Future Requirements

• What would you like to do or gain in your next job?

Having built my equestrian experience across different yards and roles around the world, I’m especially excited by the idea of taking that experience somewhere new and immersing myself in a different horse culture and way of working. Travelling is a huge passion of mine, and I love the opportunity to really become part of a new environment – its people, its horses and its way of life. I’m looking for a role where I can combine teaching with plenty of hands-on riding and hacking, while becoming part of a friendly team and really getting to know the horses I work with. I particularly enjoy helping riders of different ages and abilities build confidence, while also having the opportunity to school and train horses myself. I’d love to contribute my existing experience while continuing to develop as a rider, instructor and trainer.

• Do you need accommodation?

Yes, I would require accommodation and would be very happy to live on site.

• Do you have any special requirements for any animals you wish to bring with you?

No

• Do you have any ongoing commitments?

I currently work freelance, so I have flexibility around relocating and starting a new position.

• Do you have any holidays booked that an employer needs to know of?

No holidays currently booked that would affect my availability.

Experience with Horses

Outline your experience with horses here/the scope of your freelance services. If you’re looking for a non-equine or non- yard-based job please use this space to describe your experience skills/abilities and adapt the questions to suit your line of work.

Key Skills

What are you particularly good at? For example: working alone, working with others, clipping, plaiting, turning out for shows, handling stallions, handling/riding young horses, non-equine skills etc

Adaptability: Having worked across multiple stables and different equestrian environments, I’ve become very good at observing how a yard operates, picking up its routines and adapting quickly. Every stable is its own world, with different systems, standards and ways of working, and I genuinely enjoy learning those differences and finding my place within them.

Teaching approach: I’m particularly strong at teaching and communicating with riders of very different ages, abilities and confidence levels, and personalising my approach to the individual in front of me. I recognise that riders process information differently, some respond best to visual demonstrations, others to technical or analytical explanations, and others through physical feel and experience – and I’m very comfortable adapting my teaching accordingly. I always aim to keep lessons positive, encouraging and fun, while maintaining clear standards and a strong focus on safety.

Equestrian skills: My key skills include teaching beginner–advanced riders; leading hacks and trail rides; dressage and flatwork; jumping; schooling and training horses; groundwork and lunging; natural horsemanship; working with nervous or anxious riders; grooming and horse care; feeding and medicating; general yard duties; and yard/office management.

Teamwork & people skills: I’m equally comfortable working independently and as part of a team. My wider professional background has also made me very comfortable working with clients, communicating with people from different backgrounds and personalities, and creating a friendly, welcoming environment -omething I think is particularly important in a role where guests’ experience is such a big part of the job.

Strengths and Weaknesses

• What do you most enjoy about working with horses?

The combination of working with the horses themselves and helping other people develop a relationship with them. I love the process of understanding an individual horse, figuring out what they need and seeing them become more confident or balanced through consistent work. As an instructor, I find it equally rewarding when something suddenly “clicks” for a rider – particularly someone who was initially nervous or lacking confidence.

But perhaps what I love most about working with horses is the sense of complete presence it brings. Whether I’m riding, training, teaching or out on a hack, there are moments where you enter that flow state –  thoughts quieten, everything else falls away, and you’re completely present with the horse and what you’re doing. That feeling is probably the most rewarding part of working with horses for me, and ultimately what keeps drawing me back to them.

• Is there anything you’d like to improve?

I’m always looking to develop further as a rider and trainer, particularly through working with different types of horses and learning from other experienced horse people. One thing I continue to work on is not getting ahead of the process. I’m naturally enthusiastic and, when something is going well, my instinct can be to want to move on to the next step quickly. Experience has taught me the value of letting progress settle, taking the extra time to consolidate the basics and allowing both horse and rider to dictate the pace. It’s something I’ve become much more conscious of, and I think it has made me a better and more patient trainer.

• Why should employers consider you above any other job seeker?

I bring an unusual combination of extensive practical horse experience across different yards and environments across the world, alongside very strong people skills and a creative, curious and fun approach. My background as a creative has very much informed the way I teach: I’m observant, interested in how different people process information, and enjoy finding new ways to explain or demonstrate something until it clicks for the individual in front of me. I think creativity has a real place in good teaching – particularly when working with horses, where no two horses or riders are ever quite the same.

I have over ten years of experience across teaching, trail guiding, riding, training and yard management, so I’m comfortable taking responsibility both in the saddle and on the ground. At the same time, I genuinely enjoy working with clients and am confident adapting my communication to everyone from nervous first-time riders to experienced riders.

I’m hardworking, independent and happy to get stuck into whatever needs doing, but I also really value being part of a good team. Most importantly, I genuinely love the work – the riding, teaching, training and everyday care of the horses – and I think that matters enormously in a role where you’re living and working so closely with both the horses and the people around you.