OVERCOMING EVERY OBSTACLE

A tough year also became one of perseverance and success for Fifi.

- BY SOFIA MELLUZZI

I'm Sofia, but everyone calls me Fifi. I'm 10 years old, and riding ponies and horses is basically my whole world. If I'm not at the barn, I'm thinking about the barn... or watching horse videos ... or setting up jumps in my head... or hobby horsing!

I was born with a heart condition, and in 2024, I had surgery to fix it. After the surgery, I remember lying in bed feeling SO hungry—like next-level hungry. They brought me this HUGE bowl of pasta and told me to only eat a little bit... but let's be honest, I don't really do “only a little bit.” My mum says the world needs more rule breakers anyway, so I ate, got stronger, and focused on one thing: getting back to the barn as fast as possible.

Once my heart was fixed, something big changed. I didn't even realize how much it had been slowing me down until it wasn't anymore. Suddenly, my heart worked properly—for the first time ever—and I finally felt normal. Before, I used to get tired very quickly. I'd ask for breaks and sometimes even leave the ring in the middle of a course. Trainers would get frustrated, and my mum would have to explain.

After surgery? I could GO. And I didn't want to stop.

A HARD YEAR