BDHQ Staff Update

British Dressage is delighted to announce the appointment of Ben Waterhouse into the new role of Chief Operating Officer and Nadine Murray as Regional Development Officer for the North West region.

Ben Waterhouse, who started with British Dressage last week, has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from other sports, including rugby, golf and football, in a number of operational, performance and participation roles. Working alongside Chief Executive Officer Jason Brautigam, he will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of the business, including providing a direct link between Head Office and the regions.

The Regional Development Officers and IT Systems Manager will be reporting directly to Ben, while he will also be the point of contact for our regional volunteer network. Ben’s focus during the first 12 months will be on improving our internal communication, systems, policies, processes and procedures in order to improve our operational efficiency and effectiveness. This appointment will further strengthen BD’s Senior Management Team, following the recent promotions of Lou Jones to Sport Operations Manager and Rachel Smith to another newly created position, Membership Experience Manager.

Ben commented; “I am really excited to be taking on this new role of COO at British Dressage and am looking forward to building on the strong foundations that have been put in place by the staff, board and volunteers within BD. I hope that my experience across the sport sector, including working as both a field-based development officer and subsequently managing a regional team, will enable me to make a positive contribution to the continued development of BD as a respected and progressive organisation.”

We have also appointed a new full time Regional Development Officer for the North West, Nadine Murray, who will join us from 18 February onwards. Nadine is a highly experienced administrator who has worked in the education sector for the past 20 years. She is also an active member of British Dressage and has represented her region in both regional team competitions and Area Festivals.

In the meantime, Mari O’Connor will continue to manage the North West region on an interim basis, so will remain the RDO contact until Nadine starts. 

As a result of the recent restructure at Head Office brought about by the launch of Phase II of our IT transformation project, there have also been a number of changes to the roles and responsibilities of some of our team, effective from the start of this year:

David Mountford, who was appointed as Database Developer in October 2015, is now our IT Systems Manager. David will oversee all of our IT projects and ongoing development into Phases III and IV, as well as the new website.

After 12 years in the role of Grading Officer, Charlene Bryant is now our Championships Officer, responsible for all competition activity for full members. This includes Area Festivals, Regional Championships, Premier Leagues, High Profile Shows and National / Winter Championships.

Stephanie Verge is Sport Operations Co-ordinator, responsible for all grass roots activity for Club members, including Team Quest, My Quest and Associated Championships, as well as Bronze / Music, while Faye Dawson has moved to the membership team as Membership Co-ordinator, working alongside the team to develop and establish a new customer service help desk.

Chief Executive Jason Brautigam commented; “It’s a very exciting time for British Dressage and I am delighted to welcome both Ben and Nadine to the team, as well as congratulate David, Charlene, Stephanie and Faye on their new roles. These two key appointments, as part of a wider head office restructure, will strengthen our team as we strive to develop dressage further in all aspects and move into the next phase of evolution for our sport.

“May I also take this opportunity to thank Mari for her contribution, she has been a tremendous help in giving us continuity in the Wales and North West regions on a temporary basis and we are very grateful for her support.”