Our Team | Wimbledon Village Stables

The amazing Wimbledon Village Stables team

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We are very proud to introduce our wonderful WVS award-winning team.

You can be sure that whichever member of the team you ride out with, they will be interesting company and look after you every step of the way. Take a look at the testimonials to see what we mean! We encourage our staff to study for further qualifications and provide them with training from leading experts in the equestrian community. They also compete – in either dressage or jumping, they bring horses on and take them to shows for their owners, and regularly come home with ribbons.

We can confidently say that there isn’t a team like this in the country, a claim supported by the numerous awards we are very proud to have won for customer service as well as certificates of excellence from the British Horse Society.

Please do read the profiles of our staff, all of whom have interesting and very varied backgrounds. We look forward to welcoming you soon at Wimbledon Village Stables.

Apply to be part of the WVS Team

Carol Andrews, BHSAIOwner

I feel very lucky and deeply honoured to have a job which doesn’t feel like a job! Every day…

I work with an amazing team, fantastic horses and I never tire of seeing the pleasure the Stables brings to so many people’s lives.

I learnt to ride at Coombe Hill Stables in nearby Kingston, passed my BHSAI at South Weylands Equestrian Centre and I have competed in all equestrian disciplines, although show jumping was my passion.
Wimbledon Village Stables truly is a family business, as both my daughters – Sasha and Steff – are keen riders as is Ella, my niece, and her mum Caroline (my sister-in-law) is our Chief Instructor.
Developing and improving the business has been always fun and fulfilling, especially being able to raise so much money over the years for some very worthwhile charities. I am thrilled that the stables continues to thrive and is going from strength to strength.

Caroline Stevenson, Chief InstructorBHS Accredited Professional Performance Coach BHSI

Caroline is a very talented instructor who holds her BHSI exam. She has chosen to …

dedicate herself to teaching people at all levels to become confident riders. Working in partnership with her sister-in-law Carol at Wimbledon Village Stables since 1980, she is a much sought after and popular instructor. Regular private slots with Caroline, whether in the arena or on training hacks, are much in demand. She is as happy teaching beginners as she is helping to develop more advanced dressage or jumping skills. Caroline is also the BHS Regional Riding and Road Safety Officer for London and for many years sat on the BHS Riding School and Livery Yards advisory group. She is the Assistant District Commissioner of Wimbledon Pony Club and is a valuable leader within the WVS team.

Claire Mallett Office Manager

An expert polo-crosse player, hailing all the way from Zimbabwe, Claire has been at WVS since 2003.

Claire grew up on a prestigious stud farm where she helped her parents break and school young thoroughbreds and knows the Stables inside and out! Claire has passed her BHS Exams and enjoys taking part in show jumping and cross country competitions. When she is not on duty in the office she enjoys riding her horse, Bamboo and Claire’s BBQs are a legendary addition to the WVS social events during the summer months.

Nadia PowerBHSQ Level 3 Coach in Complete Horsemanship

A dedicated and talented instructor, Nadia has been part of WVS for many years…

her mum and Carol opened the stables together in 1980. Growing up around the stables helped her realise that a career in horses was in her blood. After a brief time away starting her BHS exams she re-joined WVS and successfully completed her BHS Stage III. As well as teaching out on the common Nadia is very efficient, making her a wonderful asset to the WVS team. Nadia is an excellent teacher of all ages but she excels in bringing out the best in the younger riders and is great at building up a great rapport with and giving confidence to the nervous rider.

Tasha MooreBHSQ Level 3 Coach in Complete Horsemanship

Tash started riding when she was very young at her parents farm competing her own

horses with the local Pony Club. After a break from horses completing a BSc Geography Degree at Southampton University, Tash realised where her strengths and passion lay and she started work in Gloucestershire on a livery yard where she competed regularly in all disciplines and was very successful in her BHS exams, attaining her first four in just three years. Tash came to us as a BHSAI and is a popular instructor. She teaches all ages and abilities and loves to inspire confidence and have fun in all of her lessons. Tash has recently achieved her BHS Stage 4 Teach exam and having just been awarded a bursary from the BHS she is looking forward to continuing her exam successes in the near future. Tash also has the responsibility of supervising the WVS team as Yard Manager and ensuring that the horses receive the highest standard of care at all times, as well as maintaining happy staff and happy clients!

Kyle TrollipRiding Instructor

We are delighted to welcome Kyle to the WVS team. Kyle grew up in his Mums riding school in Durban

where his love for ponies originated. He learnt to ride very early on and was competing internationally for his Pony Club in all disciplines from age 9 and upwards. At around 18 he focussed on showjumping, mounted games and polocrosse so he has a really varied riding skill set which is very exciting.
Kyle moved to the UK in 2017 after selling his showjumper back home. He first worked at a Scottish polo yard, followed by a competitive dressage and showjumping yard in London. Kyle then had a holiday back home and apparently accidentally qualified for the South African mounted games team! This took him to the mounted games world team championships in 2019, handily back in Wales, where he fell in love with his loan pony for the games. He bought that pony and based himself in Chesterfield doing a bar job while pursuing his passion for mounted games. This is where Kyle has been for the last 2 / 3 years before deciding he needed a new challenge and coming south again to join us here at WVS.
Kyle’s twin brother has been based in London for around 6 years so he already has great connections in the city, but he says the best thing about this job so far is the friendliness of all the staff and the clients! Kyle is very sociable so you will find that he is very chatty on your rides and he loves to meet new people and find out all about them! He has also done a lot of teaching from a young age so he has already been taking lessons and imparting his very wide-ranging knowledge on us.
When out of the saddle, Kyle is always busy and is a keen sportsman, often with a tennis racket, frisbee or hockey stick in hand – failing any of those, a beer!
We are excited to have Kyle as part of the team and will definitely make the most of his varied riding experiences to teach us all a few new tricks!

Jackie HarrisBHS Level 3 Coach in Complete Horsemanship

Jackie has been riding horses since a very young age and has a wealth of experience from different equestrian backgrounds to bring to WVS.

Initially working at a racing yard, Jackie went on to work for one of the first South African warmblood stud farms, starting, schooling and showing the young horses. She realised she loved the training aspect of working with the horses and got involved in the retraining of racehorses for showjumping. She then concentrated on developing her own riding further, and spent many years competing in showjumping in South Africa.
Looking for a change, Jackie came to London about 5 years ago and has spent most of that time here with us at WVS. She has been very focussed and has attained all of her BHS exams up to the Complete Stage 3 and is now working towards her stage 4 exam. She most recently gained her Stage 3 Teach which we knew she would fly through as Jackie has been such a fantastic coach in her time here. She enjoys teaching all riders from beginners to advanced and will always strive to find a way to help a rider if they are getting a bit stuck! Jackie is also fantastic at teaching on our Simulator and she will often use a specifically tailored lesson plan alongside a regular ride on the Common to achieve understanding and improvement.

Mylene Garreau

Mylene has joined our team on a part-time basis. Growing up in France,

Mylene competed as a gymnast until she was 12 years old when she started riding. She spent time getting her French BHS equivalent, the ‘Galop 7’, competed in showjumping and gained experience riding and training many different young horses helping to prepare them for showjumping competitions.
In 2002 Mylene moved to London to complete her MA in Glass and Ceramics at the Royal College of Arts and from then worked as an artist for 10 years before returning to her passion and once again working with horses in 2012.
Since being in the UK, Mylene has spent time at various competition yards gaining experience both riding and grooming and has achieved her BHS Level Three Ride and is well on the way to attaining her Level Three Teach as well. She is then keen to continue her own training and take on the Level Four exams next year.
In 2017 Mylene bought her own TB cross and having done significant training with him over the years, she still competes him successfully at showjumping, dressage and British Eventing. Mylene has done a great job bringing her wide ranging knowledge to our team and the arena lessons and has said “there is no place like WVS, the team is incredibly friendly, skilled and efficient. All the horses are talented and beautifully cared for.” If you are lucky enough to ride with Mylene, be sure to ask her about her various equestrian jobs and don’t forget to ask her more about her other passion, the circus!

Poppy Graves

Poppy has always had a love for horses and from the age of twelve she volunteered regularly at the nearby Deen City Farm.

When she turned sixteen, Poppy enrolled on the Haddon Training Apprenticeship scheme which she has been working towards for the last two years whilst training and working with us. She has now successfully completed her apprenticeship course and we are delighted to keep Poppy on as part of our team of dedicated staff. Poppy is now focussing on improving her skills further, and has already achieved her BHS Stage 1 and Ride Safe exam. She is very efficient and maintains high standards throughout the yard. She knows all the horses really well and attends to their needs, ensuring they are happy throughout the day. Poppy is a fun and youthful addition to the team and we look forward to her beginning to take on more responsibility at the yard and building her skills through future BHS exams.

Pepper StephensApprentice

Pepper joined us in the Spring of 2023 on an Apprenticeship scheme and we are delighted to be training her at the beginning of her equestrian career.

Pepper’s Mum always rode so it was inevitable that Pepper would also be keen on horses, so at thirteen she started lessons and hasn’t looked back! She quickly got involved in the share of several ponies and ended up buying one of them. After several years of training and local showjumping competitions Pepper bit the bullet and bought a second horse early this year to further develop her showjump training. Having then joined us her training has taken a pause even though she still rides her own daily after work, but Pepper is really enjoying riding all of our wonderful horses and is realising that there is always so much more to learn! Once her apprenticeship finishes Pepper hopes to remain to continue her training and she is very keen to progress through the BHS exams with a view to learning how to teach one day as well.
If you haven’t seen Pepper busy on the yard or taking out a ride then look no further than the yard dogs, she is determined to befriend, and possibly steal, any waggy tailed friend that will come with her!

Zoe HuntInstructor

Zoe joins us from just outside Sydney, Australia. She made the decision to move to the UK to further her equestrian career, so having recently moved over here with her boyfriend for a fresh start, we are her first port of call!

Zoes Dad is a Master Farrier and her Mum has always ridden and competed at showing and dressage, which obviously sparked Zoes interest and she spent much of her childhood following in her Mums footsteps, competing her own ponies in the same disciplines.
After securing a University place to study a Visual Arts course, Zoe spent some time as a working pupil at a showjumping yard. She did so well here that she deferred her university place for several years while she was busy working all over Australia in different equestrian disciplines, until she admitted that horses was where she wanted to be! She has tried her hand at a polo groom, trained and competed young horses at stud, trained and showed horses at a western pleasure barn and was a freelance dressage and jumping coach. A highlight for Zoe in her equestrian experiences is her time in Japan. Based just outside of Tokyo, Zoe was a stable manager, coach and assistant rider and loved being able to combine her horsey passion with exploring a completely new city.

Zoe is loving her time here in London and when not working hard at WVS she is busy exploring London and everything it has to offer with her boyfriend.
Even though she has worked in some incredible places, Zoe says that riding on Wimbledon Common is something very special. We have loved having Zoe use some of her past experiences to help school and train some of our newer horses here. She has done a lot of work with off-the track thoroughbreds in the past and believes that their particular temperament and way of going has really developed her feel for riding and ability to tune in to a horses needs. We are excited to have her with us and share some of her wide-ranging horse training knowledge.
Zoes ultimate goal is to represent Australia in Dressage, so get those autographs in and watch this space…!

Maria Wojtkiewicz, BHS StageIIPart-time Riding Instructor

Maria started riding at an early age and through the years has competed successfully in…

various equestrian disciplines. She has spent considerable time schooling horses for special needs riders. She came to the UK from Poland to further her equestrian career, and started by teaching riding for the disabled at the ‘Diamond Centre’. She has her BHS Stage II and is looking forward to furthering her knowledge. She is a patient horsewoman and enjoys seeing her riders’ progress and enjoy themselves.

Natasha MiszewskiInstructor

Tash is a qualified and registered veterinary physiotherapist offering assessments and treatments for our lucky WVS horses.

She graduated with a BSc in human physiotherapy in South Africa in 2015 and recently completed a postgraduate diploma in veterinary physiotherapy at the University of Liverpool. She has also completed her MSc in veterinary physiotherapy alongside working here at WVS. Tashs keen interest in both horses and sports gives her a unique insight into the demands and stresses we place on our horses when we ride. She says that whether the horses are being worked as a ‘happy hacker’ or are competing at higher levels, there is always some maintenance and overall conditioning that can be done to keep the horses more comfortable and performing at their best.

Tash will be working her way through the horses here at WVS starting with an initial assessment to identify any dysfunction, asymmetry, discomfort or pain. Depending on her findings, she will then tailor a treatment plan incorporating manual techniques, dynamic stretching and active exercises. Tash has already treated a few of the horses and they felt so relaxed afterwards which is fantastic. We can’t wait to see some more results after the horses have had a longer treatment plan. And if the horses seem happy with it we may ask Tash to start work on our well deserving staff or even clients, so watch this space!

The Next Generation

Annabel, Halle & Cece

Carol is immensely proud to have her three gorgeous grandchildren following in hers, Sashas and Steffis footsteps in their love for all things pony. Fudge is a fantastic friend and first mount for the youngest of the WVS generations, Annabel, Hallie and Cece, and Annabel is now not far off a Summer job, already spending most weekends and holidays at the yard, busily making the feeds and skipping out.

The Canine Team

No stable is complete without its dogs

The yard dogs are a huge part of our WVS family. Frodo can usually be found doing the morning ‘meet and greet’ and then assisting Claire in the office. Rosie will be escorting Carol on her rides, either close behind her heels or busily clearing the tracks ahead, and Banjo loves accompanying the horses all around the Common but especially snoozing at the side of the arena while Tash teaches her lessons!