How would I describe Sarah as a trainer?

She instils me confidence enabling me to get the best I can out of my horse. I’m not naturally confident at jumping and for a long time I came to dislike it. But in lessons she creates space for me to understand, learn techniques and embed a better way of riding a course of show jumps.

I have become more competent with Sarah’s help and as a result now enjoy my jumping. An important aspect of sessions with Sarah are that they are developed with my goals in mind. By far the most valuable aspect of sessions with Sarah is that she is not a trainer who ‘rides the horse through you’.

This might feel great in the lesson but nine times out of ten, you’re not able to ride like that at home. Instead she creates space for me to identify the ‘feel’ and techniques of jumping for myself. This means I can recreate it at home or in a competition. Sarah also brings to jump training a range of other learning such as Testt which I have been able to translate into my flat work.

I come away from the sessions feeling as though I have made progress. Most importantly, I really enjoy my sessions and so does my horse.

I have been fortunate to be coached by Sarah for over 5 years. My Connemara pony and I have progressed from arriving for our first lesson and my announcement that I'd bought a jumping pony but I didn't know if I wanted to jump again to competing consistently and successfully  at BE80 and BRC National Championships.

Sarah has provided me with steady and unwavering support blended with practical common sense solutions and directions. Her consideration of my long and short term goals combined with her own preparation for each lesson has ensured a confident build up of both my riding ability and competitive mindset.

She has the ability to break down the lesson into beneficial exercises for both the horse and rider and then accommodate and adjust the lesson accordingly. It is all delivered with good humour and she delights in each and everyone's progression in their riding life.

ps She's also an author having written the recently published 100 Exercises for Showjumping. If you've read the book now come and try the real thing!!