I have been working in the horse industry for over 10 years, with most of my experience being with dressage horses. In this time I have had the opportunity to work or spend time on some of the top yards in the country, including working for two years as a British Dressage Apprentice with National Trainer and Grand Prix rider, Angela Niemeyer-Eastwood.

I have been working at MEC for 4 years now, and I am responsible in the day to day care  of  'Team Apollo' including grooming at competitions and assisting with their daily exercise.  This includes the following :

• Apollo’s Salvadore – 4 year old dressage gelding – aimed at dressage at the highest level.  (owned as a part of syndicate including myself and the owners of MEC, Salvadore was purchased from Brightwells Auction in August 2008 and we have high hopes for him this year.
• Apollo’s Secret Liaison –  Kerry’s new stallion
• Apollo’s State Secret – Kerry’s event horse
• Apollo’s Statesman – Sally’s event horse
• Apollo’s Destiny – leader of the pack, and now retire at 21 years young 

I'm always striving to improve my knowledge and experience, and date have trained with top competitive riders including Paul Fielder, Patsy Bartram and more recently Linda Sams.
Qualifications.

• BHS NVQ 2, Riding and road safety
• Competed up to advanced-medium level
• In 2003 was ‘A’ Squad national champion
• Placed 5th at National talent spotting finals. (2003)

Hi, my name is Kathy and I have been working at Middleton Equestrian Centre since April 2009.  I have kept horses since I was three years old, when I had my first pony called Sugar.  I have had a variety of jobs, but have always ended up back with horses !

I decided to go and get by BHS exams a few years ago and did my training at the School of St Mary and St Ann in Abbotts Bromley.  I gained my AI in 2003 and went on to get my Stage 4 care.  I really enjoy working at Middleton Equestrian Centre and hope to continue well into the future.

I have been working at Middleton Equestrian Centre for 5 years, I have been riding for over 25 years, and have always worked in the equine industry, and have a keen interest in all types of animals.

My position involves three main areas:-

Health & Safety

I deal with all aspects of Health & Safety at the yard, which entails ensuring that all health & safety procedures and policies are put in place and adhered to at all times, this involves ensuring the safety and welfare of all the horses, staff and clients on the yard.

Instructor

I teach all types all lessons from beginners to advanced riders, and teach private and groups on a daily basis, teaching gives me a buzz to see clients progressing in their riding skills.

Sale of Horses

I am responsible for the sale of the horses/ponies at the yard.

At Middleton Equestrian, we aim to only keep horses/ponies in the riding school for 3 years, and then we try to find nice permanent homes for them.

If you are looking for a certain type of horse/pony, we offer a service to find a horse or pony for clients and non clients, which will suit their needs and riding ability.

My Qualifications are as follows:-

• The British Horse Society Riding Road Safety Trainer
• First Aid Certificate issued in accordance with Health & Safety  Regulations
• Modern Apprenticeship in Horse Care & Riding
• NVQ Level 2 & 3 - Horse Care & Management
• Certificate of Competence in the Handling, Transport & Care of Animals.
• B.H.S. Grooms Certificate, B.H.S. AI , B.H.S. Stages 1 to 3 - Riding Care
• B.H.S. Preliminary Teaching Test, B.H.S. Riding & Road Safety
• IT Key Skills Level 1 & 2 in Number Communication
• City & Guild Competencies in Training & Development.
• NVQ/SVQ Update Course
• Basic Health & Safety Certificate, Fire Safety Certificate

I have been working with horses since the age of 6 years old after having my first pony from the age of 7. I have expanded my riding career through the Pony club where I was involved in Area Teams within Pony Club where I qualified for the National Championships and where we came fourth at the Nationals. I then furthered my career working for Olympic Event rider Tiny Clapham where I was a working pupil for a season. After being there for the season I moved on to Olympic event rider medallist Jeanette Brakewell where I trained for a season with two horses there.

I now enjoy my role at Middleton Equestrian centre where I am running the PC centre and being one of the main instructors at the centre. I also have a role in sales as I am the main rider at the centre for the younger/sale horses.

I have a horse(Jupiter) at the centre which is owned by Rosamund Nicholson who helps me run the horse and compete him. I am aiming to do a CIC1* on him next year.

My Qualifications:

Pony Club B test
British horse society Riding and Road safety.
National Certificate in horse Management (level 2)
Advanced National Certificate in horse management (level 3)

I’m Dawn Fellows and I’m the Riding School Manager at Middleton Equestrian Centre (MEC).  MEC is my second home as I’ve been here since I was 11 yrs old starting as a weekend ‘Helper’. I have now worked my way up to the heady heights of  Riding School Manager, due to my hard work and loyalty to Kerry. 

I adore working with the horses and my work colleagues, we are one big happy family. I am always happy to help others and really enjoy welcoming new clients into our world. I am constantly striving to improve and am taking further BHS exams this year.

My qualifications are:

• NVQ 1 & 2
• BHS Stage 1 Care
• Riding and Road Safety
• First Aider

I joined Middleton Equestrian Centre 5 years ago when Kerry took over as the new owner.  I am a full time member of staff and mainly work on the Livery Yard but can sometimes be seen supervising the Riding School on Sundays or working in Reception at weekends.

I own Millie and Rosie who both work in the Riding School

My qualifications are :

• BHS Riding and Road Safety Certificate
• Child Protection Course

I am now studying with Gemma to take my BHS Stage Exams.

Details coming soon

I am the Maintenance Manager at MEC.
I repair and maintain everything that does not move, and some things that do -
if not I paint it or stain it !!!!

I maintain all the riding surfaces in all three schools,  and repair fences as required.

I attend to the gardens and plants, tubs, pots and baskets for the yard and the surrounding gardens.

This year I will be fertilising and re-seeding the fields to improve our grazing.

In general I carry out the impossible immediately,  but take slightly longer over miracles
- but my greatest wish is that everyone who visits the Centre enjoys the results.

I drive the Team Apollo lorry to events around the country in my spare time, when I am not working for the Post Office as an Engineer. 

I also help Lewis at events getting the horses ready - in particular I am chief holder of the stud box when Lewis is studding up the horses ready for the Show Jumping or Cross Country phase of the One Day Events!

I’ve been riding for just over 3 years, having come to horses later in life than most.  All of my equine experience to date has been in conjunction with MEC.  I’m currently studying for BHS Stage 1 Riding and Care exams, a course being run with Gemma through the MEC Riding School.

I have now been working 2 half-shifts at weekends on the Livery Yard for nearly 2 years, my shifts being arranged so that I’m around when the 24 livery horses we have need mucking out.  I then generally help out with any task that needs to be done on the day, but more often than not, if I’m not setting up or taking down jumps, or collecting and unloading the ½ tonne of feed our horses get through, I’ll be tidying the yard somewhere!

When I can, I also help Lewis when he is competing his Dressage horses, with Team Apollo on their ODE’s, and at the other competitions that MEC horses and riders attend.

The Middleton yard is at it’s busiest at the weekends, with all three schools being used for flat, jump or lead rein lessons continuously on both days. This involves scores of visiting students and a constant stream of horse and pony change-overs which at least doubles our normal workload on the yard.

We have a dedicated team of youngsters who regularly give up a day of their weekend to help us make sure that the school runs as smoothly as possible, but without compromising our primary objectives around the horses care and well-being, and the cleanliness and hygiene of our facilities.

Our weekend helpers perform a multitude of supporting tasks and are often our ‘unsung heroes’.  Some of their responsibilities are:

• Mucking out before the school opens
• Rug changing
• Grooming all our ponies and horses being used in the school
• Tacking and un-tacking at the start/end of lessons (we do not leave our ponies in their tack all day !)
• Providing support in lessons (Jump building, lead rein support etc)
• Skipping, haying and topping up water (at least 3 times daily)
• Tack Cleaning and Maintenance
• Regular Yard hygiene (our yard is swept 3-4 times/day, rug and storage rooms swept and tidied daily, schools and turnout fields skipped)

When they are not doing all this, they have a list of other chores to do that helps keep our facilities looking the best that they can be.

Our helpers regularly attend on-yard training, in Stable Management and Horse Care that follow BHS Stage 1 guidelines, taught by our senior staff members, and cover practical topics such as:

• tack and tacking up
• rugs and rugging up
• how to groom
• how to muck, skip and make fair a stable
• feeding and haying

All our helpers are managed and supervised by Dawn Fellows, our Riding School Manager, or by the senior member of staff on the yard.

Hello, my name is Tommy Connolly. I am 11 years old and I have been riding here at Middleton Equestrian Centre since I was three.
I love the horses and coming here, so I asked to become a weekend helper.  I have been a weekend helper here since June 2009.   I have loads of fun working here at Middleton as everybody is kind and friendly and I hope to continue working with horses into my adult life.