Biography
My career started ten years ago with a degree in Sports Science, leading to my involvement in professional sport. I started out devising fitness programmes with a biomechanical foundation for football and then working as a fitness and conditioning coach at Brentford FC. I also co-founded the health and fitness company, Motive8.
As a coach working with elite athletes across a variety of disciplines and sports, I use an innovative approach to fitness which provides both efficient and realistic solutions to improve performance, but without an individual having to drastically change their everyday lifestyle.
In equestrianism for example, a top rider probably spends up to eight hours a day in the saddle, and would rarely have time for traditional activities such as driving to a gym or running for an hour. Combining this approach with human physiology, I’ve designed specific exercises for riders that help them improve their technique, strength and overall performance as well as injury prevention and rehabilitation – all within the confines of their hectic daily lives.
Working with the British Equestrian Federation in the run up to the 2008 Olympics, I regularly coached Team GBR riders including William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Daisy Dick, Laura Bechtolsheimer, Pippa Funnell, Tina Cook, Sharon Hunt, Carl Hester and Polly Stockton. Being physically prepared is also just as important for riders in any discipline and my work specifically targets the key physical requirements for horse riding in general, focusing on balance, coordination and reaction in response to the horse’s movements.
2008 was a good year for me in that I got the chance to get my teeth into doing something that was also really good fun. Being given the opportunity to work with the best riders on the run up to the Olympic Games is one of the reasons why (having lost the ability to compete professionally myself - football not horses, that is!) I started doing what I do. Although Hong Kong was detached from the main games, it was still the chance of a lifetime to be there watching friends and clients win actual Olympic medals. My favourite moment was split between seeing Tina Cook win bronze when I was standing next to Phil, her husband, who was beside himself and, on a slightly more personal note, seeing William Fox-Pitt show why he is the probably best cross country rider. Despite all the politics going on, we spent the previous evening working on the 'swiss ball' to sharpen his reflexes for the twisty track.
At the British Racing School in Newmarket, I work with jockeys including Paddy Brennan, Mark Bradburne, Seamus Durack and William Kennedy, again to develop individual support programmes but within the constraints of their strict diet regimes. I also helped three times champion jockey Richard Dunwoody to prepare for his record-breaking South Pole expedition, which involved weight gain, rather than the usual weight loss! And I also work with footballers, rugby players, cricketers, golfers, motor racing drivers, RAF pilots, sailors, freedivers and the odd businessperson, as they put similar pressures on the body to elite athletes!
In 2009 and 2010 I have worked with top international event riders such as Clayton Fredericks and Alex Hua Tian. The focus now is on WEG 2010 in Kentucky (where the conditions will be similar to Hong Kong), and of course the London Olympics 2012!
I want to continue my work and also push on and discover more about rider performance. There is more to do and I want to help as many people as possible to ride better and safer!