2012 Speakers
Details of speakers for the next show will be posted here shortly.
2010 Speakers
For the schedule of talks please see the Timetable.
Although
not from a horsey family, Mary King, has become one of the country's
best loved and most decorated riders. She has won Badminton and
Burghley as well as representing the UK at five Olympics and three
World Championships (including Kentucky in September 2010). Mary has
now been competing at the top level of eventing for 25 years, has
bred a string of top event horses, raised her own family and still
found time to go on the odd riding holiday.
Ariane
Janér is a Dutch zoologist who has been living in Brazil since 1988.
Working in the area of ecotourism and sustainable development since
1991, she has consulted projects in many parts of Brazil. In 1993,
she helped found EcoBrasil, the Brazilian Ecotourism Society and has
been actively involved with this NGO since 1993. Ariane is a
keen rider and a passionate advocate of the Mangalarga Marchador,
the national horse of Brazil. She is a regular speaker at
events in Brazil and also internationally and has contributed to
various publications.
Originally
from Sweden, Jan pioneered horse riding holidays in Mongolia in the
early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet empire. He
co-founded Nomadic Journeys in Ulan Bator and has since made
Mongolia his second home, migrating annually from the island of
Gotland. His riding trips, supported by local nomads with their yak
carts, pack horses and camel carts became a model for sustainable
development in a country which is evolving rapidly. His work
connects him and Nomadic Journeys to conservation organizations
researching Snow Leopards, Argali Sheep, Mongolian Gazelles and
preserving the fish stocks of the Onon River, where Genghis Khan
himself was born.
Paola
Perelli grew up in Montevideo and developed a love of travel and
horse riding at an early age. Riding is a central part of the
Uruguayan culture and the country has one of the highest ratios of
horses to people. Paola set up her own travel company, Lares in 1998
which allowed her to combine her passions: her love for Uruguay,
riding and travelling. She sees the riding trips as a wonderful way
to explore the country. The unique cultural exchange which takes
part on a riding holiday enriches both the local communities as well
as visitors from abroad.
Anthony
"Ant" Baber and his wife Tessa have built up the well known Ant's
Nest and Ant's Hill portfolio of luxury bush homes in the Waterberg
of South Africa. The Baber family arrived in the Waterberg in the
1890's and successive generations have become renowned for their
contributions to agriculture and conservation. The Ant's Lodges
offer some of the finest horseback safaris in Africa and in addition
to riding visitors can participate in game census, capture and
relocation.
Simon
Palmer specialises in equine photography and has been published in
horse magazines, books and in film. He has been the tour
photographer for Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks for the last six
years. Simon also runs photography clinics, providing horse owners
with the practical skills and knowledge to enable them to take
better photographs of horses. Simon is judging the "Seeing the World
from Horseback" photographic competition and will be presenting the
prize to the winner at the Riding Holiday Show.
Cor
Carelsen is a dedicated conservationist and guide who, with his wife
Louise, owns and operates Limpopo Valley Horse Safaris in the Tuli
Block of southeastern Botswana. LVHS operates on Mashatu Game
Reserve, a vast area of unfenced wilderness, home to huge herds of
elephant as well as lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, a wide variety
of plains game and over 350 species of birds. LVHS offers
traditional mobile safaris, where guests experience exceptional
sightings of game as well as the joy of riding well-schooled,
responsive horses. Cor is a native South African who has worked as
Project Manager for a charitable conservation foundation in Ecuador,
as well as Estate Manager for a racehorse stud and training farm in
England, before he and Louise moved to Botswana in 2003.
Sally
Vergette moved to Ecuador, South America in 1996 and, having worked
for a country hotel (‘hacienda’) and a travel agent, in 1998 set up
her own riding company. Until going to university, Sally lived on a
farm in the UK and rode competitively on several of her own horses
that she trained herself. Along with several local guides and with
the help of the wonderful local horsemen, she now runs riding tours
in the Ecuadorian Andes offering several eight day scheduled tour
options and numerous possibilities for private groups.
Amchok
Choetar is based in Austria, where he studied tourism, but is
originally from a nomadic family in eastern Tibet. He now returns
regularly to his native home with groups of international visitors.
Amchok is a link between two very different cultures and loves to
share his knowledge of the high Tibetan plateau where he grew up and
where life has remained largely unchanged for centuries. He believes
that travelling on horseback is a wonderful low impact way to foster
a greater understanding of Tibetan life while at the same time being
a positive experience for local people.
Anne
is Dutch but has been living in France for over 16 years after
deciding to follow her passion of working with horses. The variety
of landscapes, the culture and history of the country and last but
not least the good food convinced her to make the move to France.
She enjoys having plenty of space and green pastures which is so
important for the horses and the deer she breeds together with her
husband Patrick. Apart from organising her riding holidays she
teaches horseback guiding and works with draft horses and mules for
driving and agricultural work. When she has any spare time she
enjoys travelling on horseback. Anne has done several rides of some
500 kms through France and is an active member of the French
Association of Long Distance Riders.
John
Sobey owns and manages African Horseback Safaris which was
established in the unique Okavango Delta in 1995. He has been a
professional guide in Botswana for the last 17 years and has also
led riding safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia. His
safari camp, Macatoo, is situated on the Western side of the Delta
in a private 500,000 acre concession. Macatoo camp is proud to
have been voted best Horseback Safari in Africa by the Good Safari
Guide for the past two years.
Audrey
has travelled widely on foot and on horseback through many parts of
the world including: Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea,
Patagonia, New Zealand, Syria, Jordan, Bolivia, Mexico and
Guatemala. Originally from France, she first came across the Tusheti
region of Georgia in 2003 as part of a 14 month trip through some of
the most inaccessible parts of Europe. The Tusheti lies on the
northern slopes of the Caucasus and is regarded as one of the most
ecologically unspoiled areas of the mountains. For the last six
years, together with her partner Gia, a local Tush, she has
organised and guided horseback expeditions through the area.
Graduating
from Northumbria University in Nursing, Sarah spent 2 years working
in Trauma Theatres in Edinburgh before embarking on a round the
world trip that brought her to Okavango Horse Safaris in Botswana in
1999. Originally staying for 3 weeks she left 3 seasons later to
continue her studies in the UK. She has a strong background in
hunting and eventing competing at national level as well as
producing horses for Aldolfo Cambiaso which went on to win the
Argentine Open. Sarah is a registered Hunter Judge, Cordon Bleu cook
and Nurse. After completing further studies in the UK Sarah returned
to the Okavango in 2007.
Deborah
grew up with a love of horses, starting riding when she was very
small. After graduating from University in 2001, she decided a job
with horses in Africa was a better option than anything on offer in
the city! She worked as a horse guide for 6 months in South Africa
before becoming a student at Wait A Little. After working in
Southern Chile for a year, guiding horse trails into the Andean
mountains, she returned to Wait A Little as stable manager where she
stayed until 2006. In amongst looking after the horses and
supporting the safaris, she also qualified as a field guide.
Although she returned to the UK and now works in an office in
London, her heart remains in Africa and she still rides regularly,
training horses for private owners.
A native Austrian with Hungarian family roots, Oliver Christen first
came to the unique region of Southern Hungary in 1996. Soon after
his first visit he got in touch with the local Hungarian Csikos
(Cowboys). They taught him their way of riding and he set off to
explore the Carpathian Basin on horse back. When he decided to
settle down, Oliver bought some farmsteads just west of Szeged. He
spent some time renovating the accommodation and for the past seven
years Oliver and his Hungarian team have been guiding Puszta Trails
taking visitors to the most remote spots of this fascinating area.
As
a German born city girl, just completing her law studies, Annette
married a Portuguese Architect, Nuno Vaz Pinto. She then found
herself in the middle of Portugal, a region, called “Alto Alentejo”,
centuries away from her former life. Their ambition was to create a
top quality riding centre with Lusitano horses and with the help of
traditional Portuguese trainers they realized their dream. Sadly
Annette’s husband died some years ago but together with her son
Filipe she continues to offer wonderful holidays for riders and
non-riders alike in this beautiful part of Portugal.