Julie Davies-Bennetts is a dressage rider currently competing at PSG with her Perlino Lusitano stallion. Based in Malvern, Worcestershire Julie runs a riding school teaching children from aged two years up to riders wanting to learn lateral work and changes. She also trains BHS students up to Stage 4 in preparation for their BHS exams, as she holds both BD and BHS qualifications. Julie’s school encourages her riders to take part in monthly online dressage competitions, as she strongly believes dressage should be accessible to anyone with an interest and not be viewed as elite sport.
How did your dressage journey begin?
Julie with Islero her Perlino Lusitano stallion
I was three when my Mom put me on a horse and apparently, I was horse mad afterwards. When I was eighteen, I watched my first PSG freestyle demo at a local show, I was in awe and that was the point that made me dream of competing in Advanced Dressage.
Who you train with?
Currently I train with Nickie Maddaford Equestrian (on IG and FB) every two weeks and I attend as many non-ridden training mornings at Carl Hester’s. I am a BD judge and coach so rely on my mirrors to watch how I’m doing in between training with Nickie.
Who inspires you?
Carl Hester and Steph Croxford inspire me. Carl because he truly believes train the best you can afford and Steph because the horses she has trained are not considered by many to be a traditional type of dressage horse and yet she continues to achieve at Grand Prix. Both are down to earth with sound advice.
Your proudest achievements?
Julie and Islero. “He is my heart horse”
One of my biggest achievements was buying Plutschina my 16 year ex brood mare for £1350 and taking her out aged 17 to BD competitions and just riding four times a week, plodding away and unbelievable reaching PSG. She’s 28 now, retired for four years. If you’d have told me it would happen, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Our next big thing was buying Islero my Perlino Lusitano stallion untried, off videos, he’s a Portuguese breed but was living in Spain. Someone later told me he’d only be an Advanced Medium horse but we’ve been competing at PSG for a year now. This year we have two PSG Petplan Area Festival qualifications and have had some really good comments about our lovely partnership.
We are having fun as we go. I’ve owned him three years now. He was unfit when he arrived, then became ill losing 40kg in weight and it took nearly a year to get to a good standard again, it was a challenge. He is my heart horse. I only ride him four or five days a week including a hack and sometimes pole work. I also do the occasional in hand session for the piaffe and passage work but he’s really got the hang of it now he’s stronger, so we also do the movements under saddle as well.
It takes a team to do dressage, who is in your support team?
I run a riding school and my ex competition horses give schoolmaster lessons so, the team we have here are so important. Without Heather, Jerry and Maria, I’d have no time to compete at all. I thank them dearly.
How has being a judge helped on your dressage journey and with competing?
Islero resting in his stable. Julie says “he always has a smile on his face”
I’m middle aged and became a BD judge aged twenty four, when I was an event rider with a lame horse and my dressage coach encouraged me to go out with her, to learn how to judge to give me a focus for the six months wait without a horse to ride. It was fascinating and although primarily my judging interests were aimed at eventing, I later became focussed on the ambition of training my own horse to advance level and hopefully ride at PSG. I got there eventually! British Dressage judge training has improved tremendously over the last few decades and anyone who wants to learn what the judge is looking for can sign up with BD as a trainee judge to gain access to training, even if they don’t want to take the Judge Assessment. It’s an excellent way to have access to training off our top judges and gives clarity to the training process of our horses.
What are your aspirations?
My goal is to compete Grand Prix. We can do all the movements except one tempis, which I can only get six or seven ones in a row but I’m confident it will come as he gets even stronger and my legs get quicker.
Your Top Tip
My top tip is to be patient. Trust the process, give your horse time and importantly give variety in the work and the surface you ride on. It really helps the overall athleticism of your horse and makes training more interesting and helps keep a horse sound. When Islero gives the movement well then, I stop, I don’t keep doing the same thing. He’s clever and quick, it’s about his brain not just his body, something I learned from owning Thoroughbreds years ago.
What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?
Biggest tip…. travel your own journey with your beloved horse, it’s one you will never get back if you keep looking left and right comparing yourselves to others.
Want More?
If you enjoyed meeting Julie you might like to view more dressage rider “chatting with” interviews here. You can keep up with Julie’s progress and visit her instagram page here