Ann Duffield - Racehorse Trainer

Ann's motto "where horses come first" is very apt, as any visitor to Sun Hill will tell you and the secret to good training, as far as Ann Duffield is concerned, is to achieve the best possible results from each horse in the yard according to the individual horse's ability, either on the flat or over jumps, while at the same time ensuring the owner gets value for money and hopefully, lots of fun, enjoyment and success along the way.

Ann, after winning the spinal injuries Charity race at Doncaster on Constable Burton

Ann is very much a "hands on" trainer, the first in the yard each morning and the last to leave in the evening, she puts great emphasis on getting to know every horse individually, because that is, she says what they are, "individuals". While race horses are certainly creatures of habit, they do all differ enormously in many ways from how they like, and need to be trained, who they want as a neighbour in the next box, down to their feeding likes and dislikes, they are all quite different and getting to know them, doing the right things in order to coax the best performances from them is one of the most interesting parts of the job - says Ann.

For Ann, the love affair with ponies and horses began from a very early age, and a life without them was inconceivable. However being thrown in at the deep end when taking over her mother's business in Liverpool immediately after leaving school meant horses were, for a couple of years, put firmly on the back boiler. "The business was haemorrhaging money and, if I were to make a success of it there could be no room for outside interests especially ones which happen to be all consuming. I needed to be very focused, but it did me a lot of good in the long term and taught me a great deal".

In her younger days it was Shetland ponies like Bambi who she lived for, before later on learning the ropes with a variety of different horses which she schooled, showed and competed on, prior to selling them on. But when push came to shove, it was necessary to let go for a while and concentrate on building something viable for the future so Ann gave up her horses and sent the incredible Dressage horse Offir to an old school friend. Her early riding days had began in Spain as a child where a family friend taught her how to ride highly trained dressage horses. Offir had been a gift shipped over to the UK from Spain when Ann was fourteen years old, he was a classically trained horse capable of performing 'airs above the ground'. According to Ann he was a brilliant teacher because he was highly intelligent and you had to really understand and be able to communicate with him in order to ride him properly.

Dressage of course is a million miles away from horse racing, but the ability to communicate with the horses and understand what they need is just as important.

Ann and Matilda out hunting with the Bedale Hunt

Aside from husband George and son AJ, Sun Hill is very clearly Ann's priority and turning this once run down, dilapidated farm into a first class training establishment has obviously taken an enormous amount of time, energy and expense. The thought and planning has been meticulous and the results are exceptional, with a first class team of experienced staff, along with arguably the most experienced senior work rider in George, Sun Hill has everything to offer both horse and owner.