Rio 2016 was Julie Brougham's first Olympic Games. She is just the third rider to represent New Zealand in dressage at Olympic level.



She comes from a strong equestrian family, growing up in the Manawatu as a carefree fun youngster who loved charging around the farm on Timmy - the Shetland pony she shared with her sister.



At seven she took her own pony Flash to her first Pony Club Gymkhana and that was it - horses were going to rule her life. She represented Manawatu West Coast at Pony Club Champs and did well at other events. She hunted and evented, but with two small children it was a challenging juggle.



A friend suggested she go along to a dressage competition and she won her first class. Top Gun went on to be her first Grand Prix dressage horse and in the years that followed she had a run of excellent horses including JK Super Sonic, Gymstar One, Kinnordy Gallium and Kinnordy Glogau, to name but a few.



She has won many national titles and holds the Australasian record for Grand Prix Freestyle to Music.



When not working with her horses, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching rugby, reading and a little retail therapy.