HOW DID YOU START THIS CAREER ?

I' ve been teaching for 40 years now and I myself was a competitor - my speciality being dressage and cross country. I have been in a lot of top events in England. I also have a lot of interest in throughbred racing and I was in point-to-point racing which we do in England. Throughbreds are my favourite horses. I am glad that here they are using thoroughbreds for riding also.

Here we want to teach all types of people and all ages. Since I have been here, we have purchased a lot of ponies, because I feel that for young people, they are much better. It's the same size as them.
Horses are big animals and even adults stand in front of them and say 'how am I going to get on that ?'
Not everybody here in India have any animals - not even a dog or a cat.

So, if they are not used to animals, it can be very daunting for them. Also, because of the way things work in India, the horses are produced ready for the client. In other words - the horse has its saddle and bridle on
and taken to the mounting area and the rider does nothing to the horse. We are encouraging people to do this also. We have run camps and it has been good. We did some picnic rides and cross country rides.

We are doing evening classes for adults to learn. At the moment, we have a lot of expats. When they go back to their own country, they have to get the horse ready themselves, unlike here. So they want to learn how to prepare the horse and how to look after the horse.

 

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO INDIA ?

I have loved working abroad and I have been working abroad before, conducting clinics. The job I was doing became redundant, and I wanted to get a job abroad. I like teaching, I like people and I like a warmer climate.
I had some idea what to expect here in India.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON INDIAN RACING ?

I have not been to a race yet, since the season hasn't started. I have been to the race course and seen the stables there. I think it is a little squashed. In Europe we have a different system, in that the horses are kept in farms and when there is a race, they are shipped in each day to the actual race course for racing. This is nicer
for the horses since they are not living and working in the same place. They actually see life more and they see other things as well than when they are on the race course. I understand that in Bangalore they are actually
overstocked. It will be nice if they could move out. The horses are well looked after, but it is a little squashed.
In India, things are different. For example, feeding. In Europe, There's a lot of information on feeding - the modern manufactured foods. Here they still use the basic grains.There they have scientifically balanced feeds already prepared and mixed for the horses and that makes a lot of difference for the horses. There they buy the food for an entire season the whole nutrition balance was structured. Here, one has to make do with whatever there is. In that way, it is a lot more scientific and clinical as well in other countries. People here are trying very hard.

WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIFIC PLANS TO BRING IN A PROFESSIONAL APPROACH HERE?

To teach people correctly, to have a structure in teaching. I myself was an examiner for both riding and stable management exams. I would like to bring that kind of structure here - even a basic structure. I am very interested in working with handicapped people - both mentally and physically handicapped. Horses have so much to offer - all animals have so much to offer - especially for handicapped people. It is amazing how a dog or a cat can help disabled people and I am going to do some riding with handicapped people, because it has a lot of benefits for them.

We have people who were completely wheelchair bound, and when they got on a horse, they actually felt that they have legs, which they can control. They get on and feel something moving under them. I have had success with autistic people - these people do not show any emotions, they have actually shown emotions after riding horses. This was in Spain and other countries. People with Down's Syndrome who have no muscle power feel great to feel the power of the horse. Here there is no funding for disabled people and we are planning to approach the Government to look into this.

It's been a learning curve for me. We English people are very impatient. We like things to happen yesterday. Though I have worked in Spain, things happened a lot quicker than they happen here. It's not even a couple of weeks, but months. The problem is that when we want something for the horses, we have to order it from Delhi, and it takes a long time. We have something ordered for over three months now. That's something that I am learning to expect, and it is not that easy.

WE are teaching on European lines. We do train people dressage and show jumping, cross country racing. We are hoping to send a small team to the Junior National Championship in Madras in December. I haven't been here for a long time, and I want these people to believe that if you go, you don't have to win, but at least complete and not make a show of yourself. It's important for the school and for myself. We have jockeys here to ride, and they have been coming to have more education. I teach basic psychology and the basic structure movement.The jockeys have no basic knowledge of the horse and how it moves.

We are going to have a golf driving range and gradually add more and more facilities, and putting weekend cottages here. The whole ambition of the school is to be approved by the British Association. I am actually one of the inspectors for this association. But there's quite a lot of things to be done to get approved. Later on we could do professional exams here. The idea is also to turn out Indian qualified staff.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE REHABILITATION PROGRAMME FOR RACE HORSES HERE ATE EMBASSY.

Yes, we are doing that sometimes to relax them, just to give a little bit of change of scenery.In the race course, the stables are a little bit claustrophobic and a little low and they are looking only at their companions. Here they go cross country and get a chance to look at life more. It just gives them a new lease of life. Also there are so many people around - dogs, animals, children.

We have quite a lot of space to keep more horses. We keep them for a minimum of six weeks. We like to keep them longer. We do a lot of gallop work with them. The horses are given a lot of freedom which is very important to them.

We ride them like we ride school horses. This gives them something to think about. In the course, they are on the track and back to the stable. Here there is so much going on. The camel goes around, the geese, sheep,monkeys and again it gives them an interest and it is not boring for them.Quite often horses relate better to women, because women love animals as animals. Men treat them as machines that are going to win. We are soft with them, pat them and kiss them and the horses relate to that. They like a little bit of affection.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO BE A WOMAN IN THIS PROFESSION ?

Yes, I've had that problem in some countries.
They didn't react to being taught by me. If I tried to correct them, they did not accept it just because I am a woman. In Arabic countries, the woman is still a second class citizen. In America, it doesn't matter as long as you have letters after your name. Here in India, there's nothing like that and being a woman hasn't made any difference here.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EVENT ?

One season, I won 50 races in England. That was an achievement. Originally women weren't allowed to race against men jockeys. It's only in the last 12 years that they have been allowed to race together.

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