UK Friesian Horse Studbook

I am Registrar and director for UKFHS as well as running Chippenham Stud in Cambridgeshire. Although I am relatively new to Friesian ownership, me and my family have had working and pleasure horses for generations. I have always admired and loved Friesian horses but didn’t have the opportunity or space to own one in addition to our Welsh broodmares and family horses. I originally bred just Welsh horses but missed the magic that only Friesian horses can bring. Their majesty, amazing natures and incredible movement is so magnetic that I couldn’t give up my dream. When we moved to our current stud the opportunity was finally there. I reached out and took some great advice from both here in the UK, and in the Netherlands, and started my Friesian journey with a few quality mares, two of which have since made Kroon and one has made Model. I am passionate about the future of breeding quality Friesians in the UK. I enjoy riding but for me the most precious part is the trust of the mares and the births of the foals.

Together with my wife Gaynor, I am a partner in Fraithwen Friesians, in the hills of Mid Wales. We have been breeding KFPS registered Friesians for over 12 years now, and visit Holland many times a year to train ourselves, and move horses for breeding and training. We are very privileged to own several wonderful brood mares, and have bred numerous ster graded offspring to date with more youngstock coming through to be graded, and also had a UK supreme champion and two reserves, plus youngstock champions and other class champions. I drive our horses regularly and Gaynor rides, so many of our horses do both disciplines. Our horses are our hobby and passion and my work now is in renewables and building. As well as the breeding, we love recreational driving and riding, and love taking friends and visitors out to enjoy the horses with us. Pre covid we did many weddings with a pair of stallions and hope to get back into this soon, time permitting. I have always been passionate about learning and helping other people.

My name is Diana Lynd, I live in the townland of Lismoyle near the village of Swatragh in Northern Ireland. I’m married to John and mum of 4 boys Ryan, Daniel, Charlie & Alfie. I’m a Chartered Accountant and work for a global manufacturing company. In my spare time I help John to manage 7 mares (3 Friesians) and a flock of Pedigree Dorset sheep. We have owned Friesians for over 15 years and for this last number of years we have bred foals using both AI from approved stallions such as Folkert 353, Tiede 501, Wibout 511 etc. and a Bi Boek registered stallion in NI. This is me with one of our Ster mares Itske and we are excited to meet her foal from Jehannes 484 in approx 4weeks all being well. I’ve volunteered to be a director with my main role being a representative for members in Northern Ireland and to assist in organisation of events and inspections being held here and to help support members queries. I want to be involved in an open, honest, diverse and inclusive membership and will work in the interests of all members regardless of their area of interest / location.

I live in beautiful Perthshire, Scotland, where my life revolves around all things Friesian! Alongside running our arable farm, I breed, raise, train and compete these wonderful horses. Having trained horses all my life, I can honestly say that I have never known a breed so consistently willing, easy to train and loyal as the Friesian. Naturally, many people fall for the outstanding looks and movement of the breed, but to me, the most beautiful attribute of the Friesian is their nature. Friesian horses have been my job, hobby and my passion for the last 20 years. I've been privileged to ride and train so many different horses, enjoying success with many of them in the dressage arena. When I first started my journey, Friesians weren't known for the sport in the UK and it soon become my mission to change these perceptions. It was a hard road at times but I'm glad to have been able to play a part in proving what wonderful dressage horses they can be. That said, I haven't spent all my time between the white boards! I've been to lots of Endurance rides all over Scotland and competed up to 50 kilometres, as well as showing, concours, fun rides, driving, inspections and more. In my experience, the horses enjoy the variety as much as we do. Over the years, I've organised many Friesian-specific events, including 'The Friesian Horse show', dressage competitions, fun rides and meet ups, horse holidays and training clinics, which has led me to my current role within UKFHS. My love for this breed led me to create my business 'Friesians Scotland', through which I met my closest friends as well as my husband. I've had the best times with so many people through a shared passion for this magnificent breed and I look forward to meeting more Friesian enthusiasts in the years to come. The horse in the picture is Oscar, he was my one in a million stallion. Oscar was the most intelligent horse I have ever known, had a huge character and his presence was immense. This horse was with me through the best and worst days of my life and he took a big piece of me when he passed but I am so grateful that he spent his life with me. Oscar will forever be in my memories, my heart and dreams.

I've joined the team fairly recently. I own 3 Friesians currently but can feel a purchase coming on soon - prefer even numbers !! I also seem to collect dogs, I have 6! Adopted a couple of sheep and a couple of goats recently who get into endless trouble and rescue hens seem to find me even when I’m not looking for anymore. I’ve had lots of great experiences since taking the plunge 10 years ago buying my first Friesian mare and have met some lovely people along the way through my membership, many becoming life long friends. With my Friesians I’ve done so many fantastic things such as Quadrille Displays at Warrington County Show, Rode in our late Queen’s New Years Day Parade, joined the Kees -Geert parade for the jubilee celebrations to recall just a few. I've also enjoyed in hand showing in Foreign Breed Classes and Concours d'Elegance competitions but best of all hacking over many bridleways and beach rides with my Friesian friends. I have run my own business’ for 25 years and love the freedom of being self-employed with a small happy team working with me. My main role currently as a Director of UKFHS/FHAGBI is re-launching the newsletter which im hoping will be fun, informative, inclusive and interactive sharing information and experiences to support each other with our mutual passion for the Black Pearl. 2025 is going to be an exciting year for the UKFHS as we celebrate our 30th anniversary and I look forward to getting to hear and meet more members along the way.

My name is Sylvia King; I am a mother of three children, my son is 21 and my daughters are 10 and 11years old. I live in the East Anglia region and am a Strategic Programme Manager for a large corporate company. A few years ago, I drove into a yard, turned my head to the left and there was this magnificent Friesian stallion standing tall with the most amazing presence–he was absolutely stunning. I had never seen such a gorgeous horse; that is where my Friesian journey started. Since then, I have owned several KFPS Registered Friesians who I have shown, attempted dressage, and even taken part in Concours d'Elegance. I absolutely love this breed and am in awe as to their temperament, work ethic, and how they simply give you their all. I am currently bringing back into work my own Friesian stallion Max, and my Friesian mare Tia with a view to start competing in late spring. For the last two years, I also bred several Friesian foals who have all grown into stunning youngsters.I hope to breed more Friesian foals again next year. I volunteered to become a director to help and support our organisation and ultimately the Friesian horse. I will spend my time and effort focusing on general administration wherever the need is and whatever the highest priority. There is a significant amount of work to be done though I look forward to working as a team and doing what is best for our Friesians, our organisation, and our members.

I am Tatyana Devine and I represent members from the Republic of Ireland. I am involved in organising the KFPS keuring/inspections in Northern Ireland, promoting FHAGBI in Ireland, providing support to and act as a liaison for Irish Friesian Horse owners. I am striving to build a strong partnership between Friesian Horse owners in Ireland and FHAGBI. My background is in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, immunological and veterinary sciences. My passion for Friesian horses stems from a childhood impression from a documentary on Friesian horses, which stated that this rare magnificent breed was on the brink of extinction. Since then I dreamt of owning and breeding a Friesian horse! This was one childhood dream that came true (the other one was to become an astronaut, which I soon reconsidered). I strongly believe that our mutual interest in Friesian Horses will enable us to build an organisation, renowned for its expertise, high standards of conduct and respectful and friendly membership!