Catherine Davies – Coach of the Month November 2024

Equestrian Australia (EA) is delighted to announce that our Coach of the Month for November is Catherine Davies from Tasmania.  She said with a smile in her voice, “A lot of time has passed since my first involvement as a Coach and I am now a Level 3 General Coach, Level 2 Eventing and Dressage Specialist. It seems like a lifetime ago that I began the Level 1 journey in my final year of school!” 

In congratulating Catherine, EA asked that she share her story of a life with horses and the road to becoming one of the most respected and successful equestrian coaches in Australia. Catherine said she was delighted to have the opportunity to recap past adventures and take a look at the way forward, both personally, and to inspire riders looking to make coaching a career.

Catherine explained, “I grew up in Richmond, Tasmania, with a horse-loving mum who did not have a horse in her youth. When my sister was able to get a horse, it was a “package deal” a horse for her and a pony that would become mine. This Welsh pony mare was not for a beginner, so when I showed interest, a more suitable pony was sought. "My first real horse was actually a pony cross and he managed to take me around my first 3DE at Naracoorte Young Rider Championships. Home Vale Sinbad was a Connemara cross and the third pony I had from that stud. His breeder Ann Paterson was ahead of her time with the ponies she bred in Tassie. Sinbad was tough and strong and managed to complete this event at Intermediate (now 3*) standard. Needless to say, my parents suffered heart-failure while walking the cross-country course!"

"I rode many different ponies and dabbled in all disciplines during my time in Pony Club. My first interstate trip was the 1995 Towards 2000 Pony Club National Championships in Wagga Wagga. This gave me a desire to compete and progress up the grades, so, years of interstate travel followed! My main love has always been eventing, however, dressage is a big part of my training philosophy and I firmly believe that establishing correct basics is the key to success in all disciplines.” 

“In 2006 I relocated to Victoria to further my ambition to compete and set up Queen's Park in Romsey, part of the beautiful Macedon Ranges, where I based my coaching and horse training business.  I studied for a Bachelor of Applied Science (Equine) concurrently with running my coaching and horse training business and completed my Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) in 2015. This direction was driven by a goal to be a better coach through sound teaching skills. I also studied a Graduate Certificate in Careers Education and Development and found that this complimented coaching, particularly when I was advising riders about horse careers v’s careers outside of horses.”

“I had many happy and successful years as a Victorian and made lots of friends, but never got away from being a Tasmanian at heart. In 2022 I moved back to Tassie and have loved the connection with family and friends that has rekindled the passion for equestrian.  My goals are very different these days with a husband, 3yo toddler, and a job outside of horses I think I can safely say that the sport is in my blood, as I am a still a rider and coach, but now enjoy giving back to the sport as an official.” 

“When reflecting on the highlights in my career, the support of my family and a few special people helped me on the road to success cannot be measured. Tassie coach Jill Schwartz has been there for me since I was around 8 years old, and she made sure I had a firm grasp on the basics and the training scale that I observe to this day. From the age of 10, I rode at every training day and coaching exam that Jill conducted, and this set me up for my own coaching career as what I learned about the EA/NCAS system has certainly stuck with me. Jill has helped me with many horses over the years and I can safely say that much of my coaching is underpinned by what she taught me.  Now that I’m back in Tassie, Jill has stepped in to help again … she is my constant, and will never get rid of me!  Jill is the person that inspired my decision to become an equestrian coach.”

“I also acknowledge the influence of Hunter Doughty, who I met on our first trip to Wagga and from that time on he has been a valued mentor and friend. These days I enjoy working with Hunter as an official – he as TD and myself as a member of the Ground Jury!”

“Ben Netterfield is another talented equestrian who took me under his wing. He became my Show Jumping guru and we completed our Level 3 coaching together, which was an awesome experience!”

“I was very proud to take a Tasmanian Team to the Interschools Championships in Tamworth in September 2024.  It was a great way to meet Tassie’s talented young equestrians and share the experiences gained when I competed as a junior.”

Equestrian Australia asked Catherine if there had been any special horses in her life and she said, “The two horses that “made me” were both OTT TB’s that I trained from scratch – Queen’s Consort and Queen’s Ransom. Both horses completed Adelaide 5* and pretty much every 4* in the country. Queen’s Consort was very special, as I was only 12 years old when we bought him and we progressed up to Advanced level Dressage. Queen’s Ransom had one Prix St Georges start.  I was always proud of my thoroughbred eventers and respected their ability to be competitive against warmbloods in the dressage arena.

EA asked Catherine what advice she would give to those thinking of becoming equestrian Coach, she enthused.  “It’s amazing to work with the animals that we love, helping riders and horses to develop and achieve their goals. The training/qualification process might seem daunting, but if students get a good mentor and work through the syllabus systematically, it’s minimal compared with many other careers/qualifications … and you get to do what you love!”

In looking forward to the future Catherine said. “My 2025 plans involve having a much better work-life balance and hopefully more time for coaching and supporting Australian equestrian sport.’ 

‘I would like to thank Equestrian Tasmania for nominating me for this award and Equestrian Australia for giving me the opportunity to share my story with members and equestrian enthusiasts.”