Mark Douglas
Mark will ride anything with four legs! Having showjumped as a teenager he decided his future career lay in the racing industry. Working his way up through several well respected yards he spent three years as Assistant Trainer to Alan King, consistantly in the top ten National Hunt trainers. During his time at Barbury Castle Mark saw the yard expand from fifty three boxes to well over one hundred and twenty. Mark has also ridden Hunter Chasers on the racecourse as well as both training and riding in point to points.
At 6'3" in height it is probably just as well that Mark has turned his attentions away from racing to polo, the only sport which could compete with the "buzz" of race riding.
Mark has broken literally hundreds of horses during his career and continues to do this professionally alongside running the stud and bringing on our own horses. A traditionalist, Mark believes in the time honoured methods of horse breaking. He draws on his wide range of experience in different disciplines, hopefully mixing the best of what he has seen and learnt over the years to best suit the needs of the individual horse and those of its owner. When it comes to breaking Mark lives by the words an old horseman once told him as a boy...
"Doing things by the book is all well and good... but I've never yet met a horse who can read!"
***Mark passed away in January 2016, after a short illness***
At 6'3" in height it is probably just as well that Mark has turned his attentions away from racing to polo, the only sport which could compete with the "buzz" of race riding.
Mark has broken literally hundreds of horses during his career and continues to do this professionally alongside running the stud and bringing on our own horses. A traditionalist, Mark believes in the time honoured methods of horse breaking. He draws on his wide range of experience in different disciplines, hopefully mixing the best of what he has seen and learnt over the years to best suit the needs of the individual horse and those of its owner. When it comes to breaking Mark lives by the words an old horseman once told him as a boy...
"Doing things by the book is all well and good... but I've never yet met a horse who can read!"
***Mark passed away in January 2016, after a short illness***
Laura Baird
Laura has been involved with horses all of her life. Her career path was probably set when she decided to study Equine Science at Writtle College in Essex. She gained her honours degree young, graduating just after her 20th birthday. Her thesis on coat colour genetics in the appaloosa horse was published in books and scientific journals.
The academic knowledge gained at University has been supplemented over the years with a wealth of hands-on experience. Laura spent three years in Australia managing both warmblood and thoroughbred studs, regularly producing horses that topped both performance and the premier bloodstock sales.
Since returning to the UK she worked on several yards before leaving the equine industry for a time to become an area manager for Ladbrokes Bookmakers, responsible for twelve shops. The pull of horses proved too strong, however, and for the last few years she and Mark have worked together to establish the business.
The "brains" to Marks "brawn" they make a great team!
The academic knowledge gained at University has been supplemented over the years with a wealth of hands-on experience. Laura spent three years in Australia managing both warmblood and thoroughbred studs, regularly producing horses that topped both performance and the premier bloodstock sales.
Since returning to the UK she worked on several yards before leaving the equine industry for a time to become an area manager for Ladbrokes Bookmakers, responsible for twelve shops. The pull of horses proved too strong, however, and for the last few years she and Mark have worked together to establish the business.
The "brains" to Marks "brawn" they make a great team!
Please check out our gallery "Scenes from a Scottish Stud" to see more photos of us at home on the stud.