Team

Clare is married to Kim. As well as looking after their son Archie, she rides out every day and plays an important part in making Thorndale Farm the special place it is.

Mat started working at Thorndale Farm in 2008 when he came as Head Lad/Assistant and in 2015 became Kim's full time Assistant.

Mat started out in racing working for Nigel Twiston-Davies (TFFFN) and after six years having moved up the ranks, Mat spent a further six years as Head Lad to Tom George. He then joined Carl Llewellyn for a season as his number 2 but was lured back to the Cotswolds.

Away from racing Mat is an avid Nottingham Forest supporter and if the racing is not on you can guarantee he'll be watching his team!

Archie when he is not at a school is in the yard on a daily basis and spends most of his time either riding out or helping (annoying) Mat.

He loves being in the yard and around the horses and is looking to make a career out of racing. ps his father hopes not.

Leigh is Travelling Head girl and turns out the horses immaculately which is shown by the huge number of Best Turned Out prizes she wins regularly. Previously worked for David Redvers at Tweenhills Stud and worked for Phil York in Surrey who trained point to pointers before starting work for us.

She has a few horses of her own including Charles who was trained by Kim and she looked after whilst in training.

Zack has joined us from Richard Philips where he worked for six years having completed a course at the British Racing School.  Zack started in racing through a keen interest in his grandfather's career as an amateur jockey and rode himself as an amateur a couple of season's ago.

Zack when not working enjoys competing in clay pigeon competition shooting and is soon to complete his NVQ3 in Racehorse Care and Management.

George joined us from Rod Millmans but has worked in racing for six years for the likes of John Best. He has plenty of racing experience and has settled into life here at Thorndale well.

George is an avid Arsenal fan and will be seen supporting them when he has time away from Thorndale.

Liam is better known as ‘Higgs’ and comes from Ireland. He originally worked there for the famous PP Hogan and rode in point to points for him. Higgs started working for Kim in 1980 when he first started training and was based in East Ilsley.

Bar an 18 month spell with Jimmy Neville in Wales, he has been with Kim ever since. As well as riding out, he breaks in all the young horses and is in charge of looking after the wonderful gallop.

Higgs was shortlisted for the Stable and Stud Staff Awards 2007, where he was runner-up in the Special Merit/Hero category. He greatly deserves this recognition (Photo courtesy of Arnhel de Serra)

Stevie has joined us from spending six months at Derek Shaws. Prior to Derek Shaws she completed the British Racing School course and has come to Thorndale to further her career in racing.

Stevie spent two years prior to going to the Racing School at Halesowen College where she complete a course in Animal Care and Management.

Sinead was brought up in Co. Kerry, Ireland with horses. During her school holidays she rode out for local trainers, Donal O'Shea, Tommy Cooper and Jim Culloty.

When she finished school she moved to England and worked for Sir Mark Tompkins in Newmarket before working for Donald McCain.

Mikey has joined the team here at Thorndale Farm having previously been conditional jockey to Alexandra Dunn. 

Mikey originally from Co. Waterford started out working for Willie Mullins. He rode 12 winners point to pointing as an amateur jockey and since turning conditional has ridden 16 winners.

Rita is from Spain and originally worked for us in 2013 for a couple of seasons.  Having gained further experience in both National Hunt and Flat yards she has come back to work here at Thorndale.

Liam is from Shrewsbury and has joined us from the British Racing School.  Liam was lucky enough to have had some success pony racing and started out riding his grandfather's racehorses.

He would like to have a couple of seasons as an amateur jockey and then possibly take out his conditional license when he's got more experience.  In his spare time he enjoys shooting and fly fishing.

Aanisah has ridden from a very early age and has recently completed a nine week course at the British Racing School. This is Aanisah's first job in racing but having been brought up in Cheltenham, the home of National Hunt Racing, she found a love for racehorses and racing. She especially enjoys watching novices and seeing how they progress.

Aanisah's hobbies are Art and Photography along with supporting the Tipperary Hurling team.

Sarah was brought up in Norway and has come over to work for us here at Thorndale Farm. She has ridden from an early age but has recently completed a two year college course in horse care and riding.  She now wants to further her experience and have a career in the racing industry. 

This is her first job in racing but has always wanted to work with racehorses since she started riding.

Sarah's hobbies are travelling and experiencing different cultures as well as keeping fit and riding.

Ben joined us from Mick Easterby's having spent about 14 months with them.  Ben got into racing through watching the racing on TV in his younger days even though he's the only one in his family involved in racing.

Ben would like to progress with his Level 2&3 and is an aspiring jockey.  He loves sport and support Manchester City football club.

Sean is from Banbury and had a keen interest in racing from a very young age. He went to the Northern Racing College with no experience of riding a thoroughbred.

He is hoping to complete his Level 2 & 3 and persue his ambition of becoming a travelling head lad.