Athlete Profile: Tarka Abraham

Name

Tarka Abraham

Course and Year of Study:

Biochemistry 3rd year 

College:

Somerville

Sport:

Eventing (Equestrianism)

Club:

British Eventing

Highest Competition Level:

Representing GB Internationally 

Best Achievement:

Representing GB as part of the Gold winning GB under 21 Team at the Development Championships in 2022.

Coming individually 4th at the student riding Nations Cup in Sweden 2023.

Short Term Aspirations:

Competing in the under 25 International 4* league. 

A podium finish in the 2024 Student Riding World Finals.

Long Term Aspirations:

Represent GB’s senior team at a Major Championship.

How did you get into the sport?

Our family business is running a livery stables and my Mum is a horse riding instructor so I was very fortunate to have every opportunity to ride lots of different types of horses growing up. I trained my first un-ridden horse when I was 9 years old and I think that really kicked off my reward circuits for working with horses.

When I started competing and then came through the National and International levels, I self-funded competing and training by: coaching other riders; buying, training and selling on horses; and bringing on other people’s horses. The skills I have developed through this lifestyle became useful when I started at university and was selected to represent the GB Student Riding team. Student riding is a different kind of equestrian competition, to Eventing, designed to test riders adaptability and horsemanship by providing the challenge of riding a completely new horse for just 5 minutes  before competing against other international riders who ride the same horse.

In my first year in the GB Student Riding squad I came 4th individually at a Nations Cup in Sweden and then went on to help GB come 4th in the Student Riding World Finals in France at the beginning of 2024. I’m really enjoying this unexpected opportunity to compete in Student Riding and highly recommend it to other riding university students because, for me, the exposure to the high pressure, competitive environment of Student riding is building my resilience to pressure, and my ability to ride in a team, which I hope will stand me in good stead for some of the higher-level Eventing competitions with my own horses that are coming soon..! 

Any advice for balancing sport and academia?

My advice for thriving as a scholar athlete is being organised, asking for help and appreciating what you have. There is so much understanding and support available at Oxford but to access it you have to be brave enough to explain your ambition and ask for help. The Blues Performance Scheme’s support has meant I have been able to travel to the horses for training every weekend and optimise my training such that I am continuing to improve as an athlete despite sharing my time with academia. Finally, being organised goes without saying - I have a spreadsheet for every detail of my training, the horses’ training and academics!