The Instagram post features young Sarah riding horses, including a charming image of her standing outside a stable with her red hair held back by a headband, wearing striped socks and red shoes.
Another black-and-white photo shows her in Harlequin-style tights, a collared button-up coat, and a furry hat. An action shot captures a teenage Sarah confidently leaning forward on her horse in full riding gear and helmet. In the caption, the now 64-year-old Duchess also revealed her ambitious childhood dream.
“Growing up riding my 12.2 pony called Spider, I always dreamed of winning a gold medal in Equestrian,” she wrote, “So watching @teamgb and their brilliant riders achieve our first [gold medal] of the summer #Olympics yesterday was absolutely remarkable. Congratulations on such an amazing achievement. #eventing #England @laura_collett @tommceweneventing @ros_canter_eventing.”
Sarah, who is the daughter of the late Major Ronald Ferguson and the late Sarah Barrantes, grew up at Dummer Down Farm in Hampshire.
The Duchess told Good Morning America in 2021 that horse riding got her through her parents’ separation when her mother left her behind in the UK to start a new life with her second husband Hector Barrantes in Argentina.
“My ponies really helped me so much when my mother went to live in Argentina because they were my friends,” she said, “They don’t go anywhere and they didn’t answer back. They are just so special.”
Sarah revealed in 2019 that she underwent stem cell therapy in the Bahamas to improve her feet.
“I think my toes were ruined by all the riding I did when I was young,” she said, “They shaved the bone here and implanted stem cells — 20 million of them taken from my midriff — into my feet to make new cartilage.”
