Welcome

I have been involved in horses from a young age. As a child I competed in showjumping and cross country events. At the age of 13 years old,  after reading a book, I had my first experience of breaking a pony to carriage. I took him to a small local club marathon event which I won, from that day on I was hooked on driving. I then brought on a home bred pair at the very young age of 16. I was completely self taught from books. 

Gaining experience at club level on the Island, my passion grew and in 2003 I competed at a National Event at Henbury Hall Driving Trials, aged 22. From there my story begins. 

The following year (2004) I qualified for my first national championships, finishing in the top 6. This opened an opportunity the following year (2005) to groom for a Team GBR Competitor. I spent a month in Germany and then onto the Horse Pair World Championships in Salzburg. This gave me invaluable insight into training from the best team trainers in the world, which is something I thought I could never obtain. 

In 2006 I decided to move to the UK mainland to compete in all the national competitions for the summer season. After a few setbacks I gained great experience and good results, even qualifying for the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2007, my first international. 

Like any sportsperson,  I had a setback after an accident which left me with confidence issues. To help overcome these issues, I sought training with a Horse Team Driver called Peter Bennett. This training resulted in a massive improvement and, after gaining top 2 and 3 finishes throughout the season I managed to gain a place on the British Team in 2013, finishing 45th of the 72 starters. On the UK circuit, I finished Reserve National Champion. Unfortunately sadness loomed and I lost my youngest horse that winter due to a short illness.

I had to start again producing 2 young horses in 2014. I made a plan to get back onto the British team. Producing a good pair usually takes 3 years. My plan was set to produce these lovely young horses slowly, but effectively working up the levels. On the Isle of Man there were no outdoor competitions, so getting horses exposed to shows is not an easy task. Ridden work has to take a massive priority in their workload, so being able to ride well is also important for any successful carriage driver. I started at club level in the UK, and then built up to national level.

In the 2016 season I finished National Points Champion and Reserve National Champion. 

In 2017 I started driven/ridden dressage training with a local coach, Ivan Kelly. This has been really successful in improving both the driven and ridden dressage. Concentrating on the finer details has helped me improve my horses’ strength and suppleness, which has been reflected in our scores throughout the season. I also gained a sponsor, Emerald Green Feeds, which has been really helpful to contribute to feeding the horses throughout the year. I also get support from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, giving reduced price sailings.

In 2018 I was more selective in the events I entered, in preparation for the 2019 season. I bought a new marathon carriage ready for the upcoming world  championship selection events. I opened the season at Sandringham International 2* finishing 3rd, after a not so great start to the dressage. I then headed to France to compete at Haras Du Pin 3* International. I won the dressage and the marathon and finished 2nd in the cones, I was triumphant and secured 1st Place. My first ever win at an International event. Heading to a Regional event in Newcastle in August, I achieved best dressage score (personal best also) and best overall score, out of all competitors at Bywell Driving Trials. The National championships (at Cricklands, South Wales), was the first selection trial, for the 2019 World Championships in Drebkau, Germany next September. Here I won the dressage, came 2nd in the marathon and cones, winning the National Horse Pair Championship Title, a  great end to a successful season.

In  2019 I continued my success from the previous year. Starting at Ashfields in Essex, this was the first selection trial of the year. Having a successful weekend I finished  in 1st position, having three good phases. Onto Royal Windsor 3* International, I put up a very good dressage score finishing 6th in the dressage, moving up to 5th after the marathon, but I dropped down to 7th after a not so good cones round. Character building, I went back home to retrain for the next competition. Regrouping I went to Sandringham International 2*, here I went on to win this event, this secured my place on the British Team for the World Championships in Drebkau, Germany. Further building up for the Worlds, I travelled to Haras Du Pin, France. Finishing 5th here, I used this as a training event changing the horses around  and this proved useful for the forthcoming events. From here I then travelled to Bywell National Championships, putting in winning dressage and cones performances, I won the event by 26 penalties and retained the National Champion title.

Off to the World Championships from there I had a good run to Germany, working on the dressage throughout the week, when the test came the horses seemed to lose their sparkle, but they did not disappoint with a respectable score of 53.84 (26th position). Onto the marathon phase I finished 24th, moving up to 18th position. I then went into the cones phase and only knocking one cone and clear on time I moved up to 14th position, out of 82 competitors. This was a fabulous end to a wonderful season. But there is still more come ................