My History designs me, My Experiences evolve me and my Attitude defines me.

 

 

 

Born into a horsey family with very supportive horsey parents, I lived every horse-crazy kids dream.

 

Ponies at home, stables out the back door and knowledgeable, super supportive parents.

 

 

 

I was blessed with opportunities to ride all equestrian disciplines to a fairly high standard

 

at a pretty young age but what was even more fortunate was that we lived in a neighbourhood

 

with lots of similarly aged, horse-mad kids. We would spend our weekends terrorising the

 

gardens of Narrogin and the surrounding bushland, "Foxes Lair" with our very tolerant ponies.

 

Jumping garden fences, hedges and road closed signs, speeding up and down gullies and banks,

 

chasing kangaroos or sheep and, swimming with the ponies in the local railway dam...

 

you name it, our ponies and us probably did it.. and quite often the ponies would dump

 

us on our backsides (usually well deserved) and return home alone!

 

 

 

On a more serious note however, home training was a no-nonsense business and

 

whatever discipline I was training I had my mum or dad standing behind me.

 

Jumping, dressage, showing, eventing... rain, hail or shine! I did it all, and us Beresfords,

 

well, if we are going to do something, then we damn well try to be the best at it!

 

 

 

Whether I was born with it or my parents instilled it into me, its my attitude that has made me

 

who I am today. I have had so many wonderful people influence my career path and experiences

 

to boot. Always determined to be better, always searching what can be better,

 

always aspiring to new horizons and limits. It takes focus and dedication combined

 

with a gritty level of determination and stubbornness but I really do believe that each person

 

can achieve whatever they want. You perhaps cant have everything you want all at once.....

 

but we can all work towards whatever we want!

 

 

 

I have had some wonderful influences throughout my equestrian career. As a kid we would

 

travel miles so I could be involved in clinics with visiting coaches. Aside from my parents,

 

some of the wonderful people who have guided and supported me include Clemins Dierks,

 

Harry Boldt, Roger Fitzhardinge, Nadine Merreweather, Lance Ludgate and David Dobson.

 

My first two horsey jobs were with Mary Hanna and Jim and Emmie Schmul and in both

 

stables I got a taste of the professionalism and insight into what the industry could be.

 

 

 

The step to Europe took me some time. I was a big fish in Australia and doing ok.

 

I didn't think I had what it would take to come to Europe and be a rider and I didn't want to get

 

swallowed up and just shovel shit in a cold country so far away from my friends and family.

 

 

 

I met Isabell first when I was 21 in a master class where I rode quite a challenging young horse.

 

We came along really well and I was proud of her compliments. At that point I wasn't ready to

 

leave Australia. I had stuff to do and shovelling shit wasn't high on my list of priorities.

 

 

 

A few years later though, Isabell returned to Australia and I made sure I was riding

 

under her eyes once again. With the same horse she had seen as a youngster,

 

I had now trained as far as I could figure stuff out- some one tempis, some trot on spot...

 

but I was pretty clueless as what to do next. I had actually sold that horse at the time Isabell visited,

 

but I made sure I kept the ride until that clinic. I was at a cross path and felt I had gone as far as I could.

 

I didn't know how to train further toward the Grand Prix and I was intrigued by the European scene.

 

 

 

A few short weeks later at the age of 26 I was on my way to Rheinberg, Germany.

 

I stayed for almost 5 years and in this time I learnt all I could from Isabell. It was a challenging

 

but wonderful experience and I'm very grateful for the many, many wonderful horses I was able to

 

ride and learn from there. My first international competitions, my first Grand Prix,

 

the 2008 Olympic Games, World Cups and top competitions to boot. I learnt so much in this time and

 

her words still resonate in my ears as I am challenged every day by the horses I have in training now.

 

 

 

In 2010 I decided to start my own business. At some point we always have to take the next step

 

and as difficult as it was to leave the security of Isabell's stable it was the right thing for my career.

 

Lots of successes, lots of mistakes. Always learning, always evolving. At the end of the day, I just

 

keep putting one foot in front of the other. I keep dreaming up new challenges, new goals and

 

slowly but surely we are ticking off our bucket list.

 

 

 

2018 has been a big step. In January my partner and I purchased Eiserner Hof after having

 

rented the property for the previous 4 years. My business has grown into a partnership now,

 

and together Jule and I share the vision of creating 'our' place where we can live out our

 

dreams combining our passion, our sport and our home lives.