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Diane Followell

Classical Dressage Trainer

Testimonials

Gilly Haynes.

  

Diane has trained my now adult daughter since she was 9 years old. She has always been totally reliable and has an outstanding knowledge and understanding of horses, people and dressage. I have always felt my daughter was totally safe with her very calm and competent trainer. Even when my daughter has felt stressed and anxious about her progress, or her horse’s progress, Diane has been entirely supportive and completely understanding.
 
Diane has provided my daughter with the building blocks that she has needed in order to progress through the various stages of her riding. These strong foundations that Diane has put in place now enable her to ride my own international grand prix stallion! My daughter has been regularly complemented on her riding, her knowledge and her feel by other trainers.
 
Although my daughter decided to stop riding whilst on her gap year and I thought that she would probably not return to horses, however, the love for horses and dressage that Diane has instilled in her has helped and encouraged her to return to her riding with renewed enthusiasm. The thorough knowledge that Diane has given to her has ensured that her riding has continued with confidence and competence and a real understanding.
 
I would highly recommend Diane as an enthusiastic knowledgeable reliable safe calm and understanding trainer to anyone no matter what age, level of ability, or type of horse.


Mandy Baker





Diane conducts regular dressage clinics for myself and for my fellow riders at a riding school in Delhi, India.
 
I have been riding for over 30 years in various disciplines and have had numerous instructors over that period. I can say without hesitation that Diane is the best instructor I have ever had the pleasure to work with. 

She has an incredible eye for rider position and for the horse’s way of working. She then devises sets of exercises that develop both horse and rider in harmony. Having worked with Diane over the past 18 months, I can confidently say that my riding has improved considerably. It still has some way to go but I know what I need to work on and Diane’s inputs help me focus on the next steps in my journey. My horse has changed from an incorrectly muscled ex polo pony terrified of his mouth, (he used to be ridden in a grakle nose band to prevent him evading the bit and stopped playing polo because they could not turn him or stop him). Whereas he is now calm and happy in his work, in a regular cavesson nose band and turns and stops off my seat – when I ride him properly! There has been no force, no gadgets to effect this change, just sensible riding with the right exercises to develop the correct muscles and way of going.
 
Working with Diane has been a complete education in dressage. She is calm and confident in what she asks you to do and is not troubled when things don’t go 100%. She looks for different ways to communicate to the rider if things don’t work out as expected and she looks for different exercises for the horse if one exercise doesn’t do the job required.
 
I fully expect our life long journey in dressage to continue with Diane at the helm.


Georgina Timmis

  

Di is a sensitive and insightful trainer. Not only does she assess the abilities of horse and rider she also pays great attention to the relationship between the two.
 
She has a quiet and gentle approach to riding and training which makes every lesson harmonious and stress free, (this is particularly good for nervous or novice riders and horses).
 
Diane instils basic classical principles from day 1, which lay the foundations for true classical riding in the future; a basis riders will always return to. This includes everything from the riders position, to the correct aids and the beginnings of collection and roundness in the horse.
At more advanced levels Diane encourages riders to think more independently, discussing possible exercises and allowing riders to correct their own mistakes with as little prompting as possible. This allows riders to continue their training at home with confidence.
 
Diane has a great talent for describing the sensations a rider should be feeling during the lesson allowing the rider to develop their own feel. You leave each lesson feeling that you have achieved something. Whether a small gap in your understanding has been filled, or there has been a huge leap in the development of your relationship with your horse, and always with a lot to think about on the journey home!