumping world by storm and is on the verge of her first Olympics.

There’s a couple of things which make Annabel Francis stand out in her world of showjumping.

The first is physical. As her coach, Jeff McVean, cryptically put it, “She’s not small; she’s tiny”.

Her mother, Debbie, says she’s 1.56m tall, and that might be on her tip-toes. So McVean’s on the money. Francis tips the scales at 42kg.

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Article written by: David Leggat of Newsroom