Amy - Petplan Equine Ambassador

Amy Tilston is from Lancashire and competes in British Dressage. She has a love and passion for training Friesian horses. Amy currently has 3 horses; Jasper, new acquisition Betty and Rocco who is a very cheeky miniature, and Jasper’s best buddie! Amy’s horses are her world and she takes responsible horse ownership to a whole new level. Amy works non-stop to ensure that her horses receive the best of everything and want for nothing.

Jasper is a 10 year old, 16.1hh sport Friesian with spectacular movement and a happy outlook on life. Amy is very excited about Jasper as he is showing real talent for dressage. He has competed successfully in the Petplan Equine Area Festivals from Novice to Medium level. The pair took two wins at Aintree International Equestrian Centre in December 2020 to qualify once again for the Medium Petplan Equine Area Festivals. Jasper loves his pole work and hacks which helps to keep his mentality keen for training. Jaspers favourite thing of all is digging holes in the mud and getting as dirty as possible along with his best mate Rocco.

Rocco is a jovial American miniature, purchased as a companion for Jasper who originally was not very impressed with the little ball of naughtiness that kept biting his knees. However, Jasper soon mellowed to his lovable antics and they are now inseparable.

Betty is Amy’s new 4 year old, purchased at the end of 2020. Betty has been a star since arriving from Holland after only being ridden for a few weeks and is proving to be very sensible. She is loving and affectionate, and settled quickly into the yard routine. Amy has a clear love of developing young horses (particularly Friesians) and loves to give them the best start in life. She’ll definitely be one to watch!

2020 was an especially difficult year for Amy who had to say goodbye to the stunning Tico, her 18.2hh homebred British Warmblood. He was Amy’s top horse, whom she trained to Advanced level, and qualified for the Petplan Equine Area Festival Championships at every level from Novice to Advanced Medium, winning numerous sashes along the way. He overcame a myriad of problems including kissing spine, slipping patella and pharyngeal paralysis and was heavily supported by Petplan Equine. Sadly, in 2018 Tico sustained a tendon injury and was not able to return to ridden work. He sadly had an ever increasing list of problems that ultimately affected his quality of life as a retired horse and was put to sleep in August 2020. “There will never be another horse that will give me all his heart like Tico did. He has very much left a hole in our lives. I don’t think there could be a horse that has tested their insurance to extreme like Tico did but thank goodness we had it in place and what a success story he was – the ultimate Petplan horse”.

Plans for 2021

• Train Jasper for the Petplan Equine Area Festival season ahead
• Qualify Jasper for the Petplan Equine Area Festival Championships
• Give Betty the most varied and positive start to her education
• Keep training enjoyable and varied, to be the best we can be!
• Most importantly, have FUN!

Plans for 2020

• Train Jasper for the Petplan Equine Area Festival season ahead
• Qualify Jasper for the Petplan Equine Area Festival Championships again
• Keep training to be the best we can be!
• Most importantly, have fun and enjoy keeping the training varied for the horses

Plans for 2019

• Ride the Winter Regional 2019 Elementary with Jasper and attempt to qualify for the Winter National Championships (February at Myerscough).
• Train Jasper for the Petplan Equine Area Festival Winter Championships (April at Hartpury).
• Attempt to get the flying changes with Jasper!
• Begin to bring Tico back into work slowly, then competing and hopefully qualify for the Petplan Equine Area Festivals at Medium and Advanced Medium.
• Start to ride Yinthe (rising 4) away from home and enter some Prelim dressage tests.
• Most importantly, have fun and enjoy keeping the training varied for the horses!

The Area Festivals with Amy

Petplan Equine Ambassador Amy Tilston has faced multiple set back over the past few years however this has not deterred her and she is determined to keep training and competing in British Dressage. A goal for Amy this year is to qualify Jasper for the Area Festival Championships, which she successfully managed last year after he won both his qualifying rounds, adding two more sashes to their extensive collection! Amy told us ‘we were absolutely thrilled to have qualified!’ She continued with, ‘as a Petplan Equine Ambassador, it means the world to get through to these Finals and qualify for the Championships’.

To learn more about the Petplan Equine Area Festival series; or for more on how to register, compete and qualify, take a look at our Area Festivals page.

Area Festivals