From First Foal to Full Circle: My Journey Back to Breeding

Hi Wise Breeders, This is my very first blog post, so thank you for being here. In the first episode of the BreedWise Podcast, I spoke about how being a neurodivergent learner shaped my path—and why I decided to create a new kind of educational platform for breeders. If you haven’t listened yet, you can find it here on Spotify In this post, I want to share more of my story. Not just what I do now, but where it all began—my first foal, the lessons I didn’t expect, and how those early experiences brought me full circle to BreedWise. It started in my twenties, when my event horse retired and I couldn’t afford to buy another. A friend kindly offered her mare for me to breed a foal. She was a beautiful, well-put-together horse, but tricky. At the time, I didn’t really think about whether her temperament might be passed on. I was just excited about the possibility of having a foal. The pregnancy seemed straightforward until the final weeks. The foal—Little Douglas—was born blind, unable to stand or suckle, and the mare had no colostrum. We were completely unprepared. Thanks to a wonderful vet and the foaling bank, both mare and foal pulled through. Douglas’s sight returned, and he grew strong, but he was always a challenge. Later, he was diagnosed with kissing spines. Douglas lived with me for 18 years. He never became a competition horse and he was retired very early. Looking after him meant letting go of my eventing dreams, but he taught me so much—about horses, responsibility, and how much I still had to learn. My career has taken me through many roles, but it was during my time retraining wild ponies for the Moorland Mousie Trust, managing training at HorseWorld, and working at West Kington Stud that I really began working with breeding stock. Throughout my career, I began to understand that education and welfare weren’t just interests—they were my driving forces. With more stability in my life and work, the idea of breeding came back. I bought a young dressage horse, and with that came a renewed sense of purpose—but also new questions. Even with all my experience, I struggled to find the clear, consistent information I needed. I started researching more deeply—watching futurities, visiting studs, talking to other breeders. I decided to breed two types of horses: quality dressage horses, and sound, versatile types that could thrive in everyday homes. As a breeder, I began to see how isolated the journey can feel—no matter your experience level—and how hard it is to find clear, reliable information when you need it most. That’s what sparked the idea for BreedWise. Today, I work as an evaluator for the Anglo European Studbook and the Sports Pony Studbook Society. I’m a linear scoring specialist, part of the British Breeding Futurity team, and in 2023, I judged the Open Foal Championship in Poland. I also help train the AES International Young Breeders. But just a couple of years ago, I was juggling coaching, running a small stud, and trying to ride competitively. I was burnt out. I knew things couldn’t continue as they were—it was unsustainable. I needed to do something different, something that could help others as well as myself. When I went looking for an educational platform for breeders, I couldn’t find one. So I started building it. BreedWise is a developing resource for breeding education and support. It’s designed to bring together reliable, up-to-date information, flexible consultations, online courses, and a supportive community of like-minded breeders. And where great training already exists, BreedWise aims to act as a signpost—helping people find and access what’s already out there. Collaboration, not competition, is at the heart of what we do. Although I no longer ride, one of my young horses is now with a professional rider and preparing for young dressage horse classes. Watching his progress is a reminder that I’m still learning too—through my own breeding programme, through producing young horses, and through my evaluation work. BreedWise is growing alongside me, shaped by my core values of welfare, training others, and lifelong learning. The platform is now live. You can join the community, explore free and paid resources, book consultations starting from £15, and pre-order the course Blueprint for Breeding: Conformation Made Clear. Members get discounts and early access. Visit BreedWiseto get started. You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify. If this post resonated with you, please share it with a fellow breeder. Until next time—stay wise, breeders. 🐴