Chatting With Charlotte Donovan

Charlotte Donovan is a dressage rider and trainer with a passion for producing young horses. Thirty-seven year-old Charlotte trains with Becky Moody and is based in the North West of England. Charlotte initially combined a career as a data analyst with riding her horses until three years ago when she decided to make horses her full time career.

 

Where did the journey with horses start?

Horses have always been part of my life. My mum had ponies growing up, then my three sisters and I always had a pony. We mainly did local showing, my older sisters were into show jumping. We would take our ponies to the local riding club shows; I have always loved the competitions. I started to ride horses for other people but only as a hobby while still at school. I started riding for a professional showing producer which is where my passion for young horses started.  I was always drawn to the guys at the top I wanted to learn as much as I could from them.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school, it hadn’t occurred to me at the time that horses could be my career.  I took a job as a Data Analyst for a large US owned company; I never particularly enjoyed the job but the flexible hours and work from home option meant I could continue to train my horses.  I worked there for eighteen years and became a manager, travelling around the world, however during all this time as much as the travel was exciting, I missed the horses while I was away, and I had started to build a bigger client base.

When I was twenty-four and working as a data analyst, my horse at the time wasn’t the best show horse, he wasn’t blessed with the best confirmation, so me being the kind of person that likes to have a goal, that was it! I was going to be an eventer, I decided I was going to go to badminton!

Having never jumped a full course of fences I took Syd down to the Badminton young horse qualifier.  The jumps were huge and the weather was awful, I got round half the course and decided to retire, however we had done the dressage phase and actually done pretty well after that day my full focus became Dressage I soon because obsessed I wanted to learn more, what is a travers? How do I dance like that?

In 2017 I started work for Matt Frost and Adam Kemp, I would go most weekends working and training with Syd.  We soon got to grips with the dressage lingo and had our piaffe and changes nailed. Then Frank came along to continue the dressage journey.  After a great deal of soul searching, I made the decision three years ago to follow my heart and work with horse’s full time. I now have an amazing private barn with great facilities on a livery yard one minute walk from my house.

 

What horses do you currently ride?

I am incredibly lucky to have a very talented string of horses each one very different. They generally work three or four days in the school, one of them being a stretch day or canter day, I try to include poles and hacking on the other days. I own three myself.

Frank is an eleven year old gelding by Everdale X Spielberg. I purchased Frank as a 2-year-old, he was the first ‘Dressage’ bred horse I ever rode. He now knows all the tricks, so his training is mainly focused on keeping the suppleness and refinement to achieve every mark we can on competition day.

Alan is a six year old gelding by Escobar X Johnson. I purchased Alan though Rebbeca Dudley who found him in Holland for me. He has the most amazing character he is everyone’s favourite on the yard he just wants to me your mate. We are working Advance Med at home, he is a special guy, so I haven’t wanted to rush him, I am having fun training him at home at the moment.  Hopefully we can do a few competitions later this year.

Ralph is a four year old gelding by Springbank II X Grand Galaxy. I backed Ralph for the lady that owned him and fell in love the moment I sat on him, he had such a natural balance for a young horse, and he is a beautiful Black 17hh. He has been a dream ever since; he is so talented and has the most amazing brain.  My focus with him is to build strength and take our time working up the levels.

I ride several client’s horses however there are a select few that I have the privilege of competing regularly.

Owned by Julia and John – Georgie is a large show Hack, and we will hopefully be out this year getting her HOYS ticket. Over the winter we did some dressage which she seems to love she got some great scores and has qualified for the regionals. April is a Large Riding horse and like Georgie, April has had a break from showing and has excelled in dressage and has also qualified for the regionals.

Owned By Rachel Wall – Mango – I have been helping Rachel with Mango for a few years now, he has a lovely temperament and is so much fun to work with.  Rachel has been a great support to me, and I am grateful to her for allowing me to ride him.  He has also qualified for the regionals.

Owned By Becky Moody – Martha – is a super talented 4 yr old that Becky has sent me to train.  I have been working with her for nearly a year now and I absolutely love her.

 

Who do you train with?

I have the most wonderful trainer, Becky Moody. I went for a lesson when Frank was just 5 yrs old, I remember her saying to me ‘I hope you’re training this horse towards Grand Prix’.  I was taken back it hadn’t crossed my mind; I was so new to dressage I never thought we would ever get near to that kind of level, I was happy to just get round a test and not forget it. Since then, she lit a fire in me to train all my horses as if we were going GP, adding the extra level of detail and purpose to your training.

I try to spend as much time as I can at Beckys, watching her teach and ride is so inspiring and educational.   I work for her on the yard and riding her horses when she needs an extra pair of hands or if she is away at competition herself. I try to take my boys over for training at least once a week.

 

What have been the highlights and challenges on your dressage journey?

Frank winning the regionals PSG was a highlight as I never believed we could, this win gave me a confidence boost which I have carried with me riding the other horses. We also did our first Inter1 in Dec which was a goal I set at the start of the year.

Ralph had a particular successful first season he got several 77+% scores. The most challenging for me is time, I want to spend more time at the yard training and improving but I need to be out freelance teaching and riding to pay the bills. This year has been tough financially and unfortunately; I will soon need to sell one of my own horses or find an owner to keep things going at the yard.

 

It takes a team to do dressage, who is in your support team?

Becky Moody – Coach, Mentor and Friend. My groom, Sophie. A few owners/clients that have shown me so much support and have become friends. Rachel, Alison, Julia and John. My mum comes to shows with me. Rachel Greetham – Physio, Josh Manning – Farrier, Tim Booth – Vet, Dawn Rothwell – My Physio, Shaun McGrath – Pesonal Trainer and Sport Psychologist, My sponsors, Animal Life, Dressage Deluxe, (CeeCoach)

 

You have a passion for producing young horses, can you share why and what led you down that path?

I started riding the young horses at the showing yard I worked at, I think because I was small, I could pretty much get on any shape or size. Over the years I learnt how important the ground was and the relationship you form with that horse before you sit on for the first time. It was clear from the start that I could ride the young ones with empathy and give them confidence, but I wasn’t too bad when it came to sticking to a good buck if needed also.

I don’t think you can describe the connection you feel with a young horse.  When they first come, they are so nervous they have no idea what is going on and just spending time listening and just being around them is a privilege, there is always a moment when you know they start to let their guard down and they now trust you. That first time in a new arena is always a great test of partnership, the horse sees the scary corner you feel that moment of hesitation and with just one pat of encouragement to let them know you’re in this together they realise your here to  support, they take a deep breath and trot past that scary corner feeling proud of themselves, its moments like that I love the most, these moments are the foundation of a friendship.

I always feel proud when an owner rides their horse for the first time after I have backed them.  It’s a great feeling having worked for months sending them off into the world both horse and owner happy.

 

Have you found any of the young horses particularly challenging?

There have been a couple of horses that have been a challenge, and I have had to adapt to find ways to earn their trust. Some have just taken more time and a slower pace, and others just have needed to do something more exciting like jumping. I have always been honest with myself and my capabilities doing this on my own does mean some horses are not suitable for my setup at home. It took me a few years, but I also understand now not all horses suit all riders and finding them another rider doesn’t mean failure on my part of the horses.

 

Do you ever get nervous riding young horses?

I am very lucky with this. If I know I have done my groundwork right and we have a good connection on the ground, then I am excited to get on and ride.

 

What advice could you offer to someone who is thinking of buying and training a young horse? 

I always like to have a vet do a quick MOT then if there is anything the horse might be uncomfortable with it can be addressed, you don’t want to mistake a naughty horse for one that is in pain. I often get people come to me that have already started but missed a few steps, it could be they have tried to get on too soon and the horse has been scared. Invest in good training for yourself and the horse.

 

Future goals and aspirations?

To continue to learn and become a better rider. To keep riding the wonderful horses I have and grow my client base, i would love to have an owner on board to share the journey with. To continue to produce young horses in a way that sets them up for a successful and happy career. My biggest goal is to qualify and be selected to compete internationally at Small Tour.

 

Your Top Tip

Be disciplined in your training. One of the many things that makes Becky so great is her attention to detail – She will have me go back to re-do a centre line if I am a millimetre off.

 

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?

Many people told me not to do horse’s full time; I had a well-paid job and security.  One person told me not to live wondering what if. To take a leap of faith and if things didn’t work out you can always change paths again. You control the path you are on and you are allowed to take a few detours. I am much poorer now, but I am so much happier.