Jody Hartstone started her riding career as a regular Pony Club rider – going right through the Pony Club system and gaining her A and H Certificates. She was lucky enough to ride for the NZPCA in Japan in 1995 which gave her the confidence to pursue riding as a career.
Through the stallion Belmont Golden Boy she began her dressage career and also became involved in breeding Warmblood horses – a career move that now sees her sitting as the President of the NZ Warmblood Assn. Jody freelanced as a 3-Day Event groom on the international circuit for many years and got to work at the the European and World Championships.
Then her dressage career began in earnest with the purchase of Landioso – a Grand Prix stallion from Germany. Together they qualified for the World Equestrian Games. But more importantly Landioso set her on a road that would lead to Dr Andrew McLean. This man’s teaching changed Jody’s world and made her the horse trainer she is today. Jody began studying Equitation Science and gained her Diploma and now has a successful coaching career based on these methods. Jody currently breeds both Warmbloods and Lusitano horses and rides the Lusitano Stallion Ali Baba at Grand Prix level.