Biography
I started riding when I was seven at a small trekking centre in Cornwall. We learnt to ride by galloping along a cliff path for 50 minutes in order to find 10 more minutes in the hour to play cowboys and Indians and ride the horses bareback in a headcollar back to their field!
I was a member of the North Cornwall Pony Club for many years and was a junior horse trials champion when I was 16. I also hunted with the North Cornwall Hunt every Saturday, begging a lift with my farrier and giving my non-horsey mum a very hard time! I moved to Wales when I was 17 to work for a friend of my parents. I did a year's practical work experience on a farm with the aim of going back to agricultural college. I never went!
I evented and hunted and gained enormous experience with young horses. I also met David Hunt when I was invited to be a guinea pig on a national convention with my novice horse. It was a huge shock when I realised I had no idea what real dressage felt like and it was then that I got the bug to learn more.
I moved to Ascot to be nearer David's stables so I could train with him and a year later he needed a groom and I was there with my horse like a shot! I had 11 amazing years as a working student. I became David’s head girl and travelled with him to many international shows, watching him ride and train many different horses and riders. I met many people and learnt a huge amount. Thanks to my godmother, Sheila Duvollet, I also had a few horses of my own to ride. I started with a wonderful Irish horse called Bertie Wooster who David helped me train to Grand Prix.
During this time I met Susie Cumine who was the owner of Cupido, the horse that took me to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 (I rode under my maiden name Jane Bredin). Susie and I moved to Wiltshire to set up a yard together and we had some brilliant years riding internationally with Cupido. I trained in Holland with Sjef Janssen and again this was all a huge learning curve.
After 10 years with Susie, my partner (and now husband) Aram and I decided we had so many horses between us we finally needed to have our own home and yard in one place. We found Greenlands Farm and built our dream yard with an indoor school and luxury we had never had before. Aram is a dressage rider too and rides for Hong Kong.
During the last seven years our lives have given us some amazing experiences. We met Ulla Salzgeber when Aram bought a horse from her and we spent two years training intensively in Germany as a result. We have now bought some lovely young horses and in 2008 I rode Lucky Star in Hong Kong in the Beijing Olympics. Plans are moving forward to London 2012. Our goals are to challenge for a medal!