Louise Curran
Louise met David in 2013 when she had her first dressage lesson with him. She realised that she had found a coach who would push her out of her comfort zone and, at the same time, provide the ongoing support and encouragement that would make it possible for her to achieve her goal of riding at the top levels of dressage. As Louise says, “David has far more faith in my ability than I do. He pushes me to be the best rider I can be and keeps me accountable – always! He’s the reason Gandalf and I are now competitive at Grand Prix – his direction and support (and occasional tough love!) has helped us achieve far more than I ever thought possible.”
Louise fits training and competing her two horses around her business commitments. Her company specialises in developing and implementing proactive customer management strategies for organisations across a broad range of industries; in particular, the prestige automotive market. In this role she works with senior management to determine strategy and provides training, coaching and mentoring at all levels of an organisation to assist team members to proactively engineer positive customer experiences.
Louise and David realised that there is a synergy between Louise’s business experience and the direction in which David is developing his business and they have harnessed this synergy through Louise’s involvement as a business consultant and mentor to the David Shoobridge Pty Ltd team.
Deborah Hodgson
Deb met David when she was working at Boneo Park and David was travelling regularly from Sydney to conduct clinics. At that time, Deb was having some issues with a young horse and had lost her confidence in her own ability. Deb (or possibly her supportive and concerned husband) approached David at a social event to ask for his help. Deb and David became good friends and Deb’s work with her horse has progressed to the point where they are now ready for their first FEI start.
In 2016, Deb accepted the challenge of organising David’s clinics which was a process she likened to “trying to herd fish”. As a result, she introduced the online booking system which makes it so much easier to book and manage lessons today.
Deb has a strong background in finance. She has acted as CFO in organisations in both the private and public sectors and as the Managing Partner of a consulting firm specialising in supporting the Victorian Government. This business acumen has been of huge benefit to David in his business as Deb organises accounts, contracts and advises on general commercial matters. She has also taken on the task of updating the website and co-ordinating a social media presence. Deb’s experience and expertise mean that she is up for the challenge of whipping David’s business into shape although, as Deb says, “he gets his own back when I’m on the horse; as we all know, he’s prone to taking over the whip in a lesson”.
Bryony Giusti
Bryony and David had briefly crossed paths over the years and met again recently when David advertised a grooming position at precisely the time Bryony was looking to get back into working in the equestrian industry. Whilst the groom’s position was filled, David and Bryony quickly worked out that with Bryony’s experience in both the Events and the Equine industry she would be able to help David in a bigger way, and so Bryony joined the administration team to assist in the areas of social media, communications and brand awareness.
Bryony’s background is predominantly in Event Management, having worked full time for the past 6 years with a company that specialises in non-for-profit mass participation and fundraising events. Prior to this she was the Event Director for Dressage & Jumping with the Stars, Dressage Festival and Young Rider Dressage Festival as well as being heavily involved with the Australian DanceSport Championships from 2006 – 2018.
Bryony is excited to be part of the amazing David Shoobridge Pty Ltd team, and is very much looking forward to what the future has in store.
