Jeanette's Early Years

Born and bred in London shortly after world war two, as a child, she would sit, on the gate of their London home, waiting for the carthorses to pass by. The family somewhat bemused at her excitement on seeing the horses: the baker's, the milkman's the old iron and rag horses. It took her seven years to wear her parents down and get them to agree for her to 'learn to ride'. Without formal lessons she got to sit on a small Shetland pony while it was being led from the riding school's proprietor's large horse. The small pony had to trot just to keep up - Jeanette recalls "not the most comfortable way to start!" But the money was saved as quickly as possible for the next chance to ride.
Her parents, like many non-pony parents, with a horse crazy girl, made many of the usual mistakes with the first horse that came into their lives. As a small petite child of 11, Jeanette's father purchased (at no doubt a bargain price) a 16 h. h. (very large) 4-year-old, coal cart horse which was stabled in London underneath the railway arches in Bethnal Green. It took Jeanette two days to walk the horse home to their suburban house. It had to live in the garage until it was decided that maybe it would be better if 'Dolly' was kept at the local riding school. At the school Dolly had a large field to share with the other school horses. It could often take all day to catch Dolly, giving very limited time for riding.
It was agreed that a 'pony' might be more suitable for this young girl. So, from the local slaughterhouse arrived a 12.2.hh pony, 'Bunty' ('Bunty Lass' when competing at local gymkhanas) just the right size! The price - thirty-five pounds of Jeanette's hard earned pocket money, she was a bargain! She did not come with brakes, steering or manners and proved to be quite a challenge for Jeanette's limited experience!
Jeanette had undetected dyslexia as a child, so school was a challenge to! She much preferred to spend her time on her passion in life, even at that early age - horses! She spent many days at the local horse dealer's yard and horse sales instead. Bidding for horses for the dealers was much more fun! As was riding her some what erratic pony.
After many exciting experiences Bunty and Jeanette (then 12 years old) gained success and competed for the Essex (South) Pony Club at the Empire Indoor Arena at Wembley (London) Horse of the Year Show for The Prince Philip Mounted Games Competition.
Jeanette can always recall that experience as it was the first time that she'd seen the performing white stallions of The Spanish Riding School. Little did she know that one day, she would be involved with them in Vienna and own a Lipizzaner of her own!
"I have a great appreciation for anyone passionate about horses. With determination and understanding one can build a great relationship with them. Whether you are a child or an adult, with a will to succeed, you can build a great relationship with horses."
Jeanette is currently in the process of writing her autobiography which has a strong emphasis on the humorous side of her equestrian learning, and her life long passion for horses and how she became an international instructor?

"A sense of humour plays an important role. Set your goals and enjoy working hard for what you want. Laughing with people and never at them is the way to go."