Sparrow Oast

I was a complete sceptic about groundwork but my horse and I massively reaped the rewards, with Nicola’s training.

She showed and gave us exercises that helped move my older horse in the correct way and they really helped him with his posture, particularly around the engagement of his core. My horse was also quite reactive and we used ground work to train him in how to manage himself in stressful situations – and to teach me what to do to calm and/or manage him in stressful situations.

It astounded me how what happens on the ground with the horse’s body and what you can do to correct the posture directly relates to what happens under saddle – ground work gives you tools you can use when you are riding. Nicola ties it all in so having ground work and ridden training with her works really well.

It is much harder than it looks! But Nicola breaks it down and builds the exercises up, giving you homework to do so you can crack on yourself.

Stephanie Fairbank

Nicola is a knowledgeable, approachable, precise and clear trainer who is focused on helping you achieve your short and longer term goals.

Posture and balance underpin her training; she is brilliant at identifying the key aspects of your position/riding to work on to really help your horse and improve the way of going. This includes using a wide range of tools and exercises which really do work wonders.

Because she competes at a high level herself, she is so helpful when it comes to test riding, including ringcraft and also the mental side of it, around improving resilience and focus at shows.

She wants you to be self sufficient in your riding, so she is brilliant at giving you tools to bring in to play and key aspects to focus on when you are riding on your own and/or when things don’t quite go the right way.

Stephanie Fairbank