Julia's Story
As a junior, Ashleigh Brennan won her age division at the junior nationals in 2002. She went on to compete in her first international meet in 2004 in the USA where she placed 7th in the all around competition. Brennan made her Olympic debut in Beijing, her best result coming on floor (19th) and contributing to the team’s final placing of 6th. Brennan has competed in two Commonwealth Games winning silver (floor) and gold (team) in 2006 and bronze (floor) and gold (team) in 2010.
At her second Olympic appearance, Brennan finished with a 10th place in the team event as well as 28th in the individual all-around final with a score of 54.232.Born in Hong Kong, Julia Hargreaves took up horse riding as a 7-year-old at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club before continuing to ride after moving to Connecticut in the USA. Hargreaves moved back to Australia from the USA when she was 11 and continued to ride at school. At the age of 25, she impressed in the opening round of the 2011-12 FEI World Cup season where she won the event on Vedro at the Sydney Royal. The event was an Olympic qualifier and just a year later, Hargreaves made her Olympic debut in London. Riding Vedor, Hargreaves placed 35th in the individual event and equal 10th in the team.
