Sponsored rider Loren

Loren is the first and most longstanding sponsored rider that Plum Tack is privileged to have. Since 2016 she has been a wonderful brand ambassador. I first came into contact with Loren when she was a customer of Plum Tack, then I spotted her recommending our breeches on one of the pages I was a member of. We chatted a bit online about what she was doing with her rather gorgeous Clydesdale “Bud”

She was always the first one to give encouragement to others, shine a light on other people’s achievements and lifted everyone around her. Even when she rode at the National Heavy Horse Festival, and placed first at both her dressage tests. She was talking about the wonderful people she had met there, not about how she had won. It took me awhile to talk her into it, but I was so pleased when she agreed to be the first Plum Tack sponsored rider. And since then she has become a good friend.

Loren was a bit daunted at the prospect of photo's of her, and her non-traditonal model's body being public. But in true Loren style she focused on the good she felt she could do. And she has been a wonderful role model for all sorts of riders. When Horse Deals magazine asked the question on their FaceBook page. "Has your body image ever impacted your riding or motivation to compete?" There was a huge response, which led to three riders who had responded being interviewed November 2020 issue. One of those riders was Loren. To use a small quote from Loren in that article, "The change I'd like to see, is that we make all bodies the norm. If we start uploading photos that do make us inwardly groan, they will become more normal. I want people to feel confident about sharing photos with tummy rolls or hips poking out of their jodhpurs. If we don't upload those photos, we're not going to make a change. And we aren't going to make a change change unless it's collectively.

Loren and Bud have been on quite a journey together. From Loren coming back to riding after an extended break. Then competing in Dressage competitions, Adult riders club, and heading out with the Hunt club. Beach riding and trail riding. Loren wrote a beautiful blog post about wether unicorns like Bud are born or trained. You can read it here: https://plumtack.com.au/blogs/plum-tack-talk/are-unicorns-born-or-trained

It's an inspiring read.