Meet our team

The day-to-day running of British Dressage (BD) is the responsibility of our BD staff who beaver away behind the scenes at our HQ at Meriden Business Park in the West Midlands and in our six regions to make competitive dressage in Britain happen.

Executive team

Jason Brautigam

Chief Executive Officer

Jason provides leadership to the team and works with the Chairman and the Board on delivering the strategic plan. As CEO, he oversees all areas and supports many of the technical committees. He manages all of BD’s commercial arrangements, budgets and financial bids, as well as the relationships with key partners such as the BEF, the FEI and government agencies. He ensures the office and regions run smoothly and provides the necessary services to meet the needs of members.

Ben Waterhouse

Chief Operating Officer

Ben manages our internal communication, HR, systems, policies, processes and procedures for ever improving operational efficiency and effectiveness. The team of Development Officers and IT Systems Manager report directly to Ben, plus he's the point of contact for our regional volunteer network. Ben is also our Safeguarding lead.

Sport Operations team

Lou Jones

Sport Operations Manager

Lou heads up the largest BD team, Sport Operations which delivers sport infrastructure, fixtures, championships, Para, International teams and Quest. She's constantly reviewing and refining the rules and framework to meet the changing requirements of the sport and membership.

Charlene Bryant

Championships Officer

Charlie is the queen of all things championships including Petplan Equine Area Festivals, Winter and Summer Regional Championships, Premier Leagues, High Profile Shows, the NAF Five Star Winter Championships and the LeMieux National Championships. Championship eligibility, qualification and wild cards all sit within her remit.

Lianne Martin

Senior International Officer

Lianne deals with all matters international for Britain's top senior riders. She organises their trips abroad, sorting invitations from international shows, entries, travel documents, FEI riders and horse licenses and FEI Horse Passports. Her job also involves liaising with selectors and chefs d'equipe. 

Sharon Weir

U21 International Officer

Sharon deals with all matters international for U21 international riders and teams. She organises all training and test riding weekends for Pony, Children on Horses, Junior and Young Rider U21 International Pathway Squads, along with sorting invitations from international shows, entries, travel documents, FEI riders and horse licenses.
Her role also involves liaising with selectors and chefs d'equipe to produce U21 selection policies and is BD's Assistant Child Welfare Officer. 

Natasha Pearce

Para and Senior International Officer

Tash heads up our para programme nationally and internationally. She can help if you're a para rider thinking of starting with BD on classification, dispensation, training and competing. 

She also deals with the invitations from international para shows and organises trips abroad for para competitors, sorting their travel arrangements and documents. Tash liaises with the selectors to produce selection policies and assists in the organisation of any national and FEI events and championships under the BD umbrella. She also works closely with Lianne Martin with our able bodied international riders when required.

Kerry Sutherland

Sport Development Officer

Kerry looks after all of BD fixtures that happen throughout the year, over 2,000 of them! She is also a direct support for venues and organisers, works closely with our Development Officers regionally, as well as providing insight, analysis and evaluation for Sport Operations.

Cat Griffiths

Sports Operations Officer

Cat looks after our Young Horse Classes as well as providing assistance across the department to support the delivery of all BD competitions and championships.

Membership Experience team

Rachel Smith

Member Experience Manager

Rachel heads up the busy membership department and helps on a number of projects within BD.  Her team also look after inputting results from over 2,500 shows annually. She is also responsible for the compilation of the Members' Handbook annually.

Stacey Webb

Membership Officer

Stacey is part of the Membership Experience Team which process membership applications and renewals of BD’s 17,000 members every year plus more than 15,000 horse registrations annually - there's over a million records on our database! The team manages the results from over 2800 days of competition each year via our bespoke database.

Shelby Cherrington

Membership Administrator

Shelby is part of the Membership Experience Team which process membership applications and renewals of BD’s 17,000 members every year plus more than 15,000 horse registrations annually - there's over a million records on our database! The team manages the results from over 2800 days of competition each year via our bespoke database.

Beth Hancock

Membership Administrator

Beth is part of the Membership Experience Team which process membership applications and renewals of BD’s 17,000 members every year plus more than 15,000 horse registrations annually - there's over a million records on our database! The team manages the results from over 2800 days of competition each year via our bespoke database.

Molly Bishton

Membership Administrator

Molly is part of the Membership Experience Team which process membership applications and renewals of BD’s 17,000 members every year plus more than 15,000 horse registrations annually - there's over a million records on our database! The team manages the results from over 2800 days of competition each year via our bespoke database.

Training & Education team

Charlotte Osborne

Training & Education Manager

Charlotte heads the Training & Education team who look after judges, coaches and stewards plus overseeing all training and events such as the Judges Seminar, National Convention, FEI training courses and BD Youth. Charlotte is our Assistant Safeguarding Officer.

Hannah James

Development Pathways Supervisor

This role works closely with the Training & Education Manager to help coordinate BD Youth Activities such as Foundation Academies and BD Youth National Academies.

Hannah liaises with the BD Youth Committee to help develop the youth education offerings such as the Young Professionals Programme, DISE and the Apprenticeship courses. She also works with the other Training and Education Officers to provide youth workforce development opportunities and maintain the BD Youth Coach and Rider Test Assessor lists. 

Jess LaRosa

Officials Education Supervisor

Jess looks after our British Dressage judges, working on judge training, development, events and guidelines. Jess has been overseeing the rollout of the new Judge Education System, which includes everything from supporting the implementation of the new system and communication of this to judges, to working across the extended BD Team to create the new printed and online training materials.

Rachel Murray

Training and Education Officer

Rachel provides important support to the Training and Education team. Rachel helps co-ordinate and support the training activity for our coaches and officials. 

 

Clare Stockley

Professional Programmes Officer

Clare is leading on the development of the apprenticeship programmes and associated activities.

Faye Bamford

Training and Education Administrator

Faye provides important administrative support to the Training and Education team. Faye helps co-ordinate and support the training activity for our coaches and officials. 

Emily Willard

Training and Education Assistant

Emily supports the rest of the Training and Education team with day-to-day training activities and learner management.

Regional team

Nikki Birt

North & West Development Officer

Nikki is our key contact for BD members and venues in the North & West region, overseeing the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Herefordshire, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.

Vanessa Archer

Wales Development Officer

Vanessa covers all 23 counties in Wales as well as the temporary position as Development Officer in the North & West.

Sharon Walker

South & East Development Officer

As part of the Development Officer team Sharon is our key contact, alongside Katharine Perry, for BD members and venues in the South & East region, covering the counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and West Sussex.

Katharine Perry

South & East Development Officer

As a Development Officer Katharine is our key contact, alongside Sharon Walker, for BD members and venues in the South & East region, overseeing the counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and West Sussex.

Ashley Stewart

Scotland Development Officer

Ashley covers all of Scotland including the Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Lothian, Central Scotland, Strathclyde and Tayside.

Amanda Rodgers

South & West Development Officer

As a Development Officer Amanda is our key contact for BD members and venues in the South & West region, overseeing the counties of Berkshire, Bristol & Avon, Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Guernsey, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Jo Byrne

North & East Development Officer

As a Development Officer Jo is our key contact for BD members and venues in the North & East region, overseeing the counties of Cleveland, Derbyshire, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Humberside, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear and West Yorkshire.

Finance team

Craig Borthwick

Finance Coordinator

Craig assists the Finance Department, reconciles and enters shop and membership income and raises invoices. He also deals with online and telephone orders, supplying venues with score sheets, and customers with test sheets and merchandise. He organises the post room, the stock levels in the shop and orders all office stationery.

Gemma Smith

Finance Supervisor

Bev Holton-Reeve

Finance Administrator

Bev deals with online and telephone orders, supplying venues with score sheets, and customers with test sheets and merchandise. She organises the post room, the stock levels in the shop and orders all office stationery.

IT team

David Mountford

IT Systems Manager

David works tirelessly to keep our IT systems up and running. He oversees our members database and results systems working closely with our preferred IT provider, Horse Monkey. He also project manages all the development of our systems to ensure continual improvement.

David is a huge American Football fan...we can't get him on a horse...

Steve Mills

IT Support Supervisor

Steve looks after the maintenance, support and development of the internal British Dressage IT systems, as well as managing relationships with our preferred IT provider, Horse Monkey. 

Emma Bayliss

Project Delivery Lead

Emma looks after and delivers the Designated Funds activity, and projects linked to Sustainability, Horse Welfare, and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

Marketing & Communications team

Becca Tuttle

Marketing Manager

Responsible for all marketing activity for British Dressage, from advertising membership and events, to the website and social media, Becca works in conjunction with all teams to produce and deliver marketing campaigns to support promotions, initiatives, the regions, sponsors and events throughout the year. Acting as brand champion, Becca works to make sure the BD brand and message is consistent across all platforms and with our clients, from sponsors to venues.

Joanna (Jo) Bowns

Communications Officer

Jo is a contributor to the British Dressage Magazine and also coordinates content. She writes news items and content for the website, email newsletters, programmes and print/online publications. Jo works with Camille to provide BD's press service and is a vital team member at BD event press offices. She's also got one of the best dressage brains around!

Camille Peters

Communications & Content Lead

Camille leads the PR and press service for the sport, on a day to day basis and for major events and championships. Working closely with the Marketing Communications team, Camille oversees the content created across our digital and print channels, ensuring that all stakeholder groups are engaged, informed and connected to the world of dressage. 

Alice Daish

Marketing & Communications Officer

Alice looks after all of our digital marketing assets, supporting and implementing the marketing strategy across our social media platforms and digital channels. Working closely with Becca and Camille assisting with sponsors, event coverage and promotional plans, Alice is our social media guru and communicates with our members digitally. 

Ellie Mayner

Marketing & Sponsorship Officer

Ellie supports the wider marketing team to ensure all marketing activity is implemented successfully across the year, including membership campaigns, training and education events and British Dressage Championships. Ellie is our lead on sponsor activation, working with Becca and our Sponsorship Manager to deliver year-round benefits and account management.