Sandi Simons was raised in the north central Victorian town of Rochester. After doing all the bad things kids do in such places, Sandi decided that graduating from the family dairy farm to the milk factory was not for her. Packing her bag she headed south for the bright lights and city life but somewhere along the way took the wrong turn and ended up at Geelong, where she still lives.

Riding was something Sandi started early, from rounding up cows to terrorising judges at local shows. Like many youngsters, Sandi learned to ride without a saddle...and at times without bridle! It was only natural, even while working at a series of jobs in Geelong, that Sandi maintained her love of horses and competitive riding. She became proficient in both European and Western riding, competing in both disciplines.

Sandi decided on married life after pushing a 'cowboy' down the stairs in a Geelong night club. This opportune incident resulted in a committed relationship and marriage to one of Australia's foremost horse trainers, David Simons, who at the time was head stockman for a multi-national cattle company in the Northern Territory.

Initially Sandi had to overcome stiff opposition to the relationship from David's foremost partner, a red Australian cattle dog called Jack. After successful diplomatic negotiations with Jack, Sandi uprooted her first family of three children and headed for the NT with David as well as joining him on his various forays on the rodeo circuit.

Eventually Sandi persuaded David to settle down and the couple (and dog!) returned to Geelong where they established a training centre at Drysdale and increased the family from three to five.

Sandi shares David's passion of training horses and also his belief that there had to be a better and kinder way of breaking in horses than the traditional methods of the day. In 1998 Sandi accompanied David to the USA to study with one of the world's foremost trainers, John Lyons and has continued to accompany David on subsequent training trips to the USA.

A mother of four sons and a daughter, Sandi is still in the saddle training her own dressage horses. She understands from first hand experience the physical and emotional difficulties, fear, trials and tribulations a mother or busy career woman can face when riding or returning to the saddle after a break. Like many women, she has had to overcome apprehension when getting back on a horse after child bearing.

Sandi cheerfully overcomes her own disability of spinal disease in order to pursue her love of riding horses. A sympathetic, tactful and successful instructor in her own right, Sandi uses much of the David Simons training methods in her own clinics, with the added understanding of women. Her humour, sometimes a little on the outrageous side, does much to relax the most apprehensive woman rider and re enforce confidence. The result is a much better relationship and better management skills between horse and rider.

Sandi's clinics are an opportunity for women riders from all age groups to get together to learn, discuss and overcome problems, improve their riding skills and above all have fun.


Click here to read John & Susie Lyons' testimonials to David and Sandi.


Sandi's Coinfidence Clinics
Ever felt a lack of confidence? Or maybe just had a day when you feel you've put in the hours but achieved nothing?

This is a common scenario for women and I speak for women only as we all share that same bond...too much to do and not enough hours to do it in! I feel this every day that I ride, or those days when I try and ride but life gets in the way.

Now let's talk about the wonderful miracle of having children. No-one ever told us that when we gave birth we'd also give birth to a loss of our riding confidence! Yet we are completely unaware that this has taken place until we return to the saddle, assuming that we'd pick up where we left off. But no...that's not the case! We find ourselves full of self-doubt, nervous and slightly intimidated...not to mention very wore with unfit muscles and full of questions like, "What's happened to me?!"

I believe I have a diploma in all these feelings as I've had five children! Getting back into the saddle is no mean feat and I had to choose lesson plans that suited my confidence, fitness and time. That's why some of these lesson plans are in my book and I teach them at my clinics, as I found them very useful at different stages of my 're-training'.

And no girls, don't go thinking "Well it's okay for Sandi, she's married to a wonderful (and not to mention cute!) horse trainer so she can always ask David for help. This isn't the case, as training my horses is my path alone. I have occasionally asked him to ride my horse and let me know how he feels but that's about it.

To this day I still wonder how I ever trained Gali, as most of the time my mind was elsewhere, like... "What am I going to cook for dinner tonight?" or "I can't be to long as the washing needs to come in."

So to my fellow busy equine mothers out there, you're not alone! Next time you ride past someome struggling with her horse, smile and tell them they can achieve anything if they try hard enough!



All material © David & Sandi Simons