Board and Committees

British Dressage is headed by a ten-strong Board of Directors under the leadership of Chairman, Jill Day. Each Director has a portfolio which they're responsible for with the support of a technical committee.

Magic Arena

The Board look at strategy, planning, vision and direction. In turn, the Senior Management Team at Meriden, supported by their teams, put the strategy into motion via an operational plan.  

Each of the ten British Dressage (BD) board directors is passionate about dressage and they give their time and expertise without receiving any payment other than expenses. The directors do the job because they have the chance to shape the future of dressage and give something back to the sport which they have enjoyed so much and want others to enjoy too.

Here's our current Board - to see what their role entails, click on the position:

Chairman Jill Day Elected October 2022  
Deputy Chair & Finance Director Caroline Godfrey Reappointed October 2023  
Sport Operations Director Derek Pullem Elected October 2023  
Judges Director Peter Storr Elected September 2018  
Para Director Tracy Ormrod Elected October 2021 Lead Director for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
International Director Judy Harvey  Elected September 2018 Lead Director(s) for Equine Welfare
Business Development Director Suzanne Homewood Reappointed October 2023 Lead Director for Sustainability
Training Director Harry Payne Elected October 2021 Lead Director(s) for Equine Welfare
BD Youth Director Hannah Moody Appointed as Interim Director October 2023  
HR / Legal Director Richard Lane Appointed January 2023 Lead Director for Safeguarding

Director terms of office

A rotation system with a maximum term of service was also introduced in 1998. Each term is four years and directors have to retire at the end of the second term, allowing them to serve a maximum of eight years. However, as all the board members started at the same time, this has been staggered, so that there is continuity and we don’t end up with the whole board made up of new directors.

Any BD member can stand for election. The directors are always on the lookout for potential future directors. An advert will appear in British Dressage magazine early in the year of a vacancy falling, giving details of the position becoming vacant, asking for nominations and someone to second it. Applications are then subject to a Nominations Committee and, if approved, are then put forward for ratification at the AGM if the nominee is unchallenged. If there is more than one candidate, an election will be held in the form of a postal/electronic vote.

Technical committees

Each director is served by a committee of volunteers who are selected for their expertise within a particular field to support the relevant area of BD. 

Judges
Peter Storr - Director
Andrea Smith
Jane Critchley
Maria Eilberg
Pat Watts
Richard Baldwin
Leanne Wall
Fiona Wilson
Jenny Ward
Andrew Gardner
Vanessa Archer

Training
Harry Payne - Director
Claire Moir - BD Youth Rep
Dan Chapman - Stewards Rep
Alice Oppenheimer - Grand Prix Rider Rep
Vikki Hayton
Leanne Wall
Sharon Lindop
Anousheh Alavi - Grassroots Rider Rep
Sharon Walker
International Teams
Judy Harvey - Director and Chief Selector
Peter Storr
Caroline Bell
Tom Hobday
Richard Balwin
Nikki Herbert - Junior/YR Selector
Nina Boex
Robert Oulton
Clive Halsall
Steven Arnett

Finance & Business Development
Caroline Godfrey - Director
Suzanne Homewood - Director
Richard Lane - Director
David Fawcus
Liz Barr
Sarah Cain
Jude Helliker
BD Youth
Hannah Moody - Appointed as Interim Director
Alice Oppenheimer - BD Youth Ambassador
Anne Ratcliffe - Horse Care and Education Rep
Nina Boex - International Rep
Jo Swain - Coaching Rep
Stephen Arnett - YPP Rep
Hannah Moody - Squad Test Development Rep
Briony Cutler - BD Youth Ambassador Rep
Alex Phillips


Para
Tracy Ormrod - Director
Joyce Head - Chief Selector
Erin Orford - Para Gold Rider Rep
Kelly Thompson - Organisers Rep
Felicity Towers - Para Classification Co-Ordinator
Joanne Dagley-Cleworth - Bronze Rider Rep
Diane Green - Participation Rep
Emma Bayliss - RDA Equine & Competitions
Sarah-Jane Prew - RDA Dressage Lead Rep
John Robinson - Judges Rep
George Sharples
Georgie Wheeler 
Erik Mackechnie
Katharine Perry
Sport Operations
Derek Pullem - Director
Jenny Brown - Bronze and Welfare Rep
Adrian Smith - Small Organiser Rep
Sue Price - Grassroots Judge Rep
Phillip Cheetham - Organiser, Rider & Judge Rep
Jo Byrne
Fiona Bigwood - International Rider & Trainer Rep
Lucinda Freeman - Large Organiser Rep 
Sue Petty - List 1 Judge and UKCC Trainer Rep
Kim Ratcliffe - List 1 Judge and UKCC Trainer Rep


TECHNICAL COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE

President and Vice-President

The president and honorary vice-presidents are not board members. The president is elected by the directors to hold office for three years and is only eligible for re-election for one further period of two years. The board can choose to have up to eight vice-presidents.

David Hunt is the president and Stephen Clarke is vice-president.

READ MORE

Regional Committees

With six regions making up British Dressage, they have a team of volunteers who help run regional competitions and activities alongside the Development Officer. Visit the Regional Pages to find out more.

BD HQ staff

Around 30 full and part-time staff work at our headquarters in Meriden with a team of seven out in the regions. To find out more about them, their roles and how to contact them, visit Meet Our Team.