I, like many people, started as a horse mad child doing anything to be at the local riding school, anything to earn that one ride.  Once I left school I worked for an event rider, then studied horses at college and gained my BHS stages I, II & III.  I also gained my BSc in Equine Studies. 

Through this time I became nervous of riding but also of jumping.  I could not always see why the horse bucked, stopped or over jumped.  Because of this I could not predict when the horse would do this again.  I was nervous because I could not read a horse. 

I went to work for Charlotte Dennis who introduced me to ground work, apart from lunging and long reining, a completely new concept for me. 

To begin with I thought I had taken a step backwards, asking my horse to back up and go sideways on the ground instead of working on my half pass. After a while I realised that I was.  I was working on the foundation of my horsemanship. 

To date I have spent over 6 months training in the USA (including classes with both Pat and Linda Parelli as well as other Parelli Professionals) and Studied with Dave Stuart and Charlotte Dennis for 9 years. Now I am a Parelli 3* Instructor and am constantly undertaking further training. 

From being able to read the horse I now confidently compete at affiliated horse trials and start young horses. 

Now my passion is to help other people and horses have a solid foundation, a must for all performance. 

Based in Devon, I offer private tuition or run regular group courses to help people to understand and enjoy their horses more and also improve their horsemanship. I am also happy to travel nationwide offering freelance private tuition on an individual or group basis. 

An important part of my own horsemanship is translating the foundation my horse and I now enjoy into performance allowing me to compete at affiliated level for British Eventing. So far I have competed in 3 events and achieving a respectable 5^th  place in my most recent outing.

Alison Jones

3* Parelli Professional

Alison