 At the time she owned one pony which she shared with her brother and sister, and regularly competed in Highland dancing, but once she began vaulting, she pursued it as her main passion.She vaulted with that club for one year and was then invited to join the Scottish Equestrian Vaulting team.Vaulting as a reserve for most of the year, Eccles traveled with the team to the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Rome in 1998.