Our Team at Dibble Bridge

 Its all about team work here, and we hope you will enjoy getting to know our staff and the man at the helm…..

Phil The Trainer -  You can usually spot him at the races wearing a yellow Topspec jacket and needing a decent haircut! Father, husband, trainer, work rider, horsebox driver, leader-upper, farrier, winning ex-jockey (briefly!). Allergic to cooking, plaiting, washing up and housework of any description, Phil is usually asleep on the settee by 9.30pm as he never sits down for a second of the day (except to check his declarations and make entries!). Some facts you don’t know about Phil? His only Greyhound made the Quarter Finals of the World famous Waterloo Cup. Dog aspiratons have lowered a little since then – we now have 2 whippets, a shitzu x dachsund and a chiahoua!  Phil also rode in three races , the first of which he won by a distance on the notoriously bad jumping ‘The Tollah’ trained by Ferdy Murphy. Phil is pictured on the left with one of his favourites – Agglestone Rock, and on the right talking on his phone aboard his ex-hunter chaser, “Whatever You Think”. .A fascinating fact about Phil? .SOme facts y

.Some fact about Phi

Pippa – Busy Mother of Isabella (5) and Indiana (2), Equine Artist est. since 1995 with many sales worldwide, reluctant Racing Secretary and show rider when time allows. Visit her Equine Art website www.philippaporley.co.uk Her remaining showing ambition is to ride a winner at Horse of the Year Show to make the trio complete with wins already at The Royal International and Olympia. She is pictured  leading up ‘Amazing King’.

 
 

  

  

  Simon Olley – Assistant Trainer

Nothing much phases Simon and he prefers mostly to work at home rather than go racing – bringing many years of experience at Jonjo’s to our much smaller yard, he is Phil’s right hand man and his particular favourite is Black Jacari. He has a love-hate relationship with Haka Dancer, a lovely horse in the stable but a very tricky ride – he would like nothing better than to see him in the winners enclosure in 2011 as he has so much talent but getting him to use it is proving a challenge.  A former amateur rider with over 30 race rides , he can even be called upon to school when Kyle or James are not available!  We asked his wife Sarah for a fact about Simon and she said very cheekily that he can be  lazy! However, she says he has never worked so hard since coming to us, so he is obviously a reformed character now. Just like Phil and the rest of the team, no one sits down here during the day for more than 2 minutes for a quick cuppa.  Simon is pictured riding his favourite ‘Jack’.

 Sarah Olley – Head Girl

We look back on the time that Sarah emailed us to apply for a job with relief and are so grateful that she decided to bring her vast experience of time spent at Jonjo’s to Dibble Bridge Stables. Alongside  her parner Simon, they make up a trio of very experienced racing staff and the backbone of the yard. Sarah is a meticulous worker -  her boxes are always immaculate, and her favourite horses are ‘Simply Smashing’ and ‘Royal Entourage’.  Another perfect plaiter, Sarah also wins many best turned outs and prides herself on her horses smart appearance. She probably wonders why she chose the Alpine snow trap that is Castleton to come and work, but when the snow falls here, she and Simon can always be relied upon to get to work. She is pictured here at the beach riding the now retired, ‘Stevey’s Lad’.

 Lauren Sisson – Work Rider

Lauren is based at The Reveley Yard – she is one of their most experienced riders there and does most of their breaking in.   After she has ridden for Keith and Fiona she rides 2 or 3 lots a day for us, her favourite horses of ours being King and Aggie. Lauren is a superb rider that can settle the hardest puller and also schools for us, and Phil is keen for her to get her amateur jockeys licence and ride in some amateur lady races for us!  She is pictured here riding Amazing King.

Thea Green

 Thea  works full time for us, having progressed from part-time.  She is knowledgeable and kind with the horses and is now a confident racehorse rider. She led her first winner up  at Sedgefield – one of the yard stable stars – Andorn, and is pictured with him here in the winners enclosure. Thea likes riding Paris and Ancient Times, and she is stood here with MillieJane. Although she has a degree in horticulture – Thea enjoys her horses best and thus her return to this job!

 

  Kirsty Bolton

Kirsty has recently joined us part time and has quickly proved an efficient member of our  team having previous experience at the  top Northern showjumping yard of  the Allen family.   She rides her own horse to Novice Level Eventing and is currently training to be an Equine Massager.  Riding out racehorses is a new venture but Kirsty has quickly adapted and also enjoys going racing. She is a very hard worker who has the amazing talent of being able to bring 4 heavy haynets through the yards in one trip, 2 on the barrow and two strapped around her! Photo to follow…!

 

 

Kim Morgan 

Kim has just started with us and is going to be working during the week – she is very experienced with horses and has fitted straight in, getting to know all the horses names the last two weeks! A photo of Kim will follow, one of her favourites in Oz – Ancient Times.

Lucy Coates

 A recent addition to the team, Lucy works Sundays’ and is enjoying getting back into riding out.  Just like her sister she is kind and quiet with the horses and a reliable, hard worker.

Martin Allan

Martin has started coming on a Friday and holds his Amateur Jockeyts Licence. We hope to be able to give him some rides on the flat this summer.

Beth Phalp

Beth is studying her A levels  and would like to be a vet, but works for us when we are stuck on a weekend and she is an excellent rider who fits straight in.

Julie Staveley

Currently off injured -

Julie had a bad fall in the yard off her favourite horse ‘Amazing King’ and her injury is proving slow to heal. She is much missed and we hope she will be able to return to full form as she is not one to rest on her laurels! Julie excelled at going racing and has many years of valuable experience racing and showing – we all wish her the very best on her long road to recovery.

Mally Joplin

 Mally comes to the yard once or twice a week and helps us out with all the jobs that need doing. Keen on his racing and a successful darts player, Mal can do just about any job from fencing to painting, holding horses for vets and fixing cars!