ABOUT ME

Riding from the age of 4, I experienced a range of riding schools over the years, even after receiving my first pony aged 10. Dimples taught me many, many things – but perhaps not in a particularly conventional way! Perseverance & resilience came top of the list, as it later turned out his education was somewhat more limited than we were lead to believe.

I rode for various horse dealers then as a child & teen, further developing my stickability & confidence, before finally arriving at a more sophisticated time when I found a love for dressage.

Dressage became a core part of my equestrian life, and I’ve had some fantastic opportunities to train on Grand Prix schoolmasters, and train under many well known trainers, including Andrew Murphy, Ken Sudsbury & Stephen Clarke, producing two of my own horses so far to advance medium level.

Over the years I’ve competed in a wide range of disciplines however, from showing to mounted games, but found a love for XC, competing up to BE100 & having an amazing time team chasing up to intermediate with the Beaglin’ Rascals with my 15.2hh gelding, Dante, who started out as a horse many never believed would get above 80s!

Most recently, I found working equitation. As a pony owner, options can sometimes feel limited when competing, and I thought WE would suit my Fell stallion, Pea, so gave it a try during lockdown. I was soon hooked, and we headed to our first competition – and won!

Since then, I’ve trained as a WE Instructor, and become a trainee judge, diving into the discipline feet first and training with some of the best in the country, including Lynne McLeod & Holly Barber. WE brings together many aspects of what I enjoy, and I am keen to show more people what it can add to their training.

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Horses have certainly lead me towards finding & combining many other passions.

Drawing has been a part of my life for as long as I can recall, and for a long time I managed a small amount of equestrian work around my pet portrait business. Now horses have well & truly taken over!

Teaching seemed to find me over the years. I realised I thoroughly enjoyed helping others, as much as training horses myself. I would often multitask whilst drawing, immersing myself in educational content & sharing my new found knowledge just seemed natural.

On top of this, drawing unfortunately was not the best for my occasionally questionable mental health. Long hours of isolation, stress & perfectionism did provide one positive at least, in that it eventually caused me to consider my mindset, and improving my own mental wellbeing.

I’ve always had a keen interest in psychology, and this has lead to me investing a lot of time into sports psychology, as I truly believe that unless we are in a good headspace, we can’t give our horses 100%. I also hold a Mental Health First Aid certificate alongside my First Aid at work, as I feel mental health is such an important aspect.

At some point, probably around the point I realised that I was no longer in my 20s! Fitness started to play a part. I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed a sport besides horses, but I have learned to enjoy improving my body. Being hypermobile has also lead me to explore biomechanics, furthering my understanding of the fascinating ways the body works (or doesn’t!) and of course, how the equine body functions too.

As a result of all of this, I feel that my teaching and training combines many aspects to help both horse & rider, physically, mentally & emotionally. I am always looking for ways to expand my own learning, and how I can convey topics to my clients for their benefit. CPD is an important & much loved aspect of my schedule, you’re never too good to learn!

My Horses

Just a few of the wonderful horses that have influenced my life, my teaching, and continue to inspire me every day…

Hi, I’m Rebekah Adshead, born in 1993 in Stockport to a non-horsey family, but I can’t say it’s ever limited my passion for horses.

Dante (Ramelia’s Dante/Dante XI)

2004, 15.2hh TBxNF

Dan has been with me for over 17 years, since before I left high school! Supposed to finally be a sane, sensible horse for me to progress on, he turned out to have more than his fair share of difficulties. Not a confident horse by nature, he hated hacking & was often tense. In time, he took me to adv med, BE100, and found his true calling in team chasing as a reliable lead horse. He also taught me the freedom of riding bridle-less, and how much horsemanship means to the horse.

Peanut (Conkertree Peanut)

2012, 12.3hh Fell

Pea came to me at just 6 months old, my first foal. Having known & ridden both his sire & dam, I was optimistic that he would be a wise choice, and I wasn’t wrong.

An absolute saint to back, he quickly went from strength to strength, to epitome of teachers pet! There is not much Pea hasn’t done over the years. He competed at BD to adv med, training PSG with a wonderful piaffe & Spanish walk, won arena eventing, show jumped, hunted, and competed to Inter B at WE. He has also been known to pull a sled, and taken part in many a demo & photoshoot!

Sadly now retired from competition, we are keenly awaiting the possibility of Pea’s first (& only) crop of foals.

Twiglet (Widecombe Cherokee DHP)

2020, 13hh Dartmoor Hill Pony

Twig has been with me since he was 3, collected pretty much unhandled from Wild to Wonderful, a fantastic charity down on Dartmoor. He has become the most gorgeous character, and is spectacularly trainable. He has taken to working equitation like a duck to water, taking part in multiple National shows throughout his first season competing in 2025, finishing 4th overall at Novice level in the National league table. He also qualified for both Summer & Winter Area Festivals at Prelim level, & competed at the CHAPS Associated Championships. We finished the season by attending the Horsemanship Showcase live competition, and standing overall champion, having won 3 out of 4 classes.