Janine Davies qualified as a veterinary surgeon at Zaragoza University and as an equestrian competition coach at the Federacion Hipica Aragonesa, in Zaragoza, Spain. She competed successfully at Advanced Medium Dressage and Show Jumping. While in Spain, she also lectured on Animal Behaviour at Zaragoza University.
She worked as an equine veterinarian in England for four years; she also served as an independent veterinarian for the RSPCA at the ancient Appleby Horse Fair. Equine welfare and wellbeing has always been at the heart of her equestrian practice.
In 2000 Janine moved to the province of Malaga, Spain. where she initiated and ran her own equine mobile veterinary practice. At first, the work primarily involved dressage and showjumping horses in the coastal areas, however, veterinary expertise hardly ever reached the more rural remote areas of the province and the practice gradually made its way inland, servicing working equids: horses, donkeys and mules as well as pleasure horses and trekking/pack horses.
From Spain Janine moved to Vancouver Island, Canada, where she resided for the past 10 years. After a period of career transition she started a new business in behavioural consultation and coaching practice. Her journey into the world of equitation science began in 2010 and in May 2014 Janine achieved an Associate Diploma in Equitation Science and is now the first ES Specialist North America.
Through lectures and workshops, she raised awareness of how the application of learning theory and equitation science principles in horse training ultimately lead to improved equine welfare both at home and in competition. She developed a mentorship program for Equine Canada instructor candidates and competed successfully with her Quarter horse, Beaudacious, at advanced medium dressage and world championship level western dressage.
“The discovery of Equitation Science and obtaining an Associate Diploma at the AEBC has made a huge impact on both my personal journey and that of my clients. Not only does Equitation Science demystify training but it offers a clear, predictable and controllable approach for both horse and rider. Most importantly for me it provides tools that can be successfully taught to others.”
August 8th 2015, at the International Society for Equitation Science Conference, during a live demonstration, Janine showed how to apply learning theory to the training of an advanced dressage horse and the importance of benchmarking self-carriage of the horse every step of the way.
Janine has now returned to the UK where she is enrolled in a MRes in Equestrian Performance at Hartpury College. Her long term goal is to continue to create awareness of new techniques and practices that enhance all aspects of equine welfare, brought to light by evidence based science that meets the species specific needs of horses.