Maria started riding aged five on a Shetland pony called Midnight Cowboy. She was competing at the Weston Park Pony Club Championships aged 11 with Willoway Seasong, an international event pony she was given to ride after he had been written off due to a leg injury. After competing in a few one-day events, Willoway Seasong had another leg injury and the vet advised not to jump him anymore.

“He had nice paces, but I didn’t think we’d get onto the team for the Pony European Dressage Championships,” she says. They did, but Maria and Willoway Seasong didn’t make it to the 1998 Championships, as the pony trotted up lame after the final selection trials.

The following year she was given the ride on Manitu N, with whom she made her name and won her first medal at the 1999 Pony European Championships. She finished fifth individually, just three marks off the bronze medal. By then she was hooked.

Maria has been a member of the Pony, Junior, and Young Rider European teams from 1998-2005, winning four medals, two pony European silver team medals and two young rider European bronze team medals. She was British Under-21 Champion in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003.

In 2001, she took the British Medium Restricted title with Prinz Heinrich and, in 2004, she took the British Advanced Medium title with Topscore. In 2006, she was selected as travelling reserve for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen with her father’s Two Sox. The following year, she won the British Grand Prix Freestyle Championship.

In 2008, Maria was the travelling reserve for the Olympics with Two Sox. She retained her British Grand Prix Freestyle title and became National Champion. Maria continued this good form in 2009. She started her international season with a 2nd in the grand prix and a grand prix freestyle win at La Mandria CDI on Two Sox, with a score of 74.10%. She followed this up with a 2nd and 3rd place in the grand prix and grand prix freestyle respectively at Hartpury CDI in July, recording a score of 72.35% in the kur. At Hickstead CDI Maria and Two Sox finished 3rd in the grand prix special on 67.63%. She also competed in the World Dressage Masters, coming third with Two Sox on 67.625%.

In 2009, Maria was part of the silver medal winning team at the European Championships and Medium National Champion with Woodlander Rockstar. Their success continued with a successful trip to the Sunshine Tour in Spain in 2010 and the Advanced Medium Winter Champion title. With her long time partner Two Sox, Maria was selected for Aachen and was part of the silver medal winning team at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.