After a childhood of longing for horses, August 1996 found me living on a farm and buying 2 horses. Two years later, after many falls, runaways, bites, kicks and tears, I no longer rode as my horse just seemed to hate having anything to do with me and my saddle! Fortunately, instead of listening to the horsey folks around me who said buy a bigger bit, use a whip and teach it some manners, or smother your horse in more leather restraints, I listened to someone who said: "Change yourself first".

And so, a year later, with no falls, runaways, bites or kicks but plenty of tears, my new horses (the start of my Friesian herd) Rosa, Cole and Willow taught me that in order to have the perfect horse for me, I had to start to change some of the not so perfect aspects of me first.

Since 1999, I have been on the most incredible journey and have been privileged to see some of the world’s best horse trainers up close and personal. My very first NH course I  attended was one with Kaye Thomas, Parelli instructor(Durban, 2002). I then got to be one of the support workers at a Pat Parelli seminar in Calgary in 2003 where I met the fantastic Jonathan Field. I then attended another of Pat’s seminars in Paris in 2005 (my friends asks me how on earth I always managed to find a way to get a horse activity into the itinerary of  my husband’s business trip that I tagged along on!!!).  In 2004 and 2005, Cynthia Cooper , from Australia, took me further on my journey, and I started to explore beyond the Parelli program, looking for more lightness and finesse. So when Steve Halfpenny from Silversands, Australia, needed a host for his KZN clinic in 2006, I jumped at the opportunity to have such a great horseman in my backyard, and then continued to have lessons with Tamasine Smith from NHZA and Pippa Arnott. In the eyes of many outsiders I might seem to be a very knowledgeable person of horse related stuff, but I keep in mind the saying” It’s what you learn AFTER you think you know it all,  that counts”. And when I did start to think too highly of myself, Willow , a 650kg friesian gelding(my biggest challenge and my horsey soul-mate) would remind me that I wasn't paying attention to his needs, and oh, did I know that he had yet to let me know about chapter 21 of “Willow’s Book on Horsemanship from a Horse’s Point of View”?! (edit: this magnificent horse died in April 2019, after spending 21 years teaching me how to be a better horse owner)

So on my CV it might be written that I am:

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The owner of Kilgobbin Stud which has  Friesians, friesian X TB, Warlanders, Andalusian and Lusitano x TBs and 3 donkeys. And one mule!

The main facilitator in HorsePlay, an Equine Facilitated Learning program established in May 2005.

In partnership for the Savvy Leadership corporate courses run by Keith Coats from Tomorrowtoday.global

A member of the Midlands Meander Association since 1997

A member of EAPISA since 2009

I have my Parelli L1 and L2, Silversands Basic Skills 1, 2, 3, and am working on my Intermediate Level.

But the best achievement that I have on my CV is that my herd thinks that I am a great leader, with greater things to come because it is what you learn after you think you know it all that really counts, and 23 years from my first lesson, I am still learning.