Meet the Team

Nick Pritchard – Event Director

Nick grew up in East Sussex and graduated from Aberdeen University in 2002 with a Master’s Degree in Land Economy (Estate Management), starting work as a Land Agent that summer with Smiths Gore. In 2008 Nick took over the management of Bramham Park, and the role of Horse Trials Director became part of his remit in 2009. As such Nick’s role is very varied looking after all aspects of the Estate, from the routine property management through to an involvement in the Leeds Festival and everything in between.

Nick lives in a farmhouse on the Estate with his wife, Beth, a veterinary surgeon, their two young boys Rufus and Jasper, a black Labrador called Tilly, a Sproker Spaniel called Lotte, a cat called Oreo, horses Archie and Billy, the boys pony’s Leroy, Tiggy, Ringo and Fizzy, and three guinea pigs. Nick and Beth got married at Bramham in 2009, after Nick proposed whilst climbing Mont Blanc. Nick, Beth and the boys partake in various outdoor activities such as mountain biking, running, skiing and hillwalking.

Emily Adshead – Event Coordinator

Emily grew up in the local area with Bramham Horse Trials being the highlight of her year from a very young age. In 2015, Emily went to study Equine Business and Events Management at Askham Bryan College where she graduated with an honours degree, during which time she completed her work experience at Bramham Horse Trials which was her first experience of organising an International Event. Once graduated, Emily spent a summer in Texas teaching horse riding at a summer camp and travelling Southern America, and upon her return, had the opportunity to become Event Coordinator at Bramham Horse Trials.

As well as organising the Horse Trials, Emily works alongside the Bramham Park Estate team and helps with the day to day running of the Bramham Park Estate. Emily has been involved with horses since the age of 7, and now owns a racehorse called Captain Peaky. Emily lives in a cottage on the Estate with her partner, Joe and spaniel, Jess.

Jane Conyers – Event Coordinator

Jane was born and grew up in Yorkshire, moving South at the age of 15. After 15 years of studying and working in the South and Abroad she then returned to enjoy the beautiful countryside of Yorkshire. Whilst working in the accounts department for a land agent, she volunteered to act as treasurer for the Horse Trials in June 2004, greatly enjoying the experience and camaraderie of the event over the subsequent years and jumping at the chance to become a permanent Estate employee in October 2007.

She divides her time between the Estate accounts and the organisation of the Horse Trials. Jane enjoys walking her dog, Rolo, and going on city breaks in the sunshine.

Joshua – Site Manager

Joshua grew up in Yorkshire, and has always had a passion for the country side. After studying at Askham Bryan College for two years, Josh began to work for his Dad in 2016 at Bramham Park and has since worked his way up the business. When not doing Site Managerial work, Josh works at Bramham Park maintaining the ground work and managing the AD plant.

In 2019 Josh took on the role of Site Manager for Bramham International Horse Trials, since then he is keen to get experience under his belt and plans to work at other events. In his spare time Josh enjoys walking his dog, Rafa, and enjoying country sports.

Holly Farr – Entries Secretary & Stable Manager

Holly, who lives in Wiltshire, has been the Entries Secretary and Stable Manager for the past 10 years at Bramham and loves her yearly jaunt to the beautiful Bramham Park Estate. Her main aim is to make sure all the riders, owners and grooms have a great time at Bramham as well as making sure Nick and Emily are happy too! She has been involved with Bramham for many years having previously helped in the Secretaries and Press Offices with Gail Dale and Lucinda Hanbury before the move to the Stables.

Her involvement in the sport is wide reaching; Organiser and Secretary of Barbury International and Larkhill One Day Event as well as running JAS, the Indoor Eventing series that runs during the winter months when most Eventers are hibernating! In 2013 she was appointed as the UK Administrator of the New Zealand High Performance riders which has its own unique challenges and is in full steam ahead for WEG in Normandy 2014 and Olympic Games in Rio 2016. It’s an exciting new position and fitted in well having spent 6 months working for London 2012 in the role of Sports Information Group Leader and although would have loved to have taken on that role in Rio – it was rather a long commute! When not organising events and riders Holly can be found with her own horses and hunts twice a week with the VWH Hunt.

David Evans – Cross Country Course Builder

David Evans is based in Oxfordshire and travel both nationally and internationally to design and build cross country courses.

Having begun his cross country course building career at the family event of Holker Hall Horse Trials in Cumbria in the late 1980s, David Evans began full time building in 1992, forming part of Mike Etherington Smith’s coalition of early Blenheim course builders. Forming a partnership with Richard Taylor in 1998, David, Richard and their dedicated team have gone from strength to strength, building for designers such as Mike Etherington Smith, Ian Stark, Captain Mark Phillips and Eric Winter. Please follow the links below for more information.

David is at the forefront of cross country course building, having been closely involved in bringing the safety of horse and rider into course building and XC jump design. David has been awarded The British Eventing Bill Thompson Trophy for his modernising approach to cross country course building.

David and his team built the cross country course for the Olympic event in Tokyo, in 2020.

Ian Stark – Cross Country Course Designer

Ian Stark was born in Galashiels in 1954, the youngest of three children. He married Jenny McAulay in 1979 and they went on to have two children, firstly a daughter, Stephanie, in 1980, and then a son, Tim, in 1981. Stephanie is now married to Charles Robson and they have two young children, Freddie and Alfie, who call Ian ‘Grumpy’. Ian started riding at Will Boyle’s Ladhope stables in Galashiels at the age of 10. He rode in his first horse trials at Sunderland Hall, between Galashiels and Selkirk, aged 18 on Jackie Rodger’s Glenmoidart.

Ian worked for the DHSS from the age of 18 to 28. At 28 Ian started to work at home, with Jenny, doing horses full time. At 30 Ian rode in his first Badminton on Sir Wattie, owned by Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott and Mrs Susan Luczyc-Wyhowska, and Oxford Blue, owned by Miss Liz Davidson. Both horses were only 8 years old at the time. They finished 6th and 3rd respectively and Ian was subsequently short listed for the 1984 Olympic Team.

At this point, most fortunately, Ian’s first sponsor stepped in. The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, with David Stevenson at the helm, was the lifeblood of Ian’s career for over 8 years and it cannot be expressed in words how much David’s support – financial and otherwise – was and is appreciated.

At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles Ian rode Oxford Blue, with Sir Wattie as his travelling reserve. Ian’s first championship medal came from these games in the form of team Silver. The LA Olympics was the real start of Ian’s eventing career and the beginning of a longstanding inclusion on the British event team, which culminated in a collection of medals and wins, including:

4 Olympic Silvers
1 team gold, 1 team silver and 1 individual silver at World Championships
1 individual Gold, 1 individual silver and 1 individual bronze – plus 6 team golds – at European Championships.
Team gold and individual bronze in Poland at the 1986 alternative World Champs.
Three Badminton wins and the (as yet) unequalled record of being the only rider to ever come 1st and 2nd in the same year in 1988.
An abundance of three day event wins – too numerous to recall but with Bramham being a particular favourite and lucky place!

All in all Ian has ridden 18 horses to 4 star level, supported throughout his career by some truly wonderful owners and sponsors. Ian retired from teams in 2000 and then (allegedly!) retired fully in 2007. Thereafter he went on to ride at three star level again with ‘Looks Similar’, a horse that was first competed at Pre-Novice level by his late sister-in-law, Catriona Arres, and then up to two star level by his daughter, Stephanie. He still finds it impossible to give up totally so you will see him out and about on the odd young horse at the more local events!

Ian’s eventing career diversified latterly. From 2001 to 2012 he was a selector of the British team and in 2004 he trained the Brazilian team for the Athens Olympics.

In 2005 Ian started cross country course designing at Chatsworth, encouraged by Mike Etherington Smith and The Duchess of Devonshire. This was the start of his new career in eventing and he now designs throughout Britain, Ireland and the USA. In 2015 he will design his first Championship track for the European Championships at, fittingly, Blair Castle in Scotland.

Ian has been honoured with a number of awards over the course of his career, including:

The Honorary Fellowship of the British Horse Society
The MBE from the Queen in 1989 and the OBE in 2000
Honorary Yeoman of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers
Fellowship of the Scottish Borders College in 2007
Induction into the Halls of Fame of Sporting Scotland, Sporting Scottish Borders, the British Horse Society and the Event Riders’ Association

In addition to his eventing efforts, Ian has had four books published about his life and career – his wife, Jenny, wrote the first one, entitled The Flying Scot! He also rode in Point-to-Points for 12 years but it all ended when he rode in the Foxhunters Chase at Cheltenham in 1993 and ended up in hospital – he will freely admit that race riding was not his forte but he then trained horses and had much more success, including Birkwood winning the Buccleuch Cup at Kelso races. For some years now he has also been a Steward for the British Horseracing Authority, stewarding about 35 days a year at Kelso, Hamilton, Perth, Musselburgh, Carlisle and Aintree. As of 1st January 2014 Ian will join the Stewarding Committee for the North and Scotland.

Ian and Jenny’s latest venture is the new Ian Stark Equestrian Centre at their home, Greenhill Farm, near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. This is an exciting project that Ian and Jenny have dreamed of for years, and which is now becoming a reality!