Aaliyah and 'George' qualify for prestigious Badminton Grass Roots 2026

ASPIRING eventer Aaliyah Watson and her Connemara pony Killaneen George have qualified for the 2026 Badminton Grass Roots in Gloucestershire and will travel to the event in May to take part.

This year already the pair have competed as part of the the U18 90 team representing Scotland for British Eventing at the National Championships at Chillington Hall, Wolverhampton, in March where the team finished third.

And now they are preparing for the nearly 500-mile trip after last year winning at Forgandenny (1) and Alnwick Ford BE along with a 3rd at the regional championships, which qualified them for Badminton Grass Roots, 4th at South of Scotland BE and 9th at Brechin.

Aaliyah and Killaneen George. Image by Matt Nuttall.

Not content with their jumping success, Aaliyah, 16, has proved her talent with George in dressage, winning Dressage to Music championships and competing in the Home International Dressage Championships at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The S5 pupil at Turriff Academy has also been part of her Pony Club branch, Deveron's teams, qualifying for the Pony Club areas and national championships.

Aaliyah said: "When we qualified for Badminton Grass Roots at the regional championships, it almost didn't seem real - it wasn't until we checked George's BE record and saw it in black and white that it felt real."

Riding since the age of five, Aaliyah, who keeps her ponies at home near Aberchirder, first had lessons at Upper Keithan Riding School before she got her first pony Steffi.

"She was a wee superstar and helped me make the transition from lead rein and showed me the ropes off the lead and introduced me to jumping," said Aaliyah.

"I also had Rosedust Class Act, a beautiful chestnut Section B whom we took to the Royal International having qualified in the First Ridden classes. The other Section B we had was Birkenbrook Cello who went champion nursery stakes working hunter winner at the Royal Highland Show in 2021.

"I was very fortunate in 2023 to be asked by Nicola Richards of the Abbotsbury Shetland Stud to ride her novice 15-year-old Shetland stallion Somahouse GT with the dream of qualifying for HOYS - which we did!

"We started him off as he had never been competed as a ridden pony and although backed when he was younger, he hadn't been ridden in years. We qualified for HOYS at the Shetland Breed Show - I had a broken ankle at the time after a wee incident at the beach and had to be given special permission to ride but we then went to HOYS in October and won!"

Aliyah has had regular coaching from three instructors for many years with Erik McKechnie overseeing her flatwork since she was eight years old, she has regular trips to Sarah Houlden at Strathearn Eventing for cross-country and fortnightly jumping sessions with David Harland in Aberdeenshire.

"When I went to Sarah I initially was competing in working hunter but it was here my love for eventing grew as Sarah introduced me to cross-country. Having these three coaches consistently has helped me improve my skills as a rider as they know me well and know when to push me to develop my riding.

"I've been a member of Deveron for 10 years and my mum is the DC, I've been fortunate to represent the club in all three disciplines and we are lucky to have some great coaches at our club - Stephen Cruickshank, Anna Thain, Kirsty Finnie, Lauren Davidson and Vicky Davidson."

Aaliyah says it felt like a "natural progression" to move from working hunter to eventing and she decided to compete at BE events last year after completing two events in 2024.

"I set myself two goals for 2025 - to make the Scottish team and qualify for Badminton Grass Roots," says Aaliyah. "Not the easiest of goals but I'm pretty determined once I set my mind to something! I was very fortunate to achieve both.

"Eventing is great as it has all three disciplines, which I enjoy. Both George and I love the cross-country. This is my first time qualifying for Badminton and having done that in my first season of eventing for both me and my pony is amazing."

George, a bay Connemara, was bought from Sarah Oakden as a six-year-old and he had competed in British Dressage and showing flat classes. Aaliyah has worked at her jumping with him, bringing him on in his showjumping and starting cross-country with him.

This winter the pair have concentrated on fitness, there is no arena to ride in at home so schooling is done in the field, and George has spent hours hacking. Working with Sarah Houlden, Aaliyah has had a plan in place for fitness as the course at Badmintion is longer than their usual cross-country courses. They both have regular physio from Anna Armstrong Physiotherapy and they have worked out a shoeing schedule for George with his farrier, Donald Nicol.

Aaliyah and George. Image by Matt Nuttall.

"We travel all over the UK to compete both eventing, and previously at working hunter, where Gorge contested three HOYS working hunter classes, and it certainly puts the miles on our lorry," she adds.

"But we are very careful where we compete as I know how much it takes out of the ponies travelling, and mum drives me everywhere - she is my top groom!

"We've never been to watch Badminton before - I said to my mum I wanted to go but to qualify after only having done one season eventing was a dream come true.

"Mum and my friend Leanne will come with me to Badminton - we set off on the Friday after my Higher English exam and stop half way before the second part of the journey, then we stop at Erik's to allow George to rest and recover. We then go to Badminton from there, it's only a short journey and stay there until the event ends.

"I feel quite proud as I have done all the work myself with George, no one rides him except me and for a pony that had never evented, I think he's amazing! I don't think there are many ponies out there who have achieved what he has and the most important thing - he is the loveliest person.

"I know it's a cliche, but it really is a dream to compete at Badminton and I think anyone who events would agree with this - it's the ultimate goal and I feel very lucky to have the most supportive and encouraging team around me who have helped me get there."

Aaliyah and George, who are sponsored by North Mains Equestrian, New Deer, will compete at Badminton Grass Roots on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th of May 2026.

Find out more about Badminton Grass Roots at https://grassroots.badminton-horse.co.uk