How a Shovel Built One Rider's Freeride Dream

Jennifer Miller · 2026-09-15

Few riders embody modern freeriding as creatively as Vero Sandler. But her career didn’t start on the sport’s biggest stages. It started with a shovel in her hands. We visited her home in North Wales to talk trail building, community, and why great riding begins long before the drop in. ### A Backyard That Redefines Home The small, unassuming house sits tucked away in the lush green landscape of North Wales, surrounded by meadows, rolling hills, and trees. But when we arrive, it isn’t the scenery that grabs our attention. It’s what rises up just beyond it: Vero’s backyard. With its huge jumps and perfectly sculpted berms, it looks far more like a full-blown bike park than a garden. The ratio of living space to playground is utterly ridiculous, and that’s exactly what makes it perfect. It feels as though mountain biking didn’t simply find a place in her life. Instead, it became the foundation around which everything else was built. Even this evening, life revolves not around the house but around that very backyard, which has already played host to several Backyard Battles. Immaculate jumps, perfectly shaped berms, and a shipping container that serves not only as storage but also as the start drop. This backyard really is something special. ### Where the Freeride Elite Gather Vero isn’t riding alone tonight. Her partner Sam Hodgson is here, along with Kade Edwards and Kaos Seagrave, and none of it feels like a staged lineup of stars. It feels like an ordinary evening in Vero’s world, where the freeride elite drop by for a jump session and all we can do is stand there and watch. Sandler moves through this little world with remarkable ease. She’s warm, open, and always smiling, yet never focused solely on herself. While people are sending jumps, chatting, and playing with her dogs, she’s constantly looking out for everyone around her. It quickly becomes clear that Vero doesn’t just want to ride herself. She wants everyone to ride. She wants everyone to have fun. She wants everyone to feel welcome. That atmosphere is what makes the place work. For all the spectacular lines, Vero’s backyard doesn’t feel like an exclusive training ground. It feels like somewhere friends come together. Everyone is welcome, everyone digs, and that’s what gives the place its energy. ### From World Cup Racer to Trail Builder The idea that Wales would one day become that place for Veronique Sandler was never part of the plan. As a teenager, the Kiwi had just one goal: to race the Downhill World Cup. After being selected for the Junior World Championships, she dropped out of university and threw herself fully into racing. For the next three years, she followed the World Cup circuit, spending her summers racing in venues around the world before returning to New Zealand each winter. After the 2016 season, she couldn’t afford the flight home to New Zealand, so she stayed in Wales for the winter and found a job. What began as a practical decision soon became the turning point in her career. She stopped riding against the clock and found a completely different side to mountain biking. > “Everything just fell into place without me really planning anything, which is extremely lucky.” Our visit to Vero comes as part of our test of the new Santa Cruz Nomad. A bike called Nomad, a name that suggests constant movement, meets a rider whose defining story is all about staying put. Vero didn’t drift from spot to spot. She stayed in Wales and built something, and that build has become a defining part of who she is. ### Building Is Riding For Vero, riding always comes first. Even so, almost everything that defines Sandler’s riding today can be traced back to trail building. She built her first trails as a teenager, and that hands-on approach never left her. When you build a trail, you learn its every contour, every lip, every landing. That knowledge translates directly into how you ride it. - **Connection to the dirt:** Building teaches you how soil compacts, how water flows, and where you need to adjust your speed. - **Creative freedom:** Without a trail crew, you’re the designer. You decide what’s possible. - **Community cornerstone:** A well-built trail attracts riders. It becomes a gathering place, just like Vero’s backyard. For Vero, the two are inseparable. “Riding is for sure more fun,” she says. “I build so that I can ride. It’s all in the name of biking.” That philosophy has shaped not only her career but also the community around her. Her backyard sessions aren’t just about progression; they’re about sharing the stoke. And that’s a lesson any rider can take to their local trails.