In January 2018,  Gooromon Park introduced the #TeamGP development team to help our young riders develop their skills and gain the experience needed to attend equestrian competitions and offers guidance on competition days.

Over the past year, the team and I have developed a team ethos. We discussed our personal goals – that while we support our team members, that horse riding is also a partnership between horse and rider and that our own personal goals and journeys are vital to making us happy, productive members of the team.  Our ethos centres around the importance of being in a constant state of improvement and together we developed a code of conduct which sees us treat everyone with respect and courtesy.

Our mantra being  ‘We will aim for the stars, continually try to improve ourselves, while keeping our feet planted on the ground.’

To say I am proud of this team and the development and improvements they have made in such a short time is a huge understatement. They have shown dedication, resilience, shone with the stars, overcome hurdles and disappointments and each member has achieved personal goals and successes through hard work.  It is only the start – we are only one year in with plenty to still come.

It seems timely after the hugely successful year that we have had as a team that I introduce the team members:

• Audrey Brooke – Alex
• Ceridwen Fennemore – Occhie
• Harriet Hughes – Mika
• Oliver Thomas-Mitchell – Teddy
• Maddie Bowman-Smith – Tulla
• Emily Prowse – Mardi
• Zoe Nelson – Ringo
• Georgia O’Leary – Candy
• Rebekah Czeiger – Stolley

As a team our riders have continually supported one another, they have formed lovely friendships and achieved great success in the competition arenas.

Stay tuned for big things from the team in 2021.

Danielle Ffrench – Chief Instructor

At Gooromon Park, our Riders become part of the #TeamGP family.  All our Riders are on a different equestrian journey, but they all have one thing in common they’re passionate about horses, and we absolutely love supporting their riding journey.

We are excited to be introducing you to some of our #TeamGP riders through our blog – today, meet Adult Rider, Bridget Clark.  Bridget started riding in South Africa she has been working or riding horses since she was 8 years old.  

Tell us a bit about yourself – how would you describe yourself to someone you have just met?

Hi, my name is Bridget, I am an adult rider at Gooromon Park. I own a beautiful Clydie x TB Gracie. She is agistment at Gooromon Park Riding School. I am married with two daughters, Candice and Samantha, who are both married, and they are also competitive horse riders. I am currently studying Psychology at Uni. We lived in the Middle East for 5 years. My husband’s company relocated us to Australia in March 2017, so we are pretty much newbies to Australia. We are hoping that we will be able to call Australia our home in about eighteen months when we will be eligible for permanent residency. Before relocating to Dubai, from South Africa our family owned a riding school/agistment yard of 25 horses on our property. Sometimes, I miss having my horses at home, but at the same time I have realised the benefit of having Gracie agistment at Gooromon Park.

When did you start horse riding, and what made you want to give it a try?

I loved horses before I could understand that I loved horses. I started horse-riding lessons in South Africa when I was eight years old. My best friend was given a horse for Christmas and she let me ride the horse as she was scared to be the first to ride it. I volunteered to be the first one to ride her new horse. I was always game to be the first one to ride a new horse! I have been working with horses and riding horses pretty much since then. I have always had a keen interest and deep love of horses. I find riding, grooming and just spending time and being around horses incredibly therapeutic.

What has been a highlight of learning to ride with the instructors at GP?

The instructors are EA qualified and most of them compete at a high level themselves, in dressage, eventing and show jumping. This means that as a rider we receive top level instruction from well qualified and highly skilled coaches who understand and can empathise with riders when things don’t go so well or as hoped either before or after competing or even after a lesson. At the beginning and the end of each lesson time is made for constructive feedback, debriefing, feedback, encouragement, what I need to work on and what I need to change from the instructor’s observations and point of view. Every lesson is different, it is structured and well planned with the horse and rider in mind. The school horses are well schooled, they have super temperaments, and are well looked after.

What is one thing you learn at Gooromon that you didn’t know before?

Everyone is on their own riding adventure…with their horse and their riding goals. We all experience the ups and downs of riding at times, however, more importantly it is about learning from our mistakes, breaking bad habits and creating more mindful moments during our riding lessons to become better riders.

What are your riding goals for the year, or something new you would love to learn ?

I would like to work towards completing at a low level ODE in 2019 and participate in one Preliminary dressage show.

Who is your favourite riding school horse and pony?

If I had to choose a favourite school horse, it would be Jamokea, but Gracie (pictured to the right) wins hands down as an all-rounder (I am biased I think )

What would you say to someone thinking of trying equestrian for the first time?

As an adult rider …I would highly recommend giving it a go! It is a great way to get fit and stay fit…and get the joints moving – I was always told by a great instructor many years ago…remember motion is lotion as we grow older. Horse riding is a skill you can learn and have the most amazing trail rides as a family when you are on holiday. It’s a fantastic way of bonding as a family.

Give it a go you have nothing to lose. 🙂 

Body and Muscle awareness, Breathing, Core Strength, Flexibility and Mental Focus sound familiar?  Here at #GooromonPark we’ve been talking about some of the key ingredients to becoming a better rider.  So Why Horse Riding and Yoga?

Yoga is one of the absolute best ways for riders to become more supple out of the saddle in a way that will directly translate to actual riding. Yoga builds strength, endurance, and flexibility – plus, it reduces stress, and helps you improve your mental focus.  All key ingredients to improving your riding.

Yoga promotes the same core position as riding. Practising yoga strengthens the muscles that elongate the spine and allow us to stand straight. The core muscles are constantly at work when the body is seeking balance and are vital for balance while riding.

We’ve teamed up with dance and certified yoga instructor, Joanne Kavouras, for a weekly class, you don’t need any flash gym gear and you can even join us in your jodhpurs!  Joanne will be focusing on yoga moves that will help you look and feel better in the saddle. She will be bringing together her experience creating flow sequences with yogic breathing to develop a better riders seat, stronger core, upper body, posture and simple things you can do to help stretch, strengthen and even manage stress.

If you can’t join us on Monday’s, you could check out this article 3 Ways Yoga Can Help Your Dressage it even include a Routine to try at home.  One of my favourite Yoga and Horse riding articles written by Jaclyn Sicoli is a USDF bronze and silver medalist and a USDF “L” Education Program graduate with distinction, was featured in Dressage Today her passion for combining the two disciplines speaks volumes.

At Gooromon Park, our Riders become part of the #TeamGP family.  All our Riders are on a different equestrian journey, but they all have one thing in common they’re passionate about horses, and we absolutely love supporting their riding journey.

We are excited to be introducing you to some of our #TeamGP riders through our blog – today, meet Adult Rider, and hidden obsession with binge watching South-Korean Dramas Fay Prowse!

Tell us a bit about yourself – how would you describe yourself to someone you have just met?

My name is Fay Prowse, I am married and I have two beautiful daughters Emily and Sophie. I came to Canberra over 20 years ago for study, where I later met my husband Sanjay, and we settled down to start a family.  I have worked in the ACT Public Service for the last 15 years as an Executive Assistant to various senior ranking public servants and my hobbies are of course horse riding, and what could be considered an unhealthy obsession for binge watching South‑Korean Drama series.

When did you start horse riding, and what made you want to give it a try?

My eldest daughter expressed an interest in learning how to ride at the age of 6. Hence I enrolled her in lessons at Gooromon. After seeing the enjoyment on her face, and witnessing the excitement she felt I decided to give it a go myself. Five years on, riding remains an important part of my weekend routine, and each week I look forward to what new goal our instructor has planned for my group.

What has been a highlight of learning to ride with the instructors at Gooromon Park?

A highlight for me has been seeing my daughter develop her own riding ability through the commitment and teaching skill of the instructors at Gooromon. Witnessing the growth in her personal maturity and confidence to a level where she felt comfortable competing this year, was as parent, very gratifying to see.  For me the feeling is more general, turning into the Gooromon gate each Saturday is an escape from the daily grind. Its hard to imagine that such a peaceful and picturesque environment is so accessible being only a few minutes from town.  And although working in the horse industry can see staff come and go Gooromon have always maintained a professional, knowledgeable, committed and friendly team of instructors that ensure each one of their client’s reach the personal goals that they strive to achieve in their riding career.

What’s one thing you learn at Gooromon that you didn’t know before?

That learning to ride is a personal journey, that there are so many potential paths you can take be it riding for pleasure or training with a view to competing.  Up until this year riding for me has been a way to share something with my daughter, a form of exercise, and an avenue to build a wider social network. Although, this year I have found myself wanting to achieve more than just staying on. And our groups’ riding instructor has come up with the goods and begun challenging us all to take our riding to the next level. We have all enjoyed the last few weeks introduction to half-halts and getting the horse on the bit, which has seen our group growing in confidence and ability and building a solid foundation for our riding step by step.

What are your riding goals for the year, or something new you’d love to learn?

After five years I have decided to give competing a go and will compete at the Spring competition in September.

Who is your favourite riding school horse/pony?

Ariel, she’ll avoid it if she can, but if you ask her with confidence she willingly complies and she is safety personified.

What would you say to someone thinking of trying equestrian for the first time?

Give it a go, once you are on you will know whether its for you or not, and if the answer is yes you will never look back.  But I can’t promise that forevermore your credit card won’t tremble in fear from the depths of your handbag as a result of your new addiction! Reach in and offer it a calming pat and reassure it that it’s a necessary expense.

At Gooromon Park, our Riders become part of the #TeamGP family.  All our Riders are on a different equestrian journey, but they all have one thing in common they’re passionate about horses, and we absolutely love supporting their riding journey.

We are excited to be introducing you to some of our #TeamGP riders through our blog – today, meet Adult Rider, Writer and cat lover Zoya Patel!

1. Tell us a bit about yourself – how would you describe yourself to someone you have just met?

Zoya and Penny.

I am a writer and communications professional, and I’ve grown up in Canberra. My debut book was released this month,and it’s called No Country Woman. It’s all about growing up as a migrant in Australia.

2. When did you start horse riding, and what made you want to give it a try?

I first started riding when I was 10, and like a lot of people my age, it was because of the Saddle Club! But once I started, I was totally obsessed, and couldn’t stop. There’s something really freeing about being on a horse, and I think the relationship we can have with a horse is unlike any other. I love it!

3. What has been a highlight of learning to ride with the instructors at Gooromon Park?

I have learnt so much at Gooromon. My confidence has definitely grown in the four years I’ve been riding there, and I’ve learnt a lot about correct position and use of aides. But the thing I like most is definitely the community of riders – I love knowing that there’s always a friendly face at the barn when I drive out for my lessons!

4. You recently bought your first horse – what was that like?

Yes! I bought the lovely Cloverlea Penny Lane, an 8-year-old Clydesdale cross mare this April, with the help of Danielle and Amanda at Gooromon. It was pretty exciting going out to meet Penny for the first time, and now I can’t imagine life without her. Having your own horse is definitely challenging though – there’s lots of peaks and troughs as you start to work each other out, and every day is a journey. But overall, I love it!

5. What are your riding goals for the year, or something new you’d love to learn?

Zoya’s book – ‘No country woman – a memoir of not belonging’

There are lots of technical goals for Penny and I in our journey together (like more consistent contact, better transitions, etc etc), but one goal I have is to do a prelim test at the Gooromon Christmas comp. I’d be happy with just being able to complete all the movements.

6. What’s something you particularly love about your horse?

I love how she plays hard to get! Penny pretty much always has her ears back, but I’ve noticed recently that she actually takes a lot of comfort from pats and ‘good girl’s when we’re riding. After a ride, she’s always so happy to have a head rub and a cuddle, so I think she likes me more than she likes to let on!

7. What would you say to someone thinking of trying equestrian for the first time?

Do it! It’s actually really interesting coming back to riding as an adult. It’s a lot more nerve wracking than it used to be, but the benefits are also much higher. I feel a sense of relaxation and happiness when I’m out riding that I don’t get anywhere else in life. It’s worth it – make your ten-year-old self really happy and get on a horse!