About

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”

Hi, I’m Daisy Smith,

the founder of How Very Horsey, and I come from a long line of equestrians. My grandfather was a racehorse trainer, my father a National Hunt jockey and my aunt is Kelly Marks, the founder of Intelligent Horsemanship. My mother tried her best to channel my interests towards cooking, dancing, music, rowing….. lessons, but once I finally started riding at the age of twelve, I never looked back! Just six months after my first lesson, I qualified for the Search for a Star final at the Horse of the Year show.

Since then, I have competed at both the Horse of the Year Show and the Royal International Horse Show many times and won multiple titles at Royal Windsor, Kent County and Cheshire County. I’ve also represented England in WHP and am the only person to win rider of the year twice at the BSPS championships. My mother has never missed a show, so I think I convinced her it was a good idea in the end!

All my horses have been tricky, and some of them have been mediocre. I believe that every horse has potential if their owner knows how to find it. I love the process of working out what makes a horse tick. I’m lucky to have trained under some true equestrian legends including Marjorie and Richard Ramsay, Monty Roberts, Louise Bell, Pat Burgess, Chris Bartle, Betty Skelton, Tom McEwen, Ros Canter, Caroline Moore….and continue to grab every opportunity to learn more.

After a major confidence breakdown, I had to rebuild my approach to riding from the ground up. I tried everything from psychotherapy to CBT to EFT, and eventually got my mojo back. That journey inspired me to want to help others by becoming a mindset and confidence coach. I know how lonely the journey can be and wanted to change that.

I founded How Very Horsey in 2015, initially writing about everything and anything horsey and soon evolved into coaching. I’ve enjoyed coaching people who have lost their confidence, are struggling with a new challenge or want to reach their horse’s full potential. I offer 1:2:1 and group coaching and have been featured as an industry expert in multiple industry magazines, including Horse and Rider, Horse and Hound, The Intelligent Horsemanship Magazine and Showing World. My blog has won two awards in the Equine Blog Awards 2018 and 2019 and I’ve featured on podcasts, as a guest blogger and as a speaker at events.

Ready for your next level?

If you’re ready to find your confidence or want to improve your competition performance, learn more about how we can work together on the link below. 

“I am in shock! There was a jump in the arena today and I just found myself giving it a go. I haven’t even had the confidence to canter for over 6 months and today I cantered over a jump with a smile on my face. You are amazing and I am so grateful for your coaching.”

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