Client Testimonials
Larri & Bailarina (Lusitano Mare)
I found Becky in April 2009 and thank goodness I did! I was slowly but surely become extremely disillusioned by instructors whose only interest was getting my mare's chin as close to her chest as possible and never mind what her back end was doing! I was stuck in a rut and my riding was deteriorating as I got more and more frustrated.
So it's been revelation to find an instructor who can not only talk the talk but walks the walk too - not just paying lip service to classical training as some do but getting out there in the world of competitive affiliated dressage and showing that correct training along classical lines is still relevant today by doing extremely well with her own horses.
Last year Becky taught me on a number of different horses that I rode for their owner and she managed to make a big difference in how I rode each one of them and how they went. This summer I've backed my 4 year old Lusitano - Bailarina, and have now started having regular lessons on her with Becky to make sure that she has the best possible start to her ridden career. Bally’s progress in a matter of weeks is fantastic and these correct foundations will set her up for life.
A lesson with Becky is like having my own eyes on the ground, but 1000 times sharper and more focussed! We share the same ideas and training ideals and I've never had an instructor that was so much on the same wavelength. I'm sometimes amazed and always grateful that she spots exactly what's going wrong and why, and will without fail give me suggestions to improve any issues that arise during a lesson, get the information across in a an easily understood way and above all help me to make a difference to how my horse is going. Every lesson brings progress and improvement, is always thoroughly enjoyable and is worth every penny and then some!
I've recommended Becky to several people and will continue to do so as I cannot sing her praises highly enough for the massive and very positive difference she makes with her teaching and riding. So from me and all the horses who have put up with me - Thanks Becky :-D
Sasha Thuillier & Ola (Oldenburg Mare)
I first met Becky when I was looking for a classical instructor last year and I was also looking for a horse. Luckily for me she had a lovely mare who was maybe for sale and I ended up buying Ola from Becky in Feb 2010 and since then Becky has been training us weekly. Seeing us through moving to new yard which Ola found quite stressful through to preparing for our first Novice Affiliated competition in July where we got a 65% which felt very far away a few months ago!
As a trainer/rider she is able to feel and communicate what is going on in a lesson as if she is riding the horse and her thoughtful and thorough classical approach makes for a happy horse and rider. Nothing is rushed and in every lesson Becky comes up with some exercise or thought that unlocks a particular problem. At the end of every lesson I feel we have progressed and I have a way to move forward which I understand as she takes the time to explain why we are doing what we are doing and therefore I can keep building on what we do between lessons. I am very very happy to have found both Becky and Ola! Thanks! Sash x
Mandy & Tramado (Lusitano Gelding)
Tramado is a 10 year old Lusitano who I have owned for 3 years. He was quite green when he arrived in the UK and can be very sensitive, so I needed a trainer who would be patient with him and not push him too far. After time off due to lameness and then being diagnosed with cataracts Tramado had been out of work for some time and had become quite stressful to ride. Becky with her classical training background and a Lusitano owner herself was just the person I needed to help me bring Tramado back into work. I have been having regular lessons with Becky since October 2009. My first few lessons were quite entertaining at times with Tramado charging around the arena much to my embarrassment! Becky was not at all phased by his behaviour, and it has been immensely beneficial to have someone as knowledgeable as Becky to help us work through any such difficulties in a calm way and without resorting to gadgets. With Becky’s training, we firstly re established our basic work, and also worked on rider position. The difference in Tramado(and myself) has been huge and he is now working in a balanced and relaxed manner, we are now starting lateral work and we have both grown in confidence. Becky’s attention to detail is excellent and she explains things in a very clear way so that I can both understand and also feel when my riding is correct. This means I can practise at home confident that I am riding correctly. One other benefit of our training with Becky is that as Tramado is partially sighted he could be quite a challenge out hacking. Since training with Becky, Tramado has gained so much confidence and is becoming a perfect horse to hack. Becky is a calm, patient and enthusiastic trainer who does make you work hard, but our lessons are always very enjoyable and the end result is the feeling of achievement. I highly recommend Becky.
Serena Cameron & Sunny (Warmblood Mare)
I found Becky when it became apparent to me that I was doing all the work on behalf of my horse and that she was not actually bringing much to the table! My love of dressage had became very stressful for us both as I became more uncomfortable with the feeling of riding her up into a contact. Becky's appeal to me was that she had produced her own horse to a very good Dressage level true to her own beliefs and was facing the dressage world rather than withdraw from it creating that all so common 'them' and 'us' situation. Her ridden pictures on her website also speak for them self.
On our first meeting I did wonder how this youthful young lady who is probably half my age was going to cope with my sinicism and need to know why at every juncture but she soon melted me with her knowledge, sympathetic approach and patience. I look forward to our lessons as although they are much more relaxed we actually work very hard in achieving that goal and Becky certainly does not short change you. Riding in between times has become less tense and enjoyable as small offers from the horse have become extremely rewarding and I have unexpectantly learnt to embrace my horses spooky nature rather than become distracted and phased by it.
Kate & London (Hanoverian Gelding)
I started having lessons with Becky when I had hit a rut with my 6 year old performance horse who had always been a very emotional chap but had been progressively getting more unreliable and irate to the point when just a simple schooling session was turning into a near death experience! Within the first lesson it became very apparent that Becky's classical approach to dressage was very different from anything we had tried before but within my first week of applying Becky's training methods my horse seemed much calmer. He is stronger, more flexible, better conditioned, happier and more sane in his work than ever before and we have only been having lessons with Becky for 3 months!! I now no longer have to feed him an assortment of calming powders and liquids just to make it through a schooling session!! Thank you Becky – from Kate and London x
Kelly & Amber (Fresian Mare)
After just my 10th lesson with becky and all I can say is wow and I wished I had found her earlier. My mare has been through alot and can be quite difficult to ride and when Becky first come to see us we couldn't even enter a prelim test it was that bad. I've had a few lessons with a few trainers and got nowhere near the results I've managed to get with Becky. I now have a happy willing horse and a canter that I never ever thought we would be able to get and my horse is finally reaching for a contact and not constantly ducking behind the verticle. The muscle she now has is incredible and she looks and feels like a different horse thanks to Beckys correct training and EVERY lesson we have we improve something. Becky also concentrates on you as a rider which is often overlooked which has also helped me and my horse become better. Thanks Becky x
Kim Simmons & Chico (Lusitano Gelding)
My Previous trainer was a "modern" dressage shouty man. So it was with great trepidation that I e-mailed Becky. What a difference, my confidence has returned and I now have a horse to be proud of. His neck, which was a bit weedy is now a well muscled, naturally beautiful arch. What pleases me most is that he is now a willing partner, much calmer out hacking and trusts me!