I grew up in Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs in a non-horsey family, always begging for the chance to ride. At 14, following the death of my maternal grandmother, I was given $200 to “buy something to remember her by.” I spent $180 of it on a barely-two-year-old Standardbred trotter from the Trading Post — a gelding named Duggie, who had never been broken to saddle. Knowing nothing about horse ownership beyond a book from the local newsagency, I arranged agistment at a disused drive-in theatre in Cheltenham and so began my lifelong education in horsemanship.

Duggie proved a quiet, generous teacher. Through Caulfield and Chelsea Pony Clubs, he revealed an unexpected talent for jumping, going on to win the State Title in both jumping and dressage. My second horse, an off-the-track Sir Tristram gelding, proved far more challenging — and it was this horse that led me to Andrew and Manuela McLean at the AEBC in the late 1990s, where I began formal training in equitation science.

Today, I’m the owner of Yarramalong Equestrian, a riding school and accredited Pony Club Riding Centre in Pearcedale on the Mornington Peninsula. 

My passion lies in giving young riders a strong foundation in how horses learn and ethical riding and training techniques. I enjoy teaching the importance of groundwork and its relationship to under saddle responses, with a keen focus on safety on the ground and in the saddle. I also have a particular focus on pony retraining, correcting conflict behaviours and partnering with owners to build a stronger relationship going forward.

Remembering what it was to want a horse of my own and not be able to have one, I’m especially proud of our lease program, which gives riders the chance to experience the full relationship with a horse — the care, the connection, and the thrill of competition — just as Duggie once gave me.