Oliver Barrett is ready to take on the world. Having conquered Australia’s top eventing competitions, Barrett earned his selection to the Australian Equestrian Team for the FEI World Equestrian Championships 2026, beginning later this month.
It will be the biggest test yet for the 22-year-old and the moment is not lost on him.
Together with Sandhills Briar, a homebred horse produced by the Barrett family, Oliver will take on the world’s best at Aachen as part of a five strong Australian eventing team.
Oliver Barrettt and Sandhills Briar competing at the Sydney International CCI4*-L. Photo: Ashley Grant @theblachat
Oliver is one of the sport’s most exciting young prospects and his story is only getting started. He finished the end of 2025 as the world number-one U25 eventing rider after topping the FEI Eventing Young Rider Rankings with leading horses Sandhills Briar and Sandhills Special.
He was selected to ride Briar at the FEI World Equestrian Championships following a standout domestic season, including victories at the Adelaide CCI5* and Sydney CCI4*-L.
For Oliver, the moment of selection was the culmination of years of hard work.
“It had been a long buildup and it was something I had my eye on. When we finally got the call, I was excited and all eyes now are on the preparation,” Barrett said.
The Barrett family are synonymous with Australian eventing. Prue and Craig Barrett, Oliver’s parents, are former Australian representatives and respected elite‑level coaches. Prue and Craig bred Briar at home and have supported Oliver through every stage of his career.
“I text mum and dad straight away… I could tell from their reply they were very excited… we all got together and we’re all pretty happy. There may have been the odd tear shed.
“We have a fair team here at Sandhills… we also have a close connection with Olivia Barton (who was also selected to the team). We were all ecstatic,” he said.
This will be Oliver’s first time competing in Europe and he is embracing the challenge, hoping the experience feels familiar.
“I’m really looking forward to it. I think Australians have a pretty good history of coming from Australia and going overseas and being competitive,” he said.
“Hopefully it’s going to feel like just an ordinary Australian event… I’m still going to have all the same people around me.
“Eventing is still eventing, still got to do the same thing.”
Of the horse he’ll share the journey with, Oliver says Briar is up to the challenge.
“He has a lot of presence… he’s definitely not going to look out of place at all against some of the best horses in the world.”
Nutrition is a key part of Briar’s preparation, and the Barretts’ long‑standing trust in Pryde’s remains central. When planning Briar’s trip to Europe, Oliver wasn’t willing to compromise.
“Briar is fed EasiResponse… finding a suitable alternative with the same energy levels overseas proved quite hard. We didn’t want to be changing his main source of energy so Pryde’s feed is making the trip to Aachen with us.”
“We don’t need to start changing something that’s proven to work exceptionally well for us before a big Championship.”
With his selection coming at a time when Australia was celebrating two years until the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and six years until a home Olympics in Brisbane, Oliver knows bigger opportunities lie ahead.
Right now, Aachen is the focus.
“This has been the target and now we’re at the target, we’ll be giving it our all to put in our best performance.
“As soon as Aachen finishes, that’ll be the next goal (LA), as well as Brisbane. We’ve got horses here that mum and dad have bred and that we’re producing. Although many people may not know them now, over the next few years they probably will.”
The FEI World Equestrian Championships begin on 11 August with the eventing getting underway on Thursday 14 August.