John started his training with Brian Young before going to Germany to work and ride. He later returned to the UK and produced a great many horses from Novice to Grade A. He is now training riders of all calibres. John holds monthly show jumping clinics at Contessa and is a wonderfully encouraging instructor, who coaxes the best out of horse and rider and gives great confidence to his pupils.
Visiting Instructors
We pride ourselves on the variety of instructors at Contessa, that are able to cater for all levels of rider from complete beginners to advanced levels. To find out the price of our lessons, please visit the Lessons section of this website.
Use the tabs above to meet our instructors.
John Adams, show jumping trainer
John Bowen, BE and BD accredited international trainer
John has been training riders at Contessa on and off for 15 years in dressage and show jumping. He has given several lecture/demos at the Centre. He trains riders in all disciplines from grass roots to international level. Including Tina with whom he was worked with all of her horses. John has trained Jeanette Brakewell for the last 11 years, the rider of Over to You and one of Team GB – our Olympic team. He is also Irish National Eventing Team Coach for Young Riders and Juniors – training individual gold and silver medallists. He has competed to Grand Prix in dressage and evented internationally. John takes clinics at Contessa every two months where riders can enjoy his charm and wit while working hard on correct methods of training. A word of warning: just don’t click to your horse!
Sarah Gemmell
Sarah has been vaulting since she was 11. She competed at her first British Championships in 1992. This lead to a successful career within Britain, achieving many titles including Pairs 1995, 1996, 2001 & 2002, and Advanced Team 1997 & 1998.
I first competed at an international CVI** event in 1997 in Holland. Since then she has competed at CVI**s in France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Germany and Italy. She was also selected to compete for Great Britain as an individual at the European Championships 2001, 2003 and 2005, the World Equestrian Games 2002 and 2006, and the World Championships 2004.
She now has a Level 3 Coaching Award and achieved International Candidate Judge Status in November 2010. Her training and competing took place along side studies at Coventry University, where she graduated with an honors degree in Fine Art in 2004. She then had a change of career and Qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in October 2009.
