The Team | Oliver Townend

A bit about the ODT team

	Katherine Mellor Kath, 24, joined Oliver in 2007 when he was still in Leicestershire. She is originally from Huddersfield, like Oliver, and has lived and worked at her parents’ equestrian centre, Woodnook Arena, from a young age. Kath has competed up to CCI*/Intermediate level herself but now concentrates fully on being head groom to Oliver, which involves running the yard and team at home when she is not travelling to events all over the country and world each week.
	Steven Smith Steven, 21, joined the team as a rider in 2009 from Kenneth Clawson’s yard. Originally from Scotland, Steven spends most of his day in the arena as when he is not riding he is in charge of maintaining the surfaces. He will be campaigning ODT Ballinclover in the 2010 season.
	Sophie Minto Sophie, 21, and has come from Ian Woodhead’s where she previously groomed for Holly Woodhead during her time in ponies. Sophie is experienced in all aspects of horse management and will take charge of the yard when Katherine is away at competions with Oliver.
	Ludmilla Pennefather Milla, 21, is currently with us on an 8 month work placement from Ireland where she is in her 4th year of an Equine course. She will groom and also exercise horses along with the rest of the team. She has also previously worked at Edward Nicholson’s (Flint Curtis’ owner).
	Dai Gittins Dai has been with us since August 2010. He lives the other side of Oswestry (about half an hour away) and is employed as a Yard/Handyman. He previously worked in farming, but mucks out morning and afternoon and in between helps with the maintenance side of things ie. fencing and tractor work etc.
	Alan and Eve Townend Alan and Eve (Oliver’s parents) provide the vital back bone of proceedings. Alan works a lot with the younger horses and takes charge of keeping the top horses fit when Oliver is away competing. He also manages all the feeding on the yard and does any maintenance work around the farm. Eve takes charge of the finances and looks after the team at home. She is a seriously good cook, as those of you who have been to the Open Days will know!
	Jim Blurton Jim and his team do a fantastic job of shoeing all of the horses on the yard and are always on hand to replace lost shoes on a Monday morning. They work with the vets to keep all the horses in top shape.
	Neal Ashton Neal is based at Oakham vets in Leicestershire and is a good friend of Oliver’s. He oversees the horses treatment and knows all of their requirements very well.
	Mark Andrews Mark is a partner in Wrexham Veterinary Care and is the local vet for the yard. He is on call to help with any day to day problems and he liaises with Neal to ensure the horses get the best treatment available.