Joanne Forster

  • Centered Riding Level III Clinician
  • Life Coach Level 3
  • UKCC Level II Generic coach
  • UKCC Level II Endurance Coach
  • BHSAI
  • NLP Practitioner diploma level 3
  • Sport Psychology Practitioner diploma level 4
  • Independent Saddling Consultant
  • Reiki Master Teacher
  • Hatha Yoga Teacher trainee
  • Crystal Healing Practioner Level 3

Joanne has ridden all her life from the age of 6 years old, from a non-horse background she was obsessed from a very young age, getting her first pony at the age of 9 years old, initially working in yards in her late teens and doing some freelance teaching, her career then took a different direction and she worked in business management for 10 years whilst keeping her own horses as a hobby, during this time in June 2000 Ayla was born and juggling a baby and a full-time demanding business career which often took her around the UK proved challenging so a step back to middle management which kept her based in the north-east and allowed time to bring up her daughter was the right decision in 2002, this also allowed her enough time to concentrate on her own riding and training. In 2002 she began teaching a few riders again and began training in Centered Riding, passed her BHS stages and coaching exams to gain her BHSAI, by 2004 she had built up a big enough client base to enable her to walk away from her retail career. 2005 she trained as an independent saddling consultant as was often finding traditionally fitted saddles were restricting horse’s movements and damaging their postures, this business grew and she once again found herself travelling the UK and spending a lot of time on the road, as this was what she had initially came back into the equestrian industry to avoid she scaled the Saddle Consultancy business back to within a 20 mile radius and today she mainly services existing clients saddles. She is a stockist of Adam Ellis Saddles & Saddle Company Saddles but can also fit other makes.

Over the past 20 years she has progressed to being a Centered Riding Level III Clinician, one of the only 2 in the UK, presented ‘Centered Jumping’ at the Centered Riding Symposium in the Netherlands and taught CR clinics across the UK, in 2011 she established a Riding Centre & Pony Club Centre at Cote Hill, the school catered primarily for children to give Ayla who was then11 years old some company of friends with similar interests, the school remained open for 10 years and was the starting point for many young riders who have now progressed to having their own ponies, in 2016 ‘Apollo’ the riding simulator arrived and over the following years Joanne’s teaching took over on the riding simulator and Centered Riding workshops & clinics which left her less time for teaching the children in the school, as a result she took the decision to close the school which left her with more time to teach on the simulator, teach clients on their own horses, ride her own horses and continue her own studies.

Currently training as a Hatha Yoga Teacher and progressively working towards Centered Riding Level IV Clinician Status Joanne is looking forward to bringing Yoga classes to the Centre alongside the other services offered.

Ayla Forster-Blenkinsop

Ayla was riding a pony before she could walk, over the years she has competed in most equestrian activities, as a youngster she mainly competed in dressage & endurance as didn’t like to jump, at the age of 11 years she started to do a little bit of jumping and began to enjoy some cross country on her traditional cob, when she was 12 years old her mother bought a freshly backed 14.2hh pony from their local dealer and named him ‘Frodo Baggins’ and he was the start of her getting bitten by the eventing bug.

Now in her twenties Ayla enjoys eventing, showjumping and dressage. She also enjoys producing the young horses that the family have bred and bought.

As a Level 1 Centered Riding Instructor since 2019 Ayla enjoys teaching clients on their own horses and the simulator and helping them progress.

Ayla has a strong passion in rider fitness, she can often be found in the gym, up a mountain in the Lake District or out running, currently training as a Personal fitness Trainer & Gym Instructor Ayla is looking forward to bringing rider fitness classes and courses to the Centre and will also be offering classes at the Centre for non riders.