Origin Story

Some of you I’ve known for years, some of you I’ve recently met, and some of you I’m yet to meet! For those that don’t know me too well, I thought I’d do a little introduction to who I am and what I’ve done through my journey from riding as a little girl in Australia to running Forest View Dressage in the UK. If you’d like specifics on my history then head to my website to read the “About Me” section. For anyone new or thinking of training with me, I aim for you to feel comfortable and know that you’re in safe hands when you have a lesson with me, so I’ll start with a few quick facts:

Years riding: 25

Average no. of hours in the saddle: Nearly 40,000

Horses owned: 14

Countries competed in: 4

Countries represented: 2

Qualifications: German Federation level 3, BHS stage 4, UKCC level 2 Coach

Not much of my journey to being a professional rider is typical to the stories I heard from others when I was growing up. The “horse-crazy since a toddler, begged my parents for lessons and saved all my pocket money to buy a pony, then came through the ranks as a groom in exchange for lessons” is a tale as old as time. A very admirable tale, but not my tale, and one that took me a long time to accept as I was always riddled with guilt that I didn’t have such a fairytale start to this horsey love affair as others.

Growing up in Australia I got into horses through my older sister having riding lessons after school, and my mum thought that rather than have 5 year old me sitting in the car listening to her Shania Twain CD on repeat, I may as well have lessons too. My mum rode and had horses growing up so we progressed into getting our own ponies, and started with some pony club and showing. I absolutely hated pony club, and still hate anything that forces me to participate in group activities, but I quite liked the showing.

It wasn’t until I was 12, when my sister gave up riding to do her final school exams, that I actually started to take riding seriously or even properly enjoy it. I didn’t expect to keep riding for much longer after she had given up, but she passed on her pony “Vinnie” (who we still have!) for me to ride and that changed everything. “Vinnie” was so talented not only as a show pony but also as a dressage pony, and I realised how technical and artistic the sport was. I fell in love with training and with making an athlete out of not only my horse but myself.

I became obsessed with reading every article in every horse magazine, trained with incredible dressage coaches, competed on State teams and won National Titles, and even went on a Young Riders tour around Europe to visit some of the most famous barns and trainers in the world. While we were in Europe we went to watch the European Junior and Young Rider Championships, and I saw riders of my age, 14, ride amazing horses at an extremely high standard. I knew immediately I wanted to be one of them, and move out of Australia to ride in Europe.

So, as you can see, my love for horses didn’t come from playing with My Little Pony toys and begging my parents to ride. It came from realising the huge potential this animal has within its body that can be harnessed through correct and empathetic training, how sensitive they are to the energy around them, how much they teach us about ourselves, and how all at once horse riding is a sport, an art, and a science.

I have been lucky enough to have had a lot of open doors throughout my journey, but I certainly had to work hard at it as well. Over the years I gave my blood, sweat, tears, and behind closed doors various mental health issues, to competing and training. I have trained with countless international trainers, including world ranked number 1 Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. I have owned beautiful horses and had opportunities to ride beautiful horses. I have been based, trained and competed in Australia, UK, Germany and Luxembourg. I have competed for Great Britain as a Junior and Young Rider, and competed for Australia as a Senior rider. All the dreams I had as a teenager had come true, but it was only until I set up my own establishment and started teaching others that I truly found a sense of fulfilment.

Through teaching, I find meaning in it all. I absolutely love training and competing my own horses, but I enjoy it even more when I know that what I experience on my own horses keeps me in constant education so I can better help the riders I teach. The horse is our greatest teacher, and there is never a day that passes when we don’t learn something new from them. It is my job to get my riders to see those learning opportunities, to use them as moments to grow and bond with their horse, making them more empowered as riders and as horse owners.

For me, teaching riders isn’t just about trying to get the horse on the bit. It involves everything from the correct fit of tack, to the fitness and physical abilities of the horse, whether they need a vet physio or pole work. Those who already train with me know that I am always available to chat about any advice they need when it comes to the care and development of their horse. Like I said earlier, it is a sport, an art, and a science, so in our lessons we cover it all.

I am so grateful to now be able to give back and to pass on everything I have learnt through my own journey, and honestly I aim to make it a much better experience than what I had to go through. I witnessed more unjust and poor examples of horsemanship than I care to think about, not to mention how psychologically damaging a lot of situations were, but as a result that has made me very firm in my beliefs and my system of training.

I can’t wait to see you in the arena and find out what we can achieve together.