About DLS Equestrian
I am very much a country girl having been brought up in Cheshire. Born to un-horsey parents I was influenced by my grandma who was always heavily into Eventing, National Hunt Racing and Hunting. She lived near Badminton in proper Horsey country, in Sherston, Wiltshire and was great friends with Brian Higham who was stud groom at Badminton for many, many years. I went for my first riding lesson aged 2 ½ and never looked back. I had weekly lessons and, when I was old enough, would spend every weekend/ school holiday helping out at the local riding school. I got free lessons in return and I couldn't get enough of it - I loved it!
We would go to Badminton as a family every year for the duration of the event and I had my first taste of being an event groom before I left primary school. A local builder who was working on an extension to our house evented his horse and I would go with him to events and help out with his wife who also used to bring their children along. I'm sure to start with I was more of a hindrance than a help but again I loved it and that definitely instilled the eventing bug in me.
After many years of nagging, I got my first horse at 12 years old and so the obsession began!
To gain my teaching qualifications I completed a 12 week intensive course at Wellington Riding in Hampshire. Here I passed BHS Stages 1, 2 & 3 in Care and Riding and also my BHSPT. I then gained vital experience working at Willington Hall Riding School in Cheshire and completed the necessary teaching hours in the process to complete my BHSAI qualification.
Since then I have gained many years teaching experience, both through working at riding schools and then in more recent years through freelancing which has seen me help a variety of clients and rider abilities. I particularly enjoy helping the more competitive rider or those with competitive aspirations but also get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing the more Novice rider improve and enjoy their horse.
After years of volunteering at events, mainly fence judging, I started dressage writing instead. This I found to be really interesting and educational. Eventually I felt I was thinking along the same lines as the judges and therefore decided to apply to be a judge with British Dressage. After completing the necessary training and gaining some all-important experience, I passed my exam to upgrade from a Trainee to List 5. I continued to train and further my knowledge and have since upgraded again to List 4, and subsequently in 2019 upgraded to List 3. This enables me to judge up to BD Medium and BE Intermediate/ CCI**. In 2023 I became an FEI L1 Eventing judge which enables me to officiate as ground jury up to CCI3*S level.
Over the years I have worked as a groom for numerous international event riders including Lucinda & Clayton Fredericks, Andrew Nicholson, Polly Stockton, as well as my long time trainer and friend Ruth Williams. This gave me vital experience of handling and riding a wide variety of horses, as well as preparing them for top level competition. It also allowed me to gain yard management skills and furthered my stable management knowledge.
I have been competing in affiliated eventing on a variety of horses since 1999 with much success,. I have racked up 10 BE wins and many placings and also competed at the Grassroots Championships held at Badminton twice.
I have also competed with British Dressage achieving some good results. I have consistently qualified for Regional Finals, being regularly placed and also becoming a Regional Champion in 2013. I have competed at the Winter National Championships twice, finishing in the top 10 with over 70% in 2015!
In more recent years I have been sourcing unbacked 3 year olds which I have produced through to their first shows and beyond. This is something I am very much planning to continue doing as it's something I get a lot of satisfaction from. I am always on the look out for my next event horse as still have plenty of ambitions left to tick off. One has to keep dreaming!
I have been very lucky to train with some top riders and very good teaching professionals over the years, and continue to grab every opportunity given to me to learn and further develop both my riding and training/ judging skills.
We would go to Badminton as a family every year for the duration of the event and I had my first taste of being an event groom before I left primary school. A local builder who was working on an extension to our house evented his horse and I would go with him to events and help out with his wife who also used to bring their children along. I'm sure to start with I was more of a hindrance than a help but again I loved it and that definitely instilled the eventing bug in me.
After many years of nagging, I got my first horse at 12 years old and so the obsession began!
To gain my teaching qualifications I completed a 12 week intensive course at Wellington Riding in Hampshire. Here I passed BHS Stages 1, 2 & 3 in Care and Riding and also my BHSPT. I then gained vital experience working at Willington Hall Riding School in Cheshire and completed the necessary teaching hours in the process to complete my BHSAI qualification.
Since then I have gained many years teaching experience, both through working at riding schools and then in more recent years through freelancing which has seen me help a variety of clients and rider abilities. I particularly enjoy helping the more competitive rider or those with competitive aspirations but also get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing the more Novice rider improve and enjoy their horse.
After years of volunteering at events, mainly fence judging, I started dressage writing instead. This I found to be really interesting and educational. Eventually I felt I was thinking along the same lines as the judges and therefore decided to apply to be a judge with British Dressage. After completing the necessary training and gaining some all-important experience, I passed my exam to upgrade from a Trainee to List 5. I continued to train and further my knowledge and have since upgraded again to List 4, and subsequently in 2019 upgraded to List 3. This enables me to judge up to BD Medium and BE Intermediate/ CCI**. In 2023 I became an FEI L1 Eventing judge which enables me to officiate as ground jury up to CCI3*S level.
Over the years I have worked as a groom for numerous international event riders including Lucinda & Clayton Fredericks, Andrew Nicholson, Polly Stockton, as well as my long time trainer and friend Ruth Williams. This gave me vital experience of handling and riding a wide variety of horses, as well as preparing them for top level competition. It also allowed me to gain yard management skills and furthered my stable management knowledge.
I have been competing in affiliated eventing on a variety of horses since 1999 with much success,. I have racked up 10 BE wins and many placings and also competed at the Grassroots Championships held at Badminton twice.
I have also competed with British Dressage achieving some good results. I have consistently qualified for Regional Finals, being regularly placed and also becoming a Regional Champion in 2013. I have competed at the Winter National Championships twice, finishing in the top 10 with over 70% in 2015!
In more recent years I have been sourcing unbacked 3 year olds which I have produced through to their first shows and beyond. This is something I am very much planning to continue doing as it's something I get a lot of satisfaction from. I am always on the look out for my next event horse as still have plenty of ambitions left to tick off. One has to keep dreaming!
I have been very lucky to train with some top riders and very good teaching professionals over the years, and continue to grab every opportunity given to me to learn and further develop both my riding and training/ judging skills.
