Tania Boehmer
Tania started riding horses at the age of nine. For the first six years she rode and cared for other people’s horses. Four years ago she joined a riding club and started riding lessons there, but gradually became very discontented with the way of dealing with horses most people are used to. When Tania again got the opportunity to care for and work with another privately owned horse, she left the riding club.
Now she is practically the only person who works with Cherry, a 17 year old Arabian mare because her owner has three other horses and has not enough time to care for all horses.
Wanting to improve her relationship with Cherry and gain more lightness in her work with horses, Tania searched the internet for a different approach. She soon found many likeminded people who were following the Parelli Program and quickly became fascinated by this way of dealing with horses.
Kerrin Koetsier
Kerrin found a passion for horses at a young age, but living in suburban South Africa, didn’t have the opportunity to pursue her passion to the extent that she would have liked. The horse world opened up for Kerrin when she relocated to the UK along with her family at the age of 12.
Since starting Parelli, Kerrin has realised that it is far more than an approach to horses, it is a mindset applicable to life.
They found themselves living in a village where there were twice as many horses as people making it inevitable that Kerrin’s family would end up with horses of their own! The young horse that was bought for Kerrin turned out to be very challenging, but he taught her to have an open-mind, which led her to the Parelli Program.
Since starting Parelli, Kerrin has realised that it is far more than an approach to horses, it is a mindset applicable to life. Thus she decided to pursue horsemanship on a deeper level, one of discovering herself, her horse, and in future she dreams of helping other people as a Parelli Professional. Kerrin is spending time with David and Alison to further learn about the ingredients of a horseman and to develop her skills and understanding of horses.
Jackie Light – Office and Administration
Jackie bought her first horse in 1970 and competed in novice show jumping and dressage until the early nineties. After losing her old pony she bought her latest partner Trim as a newly backed three year old in 2002.
A couple of falls later the nerves set in and she was reluctant to ride at all. In the autumn of that year Jackie attended the first Parelli conference at Solihull and heard Pat Parelli say ‘if you are scared of your horse, get off’. It took three years, and a lot of help from Alison before she could get back on. Following that Jackie attended regular courses with Alison in Suffolk and Essex and then a hacking course in Devon. After hacking for a week in Devon, Essex was no match and she moved to Devon a couple of years later. Nowadays, back in the saddle, Jackie is happy quietly hacking around the beautiful Devon countryside. She has regular lessons with both Alison and David to continue to build confidence and further improve her relationship with Trim.
Clare – Our Knight in Shining Armour
Clare and Alison met in 1995 when Alison was working on an eventing yard, they went to Duchy College together and have remained firm friends ever since. Clare is the reason Alison and David are at Milford as this is where Clare grew up.
Clare was very keen on racing and worked for Martin Pipe after leaving Duchy, one of her horses being Dom Samurai who was second in the Welsh National. When she left Pipes, she worked in Australia for a year in racing yards, then came home to Milford to work on the family farm, which she still does now. When she came home, she bought a failing hurdler called Imprevu (Sid), to train him and ride him in point to points which she did with some success.
When Sid became dangerous on the racecourse she decided to stop racing him for which family and friends were very thankful!
Clare also has another horse, Miss Daisy Duke, a Bodmin Moor pony that she started and is her levels horse and now working her way at the end of level 3, into level 4.
Clare is looking to put a solid foundation on both horses and have them be calm and responsive in their winter job – on the hunting field and in their summer jobs of show jumping and eventing. Daisy has been jumping up to 1.15m tracks and Clare’s aim is to compete at 1.20m foxhunter level and complete the Working Hunter course at Royal Cornwall Show with her. Clare is our knight in shining armour, living now 4 miles away, she is always there for everything and in an emergency is the first on hand.
Sue and Les – Student Accommodation
Sue and Les are the owners of East Milford farm and landlords of The Horse Place.
The farm has been in the family for seven generations so roots go fairly deep.
Les milked 200 cows here at East Milford until November 2009 but now keeps young stock and calves. Daughter Clare (our knight in shining armour) now looks after the milking herd at her farm, not far away in Hartland. Sue looks after their self catering holiday cottages and also provides full board accommodation for students attending clinics or private lessons, in four rooms of their farmhouse.
All guests staying with Sue will be greeted by her two very friendly dogs, Kracker and Bracken and a relaxed homely environment with fantastic farmhouse cooking awaits. During workshops and clinics Sue can usually provide lunches for students and spectators who are not staying with her.
Dougal – Pest Control Officer
Dougal probably knows more about the Parelli Program than any of Alisons students. He has attended countless workshops, clinics, courses and demos with her and always pays full attention although sometimes when he is laying flat with his eyes closed it may not look like it. Dougal missed his calling to be on the stage but never stops practicing his audition for the meerkat advert. Despite the disappointment of not getting that role, he takes his job of pest control very seriously regularly patrolling the buildings, telling everyone else if there is a problem.
