Portraits by Melissa Fuller
As a child, Olivia Sweetnam didn’t need to look hard to discover her passion for horses; she just had to follow her parents down to the barn. The oldest daughter of Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam and trainer Ali Sweetnam, Olivia has been around horses since she was born. “I’ve always spent my days hanging around the barn. Becoming an equestrian was never something my parents had to force on me, it’s always been something I genuinely wanted to do,” Olivia said.
Olivia and her siblings, Collin and Lucy, have never been pushed to follow in the family’s footsteps. However, each has been fully supported from the minute they decided to come along for the ride. “Growing up in a horsey family has been nothing but positive. It’s very nice for me to have something like this to share with my whole family,” she said. “It also enforces discipline, dedication and has given me a serious passion.”
That dedication has helped Olivia rise to the top in the equitation, Junior Hunter and jumper rings. Olivia wrapped up the 2025 season by winning both the USEF Medal Finals and WIHS Equitation Finals. Her success continued into 2026 as she was second in the WEC Equitation Championship and won her first 4* Grand Prix Qualifier the same week.
With her family’s Sweet Oak Farm as her classroom and playground, Olivia got a jump on her competitive career. She entered the show ring at 5 years old doing the walk-trot and crossrail classes. At age 6, Olivia got more serious and began doing the Pony Hunter division. “My mom’s specialty is definitely the Pony Hunters; she loves to be at the ring working with the ponies. I got my foundation in the show ring from her and Danny Arendt,” Olivia said.
Although she’s the daughter of two professionals, Olivia felt she was trying to keep up at the beginning of her Pony Hunter career. “It took a few years for me to truly get comfortable in those classes. I had a lot of ups and downs, but when I was 8 years old, I think it clicked and I began to get more consistent,” Olivia said. “I was really lucky with the opportunities and the ponies I got to ride.”
Olivia credits legendary small pony Armani, owned by Stacey Weiss and Samantha Schaefer, with making a huge impact on her career. “Armani was older at the time and had won almost everything there was to win. As he already had made a name for himself, I put pressure on myself to give him the rides that he deserved and had gotten in the past,” she said. “That pony brought me to my first championships at a final in 2020 at Capital Challenge, which was really a game changer for my mentality at the time.”
After Armani, Olivia was able to ride several other notable ponies. “On Your Mark, Mr. Magoo, Secret Crush and Goldmark are a few more who I hold very close to my heart,” she said.
At age 12, Olivia started to make the transition to horses and began doing more jumpers and equitation. It was at this time that Shane began training Olivia more. “My dad is serious and always wants the best for me. I learned with my dad that consistency really is key and if I continue to do things the right way then improvement will come, whether it’s with my riding or a younger horse we are working with,” she said. “My dad’s specialty is 100% jumpers, but it doesn’t really matter the level.”
Olivia had two special partners who helped her move from the 1.10m jumpers to the Junior Jumpers at 13: Cobolt and HDB Quality gave Olivia the confidence to keep moving up in a short amount of time. “Cobolt had competed for many years at the top level with my dad and Lacey Gilberston. I was so excited when I found out I was going to be Cobolt’s next rider. Knowing he’d already jumped the bigger heights I was jumping gave me reassurance that it was easy for him and I could make a mistake knowing he’d help me out,” Olivia said.
At the end of 2023, Olivia began working with another top team in the equitation when she partnered with Ashland Farms. Not only did she team up with Ken and Emily Smith, after getting the opportunity to ride an Ashland Farms horse at the 2023 WIHS Equitation Finals, Olivia was given the ride on equitation superstars Efendi and Class Act. “I remember being so nervous because those two horses were basically professionals at that point in their lives,” she said.
With more exposure to technical tracks in the equitation and jumper rings, Shane began trusting Olivia to ride some of Sweet Oak Farm’s sale horses. “I am so grateful that I was able to ride so many different types of good horses because of my dad. Throughout that period, Quality was my rock. She brought me from 1.25m to my first 1.50m classes, with good results at each level,” Olivia said.
Olivia and Quality stood atop the podium at the 2024 USEF Prix des States, winning individual gold. “It’s still one of my proudest moments because it was something I had been working toward for over a year and it was so special to do it with Quality. She has the biggest heart and although she’s a little bit wild, she loves her job more than anything,” Olivia said.
Thanks to her incredible team and horses, 2025 was an amazing year for Olivia in both the equitation and jumper rings. “Class Act, aka Jagger, took second in the WEC Equitation Cup and then a month later Efendi won the WEF Equitation Championship. I was really happy to give Efendi another big win and have a good start to the year on both of them,” she said.
When Olivia walked into the medal finals ring last fall, her success continued and she was able to bring home two wins for Sweet Oak Farm and Ashland Farms. At USEF Medal Finals, Efendi and Olivia finished on top. “It was such a relief when they called me as the winner, and I was so happy I had done enough. I knew how much work everyone at Ashland had put into getting me there since I’d done the class with Efendi in 2024,” Olivia said.
While the title fulfilled a longtime goal, Olivia considers the opportunity to ride Efendi an achievement in itself. “I’ve watched him with many riders over the years, and I specifically remember watching him win the 2018 Medal Finals with Brian Moggre. When I was told I would be showing him for the first time, it was a dream come true,” Olivia said. “Riding him is always fun. It’s an unreal feeling to be able to ride a horse as intelligent as he is.”
The following week, Olivia and Class Act won the WIHS Equitation Final. “I was ecstatic to give Jagger his first championship win, as he truly deserved it. I will never be able to thank Ken and Emily enough for the opportunity to ride those boys these past two years,” she said. “I have no idea how my riding career would look without them.”
In the jumper ring, Olivia began her partnership with Epic. “He is the smushiest, loveliest horse to work with, both in the barn and in the ring. I call him Smush in the stall because he’s so affectionate. In the ring he’s a total powerhouse who wants to do everything possible to win,” Olivia said. “He’s so talented, it’s all about me giving him the tools he needs then staying out of his way so he can do his thing. We have a lot of trust in each other that way.”
The duo kicked off the summer with a 3* Welcome win. “I think that is the moment when we really began to click. At the end of the summer, Epic and I competed at the North American Youth Championships in the Young Riders section. We jumped five nice rounds to take bronze individually and help our team, Zone 4, win bronze as well,” she said.
Their success carried on as Olivia and Epic traveled abroad for the first time in September 2025. While in Lier, Belgium, Epic jumped two clear rounds to help Team USA win gold in the Youth Nations Cup Final. “It’s just about learning the new heights and getting positive experiences right now. I don’t feel much pressure to follow in my dad’s footsteps, I just follow my plan and do what’s best for me and my horse. If it doesn’t go according to plan, at least I learned,” Olivia said.
Last December, Olivia and Epic traveled to CHI Geneva to compete in the Under 25 classes. Unlike her previous trip to Europe, this time Olivia was joined by her dad. “It was so special to share the experience with my dad, who jumped the five-star. It was my first time going to the show, even as a spectator, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. My dad had been there a few times before, so he showed me around before the show started and talked me through how the week was going to look,” Olivia said.
Olivia took advantage of being around some of the best riders and horses in the world while in Geneva. “It was an incredibly educational experience to be able to see the behind-the-scenes and the preparation that happened for my dad until he stepped into the ring for such a major event. I feel like I learned so much just from watching the top of the sport all week,” she said.
Even better, Olivia had someone to root for and likewise, her dad was with her every step of the way when it was time for her to step into the show ring. “He’s super easygoing so anytime I was nervous, he reminded me that I wasn’t there to go do anything groundbreaking; I just needed to have a good time and learn. I learned about dealing with high-pressure scenarios as that ring had a huge atmosphere Epic and I had to adjust to,” Olivia said. “It was so special to compete there, as I had made it a goal mid-summer.”
Growing up in a family of equestrians has helped Olivia learn that one of the most important keys to success in the sport is to try to avoid comparing yourself to others, even when they share your same last name. “It’s really easy to get wrapped up in what your competitors are doing, but you have to remember that everyone is in a different position. If you keep working hard at it and run your own race, it will get you farther than focusing on other people,” she said.
Olivia is going to take that perspective into her last Junior year as she competes Class Act and Seven Miles in the USEF and Maclay equitation classes. In the jumper ring, she’s showing Epic in the FEI classes and has recently started doing the Highs on a newer ride for her, Cervantes. “Being a part of a riding family, my horses are frequently changing, so my plan for the end of the year will likely look different than right now,” she said. “I’d like to have a consistent and educational year, moving up to the FEI classes. I can’t expect to excel consistently immediately, so I’m here to take a lot of information away from each class I do.”
Looking ahead, Olivia is excited to begin Auburn University in the fall of 2027 and join their equestrian team. “I’ve wanted to ride in college since I was in middle school. I picked Auburn because I loved the facility and friendly nature of the town. It really felt like home and there is a built-in group of people who want you to succeed,” she said.
Until she heads to Alabama next year, Olivia plans to take full advantage of the opportunity to continue learning from her parents. “I’ve been able to learn from two experts in different fields and I’m thankful for that,” Olivia said. “Being able to bond over horses daily and hear their perspectives on improving in this sport has been invaluable.”
Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviasweetnam
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
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