Nicki Bates
Nicki started riding at the age of 6years, though her passion for horses started from very early on. Her parents bought her first pony at the age of 9, but it was her second pony “Huckleberry” that was the real driving force behind a career in showjumping. Nicki progressed through the pony club competing in showing, eventing, dressage etc until affiliating at the age of 14 years. That first winter season saw Nicki qualify Huckleberry for the “Toggi Winter Novice Championships” held at Stoneleigh. Her first Winter Nationals gave Nicki a taste of the premier shows and was a deciding factor in channelling her efforts into showjumping alone. Once out of Juniors, Nicki’s first steps into Young Riders were with her Grade A “Milton Phoenix”, aboard Phoenix she competed on the young rider circuit, finishing in the top 6 two years running in the South of England Young Riders Championship, and picked up her first Amateur Team Gold. It was during these years she benefited from training with Rob Hoekstra. Looking to build on her string of horses for competition Nicki started to travel abroad to purchase young Dutch and German horses to produce. Travelling the circuit competing novice and advanced horses, Nicki progressed on to National and County competitions. It was during this time, with a progression of results and Qualifying for The Royal International Horse Show, that Nicki gained support from Baileys Horse Feeds. A relationship that still stands strong today. More recently Nicki was selected onto British Showjumping's 'Step up to Gold' programme 2016-2017, and during this time moved up to competing at International level. With plenty more ambitions to fulfil, and the love of producing and breeding sport horses, Nicki continues to travel abroad purchasing quality horses for herself and clients, and competes on a regular basis Nationally & Internationally. With her love of teaching, Nicki also spends much of her time training both horse and rider, influencing everybody with her motivation and dedication to the sport.
