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Carol Andrews
Carol passed
her BHSAI in 1980, the same year her family took over ownership of
WVS, which was in a derelict state and she and her team have worked
tirelessly since that time building up the business. In 1999, the
very successful Members Club was formed in order to ensure regular
riders received discounts and to enable stronger relationships to be
developed between the clients, the instructors and the horses.
Carol’s
equestrian career has included competing in dressage, eventing and
show jumping. However, her greatest achievements were in show
jumping where she was fortunate to train with the renowned
instructor Dick Stillwell and win show jumping classes at major
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Both Carol and her sister-in-law, Caroline Stevenson (Chief Instructor), are
very committed to charitable works. They organise three main fund
raising events in the year, the Charity Ball in March, the Summer Show in
June and the Sponsored Horse Ride in October. They have raised over
half a million pounds for charity over the last 28 years.
“it is very satisfying
organising events that people really enjoy taking part in and we are
constantly amazed by people’s generosity which is not just limited to
financial donations or sponsorship, but also includes clients contributing
their time to help us organise and run these events. |
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the sense of community at the stables, and am very proud that the
Member’s Club has played such a huge part in advancing this feeling
of team spirit. It is wonderful to see how much enjoyment riding
can bring to people and also the friendships that develop between
people sharing a common interest."
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The Instructors
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
No stables
can be successful without a well organised team behind it. In
Carol’s words:
“We could not
achieve this without the invaluable help from our staff. Since we
opened Wimbledon Village Stables in 1980, we have strived to provide
the best environment for our horses and the best tuition for our
clients. We have been very fortunate over the years to be
assisted by many excellent instructors and our current team is no
exception. They are a very talented and diverse bunch as you
will see from their details below.”
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To ensure
their personal development the Instructors regularly receive
training both from Caroline, our Chief Instructor and also
external experts such as Patrick Print FBHS and to widen
their experience they are given the opportunity to school
the horses and take them to competitions.
All the Instructors are kept up to date on their First Aid
Certificates and Child Protection Courses and our Health and
Safety procedures are very comprehensive
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Caroline Stevenson
BHSI
Chief Instructor
Caroline is
a very talented instructress who holds her BHSI exam. She has chosen to dedicate herself
to teaching riders of all levels to become confident horsemen and
women and has been at Wimbledon Village Stables since 1980. She is a
much sought after and popular instructor, who is equally happy
teaching beginners as she is helping to train riders develop more
advanced dressage skills. Regular private slots with Caroline,
whether in the ring on the tracks, are much in demand. |
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Not only has
Caroline been involved in riding and road safety issues for many years, she
is also the BHS Assistant Regional Road Safety Officer for South West
London, sits on the BHS Riding School and Livery Yards Advisory Group and is
Assistant District Commissioner of Wimbledon Pony Club. Hers is an
impressive CV, and Caroline is a valuable leader within the WVS team.
“I bring sports psychology into my teaching along with Ride with your Mind
techniques learnt from Mary Wanless. I enjoy breaking down my teaching
into bite-size essentials and I hope to encourage riders at all levels.”
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Jennifer Hesketh, BHS
Int. SM
Yard Manager
Jennifer
trained at the prestigious Foxes Equestrian Centre where she gained her BHSAI. Since
joining WVS she continued her training and recently passed her BHS
Stage IV.
Jennifer is a very accomplished horsewoman and has competed successfully in
dressage, showing and eventing. She particularly enjoys dressage and won the
Veteran Horse Society Dressage Champion in 2008. She studied at
Liverpool University achieving a 2.1 in English and Communication
Studies. She has a
passion for journalism so who knows we may get her writing in our Gossip
Column soon!
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Kirsty Harrison, BHSAI
Riding Instructor
Kirsty joined us in
February 2009. She is a fully qualified BHSAI who has plenty of
experience in teaching all ages and abilities. She has worked in
riding schools and livery yards and even managed a trekking business in New
Zealand. Kirsty is a very popular riding instructor who finds it very
rewarding seeing her riders' progress and achieve their goals.
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Fernanda Zuniga, BHSPTT
Riding Instructor
Fernanda is the newest member of the team. She
grew up in Mexico where she competed in numerous show jumping competitions
before moving to the UK five years ago. Since moving to England, she began
training towards her BHS exams, and she has recently gained her
BHS PTT so she will soon be a BHS AI.
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Jessica Crowe,
BHSAI
Riding Instructor
Coming from Ireland, Jessica was brought up in real 'horse country'.
She trained at Kill International Equestrian Centre in Kildare and
after a spell working as a show jumping groom for Irish Rider
Jack Doyle she went on to work in Andalusia in Spain, teaching and
training riders for BHS Examinations.
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Lisa Harris
Riding Instructor
Lisa comes from an equestrian
family with both parents,
Johnny and
Jackie Harris, being accredited trainers. She
competed in affiliated show jumping competitions throughout her
childhood and went to work as a show jumping groom for international
competition riders before going to study Equine Science in Bristol.
She was top student in 2006-7 and we are delighted that she is a
member of our team here at WVS.
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Jenny Rudall
BHS Int. SM
Riding Instructor
A zoologist by
education, Jenny trained for her BHSAI in Ireland and was extremely
fortunate to be instructed by Ann Marie Dumfrey, the acclaimed Olympic
Dressage Rider. She competed in show jumping in Ireland before setting off
to Spain to work as Chief Instructor at an expatriate riding school and
training Andalusian horses. Although the Spanish sun must have been
difficult to leave, we are lucky Jenny decided to return to England to join
us at WVS and teach on Saturdays.
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Fiona Jordan, BHSAI
Riding Instructor
Fiona is an all round sportswoman, she studied for a Sports
& Exercise Science with Psychology degree at Christchurch
University in Canterbury. She started riding when she
was four and has competed in all disciplines and has passed
her BHS Examinations. For the last 7 years she has
enjoyed bringing her own horse from an unbroken 6 year old
to becoming a fabulous competition prospect.
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Amanda Reid
Part Time
Riding Instructor
Amanda (known as Panda around the yard)
started coming to WVS at the age of 10, helping out at weekends all through
her school days. Whilst Amanda was at University she took her
BHS Stages and remained as a part time member of staff working on a Sunday.
Now she is a qualified accountant working for AOL and we are very lucky to
have her teach here on Sunday mornings.
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"Ever since I was a young girl I have loved WVS. There are so
many things that I like about this yard. The first has always
been the variety of horses and how well they are looked after.
There are horses for all abilities from very advanced, to horses
that beginners can learn on. We are also very spoilt here for
hacking and one thing I really enjoy are the 2 hour rides to
Richmond Park, especially in the summer when the hacks are off
tracks. WVS has always had a very friendly atmosphere which I
love, we are like one big happy family!"
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Maria
Wojtkiewicz
Riding Instructor
Maria started riding at an early age and through the years
has competed successfully in various equestrian disciplines.
She has spent considerable time schooling horses for special
needs riders. She came to the UK to further her
equestrian career, and started by teaching riding for the
disabled at the 'Diamond Centre'. She has already
passed her first British Horse Society Exams and she is
looking forward to furthering her knowledge. She is a
patient horsewoman and enjoys seeing
her riders progress
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Anita Kuciel
Riding Instructor
Anita has
always had an affinity with horses. She started riding
at an early age and over time she obtained her National
Instructor's Qualification. She has taught horse
riding at various levels for the last five years. She
also studied at Krakow Agricultural Academy where she
completed a Diploma in equine breeding and management
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Fiona Harkness
Working Pupil
Our lovely working pupil Fiona is training
for her British Horse Society Examinations and her NVQ. Fiona is also a fully qualified swimming
instructor and she is very popular with all of our junior riders.
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The Office staff
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In addition to the
regular teaching staff, WVS is also fortunate to have excellent office staff
who keep the yard running smoothly: the Office Manager, Claire, is not only
efficient but is also a helpful and friendly voice on the end of the phone
from Tuesdays to Saturdays, while the office is manned by Sara, who
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Claire Mallett
Office Manager
Hailing all the way from
Zimbabwe, Claire grew up on a prestigious stud farm where she helped her
parents break and school young thoroughbreds. An expert polo-crosse player,
she has been at WVS for seven years and knows the Stables inside and out!
Claire has passed her BHS Exams and enjoys taking part in show jumping and
cross country competitions. When she is not on duty in the office she enjoys
riding her favourite horse Bamboo and in the Summer months Claire's BBQs
are legendary!
"It's great that there is
always something to look forward to - whether it is a musical ride, a
show or one of the many events organised by the stables. ">
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Benji
Head DogBenji has a very important role
to play at the stables. He meets and greets everyone who comes
into the yard but don't worry he absolutely loves children and
can often be found with a small child hanging on to his neck
cuddling him. He also keeps an eye on everything that the
horses get up to and he's quick to let us know if any of the horses
manage to open their doors. He also makes sure that absolutely
no pussy cats trespass on his yard!
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We
have only been able to give a flavour of the different backgrounds and
specialities of our staff but hope that you will have a chance to meet them
in person if you visit the yard or benefit from their expertise if you come
in for a lesson.
Want
to join the WVS team?
If
you think you have got what it takes to join the WVS team and are interested
in a Riding Instructor Vacancy, please e-mail your CV to Claire (admin@wvstables.com)
and she will get back to you.
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