Digital Cover celebrities

Bella Hadid, aspiring for the 2016 Olympics, and more celebrity equestrians


OCTOBER 3, 2015 7:48 AM EDT

Up-and-comingmodel Bella Hadid  has revealed that she isn’t content with becoming one of theworld’s hottest new supermodels – but she also has dreams of competing in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Gigi Hadid’s 18-year-old sister told of her ambition to represent the USA in equestrian events at the Rio deJaneiro games as she discussed her "passion" for riding in Porter magazine.

Posing alongsidehorses in the photoshoot, the aspiring Olympian spoke about the hard training she isundergoing in an attempt to break into the national eventing team in time forthe summer games.

Model Bella Hadid has revealed her dreams of competing in equestrian events at the 2016 Olympics Photo: Getty Images

"Mydevotion stemmed from my mom’s love of horses. I have been riding since I couldwalk, and the fact that my mom knew everything about horses really helped mypassion grow," she said.

Although her initial love was driven by hermother, Bella has kept up with the hobby as it helpsher to deal with the stress of working in the fashionindustry. Shefinds riding very therapeutic, saying: "You know how everymodel is like ‘I do yoga’?. Well, I find riding horses has the same effect. Youhave to put your ego aside and concentrate on making the horse do the thingsyou want it to do, and move in the way you want it to move."

With herblossoming modeling career just taking off, it appears the in-demand model may findit difficult to put aside time to train. She has recently beenseen on the catwalks of New York, London and Milan fashion weeks and recently posted a horseback riding photo on Instagram, captioning it "I miss you."

And Bella isn't the only celebrity that competes professionally at equestrian events – horse riding fans include Queen Elizabeth, who still rides at 89, and Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco, who just competed at the Longines Masters of Los Angeles.

 CLICK ON THE PHOTO BELOW to see which other celebrities boast impressive horseback skills!

Kaley Cuoco Photo: Getty Images