About Heather Moffett

Heather Moffett began riding as a young child in the UK, but by her early teens was questioning the methods being used to teach. By the age of sixteen, she had developed a different method of teaching riding, especially how to synchronise exactly with the movement of the horse. This enabled her to teach beginners with extraordinary speed and, also, to rectify long established faults in experienced riders. She has pioneered the teaching of riding with the Equisimulators, machines which simulate the movement of the horse, enabling very precise, hands on teaching, in total safety.

Heather has trained for many years with classical teachers, initially, Belgian Capt Desi Lorent, a student of the great Portuguese Master, Nuno Oliveira, with German trained Dr Margaret Cox and for the last eight years, with Master Oliveira’s cousin, Senor Luis Valenca Rodrigues in Portugal. Heather follows the French school of classical equitation, more often thought of these days as ‘Baroque Equitation’ and which focuses on dressage as an art form, rather than as a competition sport. Baroque equitation is now taking off in a big way in Germany and the United States. However, Heather has been working in this way for twenty five years!!

The Equisimulator was developed by a friend of Heather Moffett’s, Jonathan Brought-Heyes, at her request. Heather had been trying to get such a machine made, for many years, believing that it would revolutionise the teaching of riding, especially when combined with her unique methods.

Heather has been an invited guest lecturer at the Equitana, Kentucky, USA, "Your Horse Live!" in the UK, The Horse Event in Holland, and a two day seminar at Sydney Olympic Equestrian Centre, Australia, in March 2006 and the only British trainer to be invited to demonstrate at the Equitana 2007, Essen, Germany.

She has been a consultant trainer to the Metropolitan Mounted Police in the UK, the guest lecture/demonstrator at the Annual Conference of Mounted Police Instructors and has also lectured at our premier Veterinary School at Cambridge University, at the Vet schools invitation.

Heather has written series for most of the UK national equestrian journals and has featured in a number of articles in the Dutch magazines ‘Bit’ and Amazone, the German Cavallo magazine and also in Australian journals.

Her book ‘Enlightened Equitation’ is a bestseller, now in its sixth edition in six years, published also in Dutch and German.

Heather rides and trains Iberian horses, for pleasure, together with her colleague and assistant, Becky Holden, who is one of the foremost trainers of in hand and long reining work in the UK. They also employ clicker training, believing in the humane training and treatment of the horse, through positive reinforcement.

Heather is also well known as a designer of saddles and accessories which improve the comfort of horse and rider having an exclusive range under her trademark ‘Enlightened Equitation’.