Meet The Team - Our Staff and Volunteer Coaches
Meet the RDA (Woodbridge & District Group) Staff
Anne Hardwick
Centre Manager
Anne Hardwick joined in March 2025 as our Centre Manager. An experienced professional in the equine industry, Anne brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge. She has successfully built and managed teams, including volunteers and students, managed commercial yards and her own successful equine business. She is also chair of British Equestrian Vaulting (the national governing body for equestrian vaulting in the UK).
Stacey Reed
Head Groom
Stacey has a BA (Hons) Degree Special Educational Needs & Disability studies, which she did to help better understand her son who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) & ADHD. She has been riding since she was 7 years old and after working in SEN roles in schools, in 2020 Stacey came back to working with horses to improve work-life-balance. Her personal values are aligned with those of the RDA, so she views her role working here as an ideal job. With BHS Stage 1 successfully completed she is honing her riding skills via sharing Lulu. Stacey is often to be seen driving Rosie our 1960s Massey Ferguson tractor.
Victoria Gallantree
Head Coach
Victoria has 40 years’ equestrian experience back by formal qualifications, a BHS Instructor and a UKCC Level 4 coach, she began riding in the Isle of Man as a child and participated in Pony Club championship events, becoming a professional rider while a teenager. She was the proprietor of an equestrian centre in Warwickshire for over 20 years before moving to Suffolk and joining RDA. She loves working with horses and people and this role enables her to do both. Her values are attuned with those of the RDA as she has spent her working life supporting others to achieve and succeed.
Lizzie Bennett
Coach
Lizzie’s first experiences with RDA were as a participant in Cambridge. She later became a vaulting coach and then the RDA National Lead for vaulting. Being a part of RDA has brought many benefits to her physical and mental health, and has even given her the chance to compete internationally and to build a career. Having gained so much from it herself, she is always keen to spread the RDA magic! When not at RDA, Lizzie loves playing music (which she studied at university), is learning horseback archery, and spends any remaining time collecting weeds for her tortoise, Yoda.
Meet the RDA (Woodbridge & District Group) volunteer coaches
Meg Day
Riding Coach
Meg has been around horses since she was 2 years old and later worked with horses. She joined the RDA team in 2021. Meg is a qualified RDA riding coach and can usually be found at Clopton 3 days a week, when she is not coaching she spends time pampering Bea.
Liss Duffield
Driving Coach
Liss has had a lifelong passion for caring for animals and has been involved with horses since the age of 7, caring for and riding them throughout her childhood and into her late teens.
After a short break from the equestrian world, she joined the RDA in 2021 as a riding and carriage driving volunteer. In 2025 she joined the staff team as a Groom and in 2026 qualified as a volunteer Driving Coach.
When she’s not working on the yard or carriage driving, she enjoys spending time with her best friend, Pugwash.
Sharon Evans
Riding Coach
Often seen with two pairs of glasses on her head, Sharon loves being part of the riding coaching team. “It's absolutely fabulous seeing how horses help people relax, build their self-confidence, learn something new, and even reduce some aches, pains and stiffness”, she says. By the way, Sharon loves making things for riding sessions. Look out for the washing machine!
Helen Hall
Riding Coach
Helen has been lucky enough to have had her own horses for most of her adult life and, after moving to Suffolk in 2022, had long had a yearning to get involved with RDA. She began volunteering in 2023 and recently qualified as a riding coach. Helen is an opera singer by profession and has been a singing teacher in various schools for 20 years. She loves weaving music into her sessions and, since qualifying, can be found at the centre on Mondays teaching the Changing Lives Through Horses programme. She is, however, quick to point out that the horses are the true stars of the show — patient, kind, and absolute saints!
Ty Hearne
Carriage Driving Coach
Ty started riding with an RDA group at 3 years old due to Cerebral Palsy. She joined our group as a volunteer in 2017 as she wanted to give back something of what she had been given as a child. She qualified as a driving coach in 2020 and is now in training to become a riding coach as well. She is very passionate about riding and driving, and loves spending time at Clopton riding, driving or just pampering Mr Tom.
Georgia Howell
Riding Coach
Georgia has loved horses since she first got in the saddle at two years old. She was a Pony Club kid and rode for her school team as well as competing independently, and these days is focusing on dressage. Georgia says when she started volunteering with RDA in 2021 “it just felt right”. She qualified as a coach in June 2022. You'll find her coaching a session every Wednesday morning, and she says “it’s honestly one of my favourite parts of the week”.
Mel Linnett
Riding Coach
Mel started volunteering with us in 2023 after her children had flown the nest. She says that joining the RDA team has given her many opportunities and much enjoyment. Having qualified as a riding coach training she is currently training to become a driving coach too! She has many years experience working as a nursery nurse and also spent time as a youth worker. Mel can be found at the RDA on Fridays and Saturdays.
Rachel Morphey
Riding Coach
Rachel has been teaching for over 30 years and is an APC level 3 coach. As well coaching our riders, Rachel is a coach within the British Horse Society Changing Lives through Horses programme. She has been riding since the age of 5 and regularly competes at dressage with her home produced horse and best friend Jago and has represented Suffolk on many occasions in the British Dressage Inter County challenge and also competed in regional competitions and the Petplan festivals. Rachel says “I love being a coach and the smiles on my clients faces are the best.”
Caitlin Morrow
Carriage Driving Coach
Caitlin has been involved with horses since she was six and has been volunteering with us for over 10 years now, assisting with the riding sessions on Saturdays. In September 2022 she qualified as an RDA driving coach and is now the coach for Saturday afternoon driving sessions for under 18s.
How to find us
Registered in England 06421182
Registered Charity 1127627