New Regional Chairs for North & East and South & East regions

British Dressage is delighted to announce the appointment of two new regional Chairs in adjoining regions.  Sarah Farrand, long term Senior Training representative and Chef d'Equipe and Katie Powell, founder of a Surrey based rehab and competition yard will take up their posts in the North & East and South & East regions respectively in September.  Initially they will both work with the current Regional Chairs in their areas, who remain in position until the end of the year, to ensure a smooth handover.

“I am very proud of the successes we have recently had in both the Senior and Youth Inter Regionals with teams from the North & East reaping the benefits of the hard work we put into training and team selection,” said Sarah.  “Vikki Hayton, the current Chair, our Development Officer Jo Byrne and I have put many hours into working with our riders, and with the success we have had in recent years, we have certainly experienced the benefits.”

“I feel the next logical step in my time with British Dressage is to take a more prominent role which will bring me closer to the policy makers and give me the opportunity to contribute to British Dressage decision making going forwards.”

Vikki Hayton added, “I am thrilled that Sarah has been appointed as Co-Chair for the North & East Region and I am looking forward to working with her over the coming months.  Sarah will bring fresh ideas forward and will continue to support at competitions as she has done in the past, albeit in a different role.”

Katie Powell is an active BD competitor, holder of BHS Horsemanship qualification Stage 4, a qualified BHS coach and is currently working toward her BDCC.  In addition to this she runs the highly regarded rehabilitation and livery yard at Nodwood House in Surrey.  Having wanted to work with horses from an early age, Katie went to university and embarked on a career in telecoms and financial media, holding board level positions at global corporations including Cable and Wireless, Thomson and Reuters.  “My corporate experiences with different companies and the skill set I have developed should be very useful to the role of Chair for the South & East Region,” explained Katie.  “Having come full circle back to working with horses, just as I had ambitions of doing so as a teenager, it seems only fitting to give something back and try to provide support, leadership and experience to our members in the South & East.  I would like to see inclusion being even higher on our list of priorities and enabling participation in whichever way different individuals can, from competing and training to attending masterclasses and understanding their horse more.”

Lotte Olsen commented, “I am delighted that we have been able to appoint Katie as my successor, she brings a wealth of commercial and equine experience together with new and fresh ideas.   I look forward to working with Katie over the final four months of my term before handing over the reins.   I will always support the South and East Region and look forward to having more time to compete and enjoy my own horse, with the confidence that the committee will have an enthusiastic and effective leader to take BD South & East onwards and upwards.”

British Dressage is hugely indebted to the volunteers who contribute so much across all aspects of our sport. We look forward to welcoming Sarah and Katie into the key role of Regional Chair and will support them to carry on the excellent work established by Vikki and Lotte as they move towards the last few months of their Regional Chair terms.