Training Livery UK
Training livery at a glance
- Individual training plans shaped around the horse’s current stage
- Professional flatwork, schooling and showjumping development
- Full daily care with workload, recovery and welfare managed together
- Suitable for young, developing, sensitive and established horses
- Clear owner updates and honest reviews of progress
- Available to suitable horses from across the UK
- Training livery from £1,700 per month, or £425 per week
Training livery for horses that need a clearer next step
HRB’s training livery programme is for owners who need more than routine care, general exercise or occasional schooling. From HRB’s professional showjumping yard in Shenley, Hertfordshire, each horse enters a structured residential programme combining professional riding, full daily care, planned recovery and clear owner communication.
Every place begins with a defined purpose. That may be improving balance and rideability, rebuilding confidence, strengthening flatwork and jumping foundations, preparing for a return to competition or gaining an honest professional assessment of what the horse needs next.
The programme is shaped around the horse rather than a fixed formula. Schooling, workload, turnout, routine, recovery, welfare and temperament are considered together, so progress is built without rushing the horse or separating the ridden work from the management that supports it.
Training livery sits within the same professional care system as HRB livery, with the added focus of a planned development programme. The work is delivered from HRB’s showjumping yard in Hertfordshire and is available to suitable horses from across the UK.
What can training livery help a horse achieve?
Training livery is most useful when the horse needs a focused period inside a consistent professional system. The objective should be clear enough to guide the programme, but flexible enough to change as the horse develops.
A programme may be built around:
- Improving balance, rhythm, straightness and adjustability
- Developing stronger flatwork and jumping foundations
- Building confidence in the horse’s work or competition environment
- Improving consistency, rideability and understanding
- Supporting a young or developing showjumping horse
- Preparing an established horse for a return to competition
- Assessing a horse that has become difficult, inconsistent or unclear
- Creating a clearer programme before the horse returns to its owner
Training livery is not automatically the right route for every horse. HRB considers the horse’s age, experience, temperament, soundness, current workload and the owner’s goals before recommending a place. Where the horse needs a different type of support, more time or a deeper production route, that will be discussed honestly.
A programme that connects training, care and recovery
The exact work depends on the horse in front of the team. A training livery programme may include flatwork, transitions, polework, gridwork, jumping, hacking, fitness work, confidence-building or quieter sessions focused on relaxation and understanding.
The horse’s full daily care is managed alongside that work. Feeding, turnout, stable routine, workload, recovery and welfare all influence how well a horse can learn, strengthen and retain its progress.
More work is not always better work. A horse that lacks balance may need stronger flatwork before jumping more frequently. A horse that has lost confidence may need simpler questions and clearer repetition. A young horse may need time to strengthen before it is asked to progress.
The programme changes as the horse changes. Work is increased, simplified or redirected according to what the horse is showing, rather than following a rigid weekly formula.
The people behind the programme
HRB is led by Tia Posner and Dan Barnes, whose complementary roles shape the wider performance system around every horse on the yard.
Dan leads the ridden development within the programme. His experience includes young horse production, showjumping, competition preparation and developing sensitive or complex horses through time, feel and repetition. His focus is on understanding how each horse learns, identifying what is preventing progress and building stronger foundations before asking for more.
Tia brings the perspective of an active competition rider, founder and psychology-led coach. Her work connects technical development with confidence, routine, pressure and the decisions that influence performance for both horse and rider.
Together, those roles connect professional riding, daily care, owner communication and long-term judgement rather than treating them as separate services. Learn more about Tia, Dan and the roles behind HRB.
Two horses. Two starting points. One individual approach.
Unikat and Ophelia, registered as Riverdale VSB, are HRB-owned horses. They are included here as examples of the team’s development approach, not presented as external training livery testimonials.
Their journeys show why there cannot be one standard programme for every horse. Each arrived at a different age, with different experience and different priorities.
Unikat
Unikat was bought by HRB at auction as a six-year-old with an established young horse competition record. The next stage was not simply to jump bigger classes. His programme focused on developing greater confidence, improving rideability in the ring, strengthening straightness and maintaining a more balanced canter throughout the work.
Now seven, he continues to develop through structured schooling, competition experience and consistent work designed to support his long-term education rather than rush his progression.
View Unikat within the HRB Horses programme.
Ophelia, registered as Riverdale VSB
Riverdale VSB was bought by HRB as a four-year-old. She had been backed, but otherwise arrived as a relatively blank canvas.
Her development has focused on positive experiences, creating a level and manageable canter and helping her learn to contain and organise her natural power. Now five, she is progressing through age-appropriate five-year-old classes with the foundations, confidence and understanding needed for her next stage.
View Riverdale VSB within the HRB Horses programme.
These horses have not followed the same timetable or received the same work. The shared principle is that the programme responds to the horse’s actual stage, strengths and weaknesses.
Active competition knowledge behind the training
HRB is an active showjumping yard. The horses and riders within the programme compete regularly, giving the team current experience of preparation, warm-ups, course riding, recovery and the practical demands of the sport.
Recent results include two 1.15m wins for Tia Posner and Happy Fomia at Bolesworth International 2026, alongside clear and placed rounds across multiple horses. Dan Barnes and Unikat have also recorded clear and placed international rounds, including at 4-star 1.30m level.
Not every horse entering training livery is expected to follow the same competition route. The relevance is that each programme is informed by active technical knowledge, current competition experience and a working performance environment. The wider evidence can be seen through the HRB competition results.
What owners are paying for
Training livery at HRB starts from £1,700 per month, or £425 per week.
The price reflects the combination of professional riding, structured training, full daily care, stable management, turnout, feeding, workload planning, recovery management and clear owner communication provided throughout the horse’s stay.
The exact programme is agreed around the horse’s starting point and the work required. Suitability, expectations and the intended focus are discussed before a place is confirmed.
Clear communication and a usable return plan
Owners receive clear updates about the horse’s work, progress, challenges and next priorities. The purpose is not simply to report that the horse has been ridden, but to explain what is changing, what still requires work and why the programme may need to adapt.
When the horse is ready to return home, the owner should understand what has improved, what remains a work in progress and how the programme can be continued. Where rider support would help protect that progress, HRB’s showjumping coaching can provide a connected route for the owner and horse together.
Training livery, full livery or horse production?
Full livery
Full livery is centred primarily on the horse’s daily care, stable management, feeding, turnout, welfare and routine. It is suited to owners who need reliable professional management without a defined period of focused schooling or development.
Training livery
Training livery includes the foundation of full daily care, with a structured ridden programme built around a clear objective. It is suited to horses needing focused schooling, improved rideability, stronger foundations, greater confidence or preparation for their next stage.
Horse production
Horse production is the deeper route for horses requiring longer-term development, young horse production, competition mileage, sales preparation or strategic progression through the levels. Owners considering that level of involvement should explore HRB’s showjumping horse production programme.
The routes are connected, but they are not interchangeable. HRB will recommend the option that reflects the horse’s genuine requirements rather than forcing every enquiry into the same service.
Training livery for owners across the UK
HRB is based in Shenley, Hertfordshire and accepts suitable training livery enquiries from owners across the UK. The national route is intended for owners who are prepared to look beyond the nearest available stable and place their horse within an environment suited to the work required.
Distance makes communication more important, not less. Owners remain informed without needing to be present at the yard every day, and the programme is built around clear decisions rather than vague promises.
Owners primarily looking for a local service can also read about training livery in Hertfordshire. This page remains focused on the wider UK route.
Evidence beyond the programme description
Owners should be able to judge a yard through more than claims made on a service page. HRB’s wider site connects the programme to real horses, current results and owner experiences.
Explore the horses currently within the HRB system, review the competition record and read feedback from riders and livery clients.
Is training livery the right route for your horse?
When enquiring, provide as much information as possible about the horse, including its age, experience, current workload, competition history where relevant, temperament, current challenges and the outcome you would like the programme to achieve.
That information allows HRB to assess whether training livery is the right route and whether the yard is suitable for the horse.
How the training livery programme works
- Initial enquiry Tell HRB about your horse’s age, experience, current work, temperament, challenges and what you want the programme to achieve.
- Suitability assessment HRB reviews the horse’s background and considers whether training livery, full livery, horse production or another route is the most appropriate fit.
- Programme agreed The intended focus, realistic goals and starting approach are discussed before the horse enters the programme.
- Training and management Schooling, daily care, workload, recovery and welfare are managed together around what the horse needs.
- Progress review HRB communicates what is improving, what still requires work and whether the programme needs to change.
- Next route The horse may return to its owner, remain in training, prepare for competition or move into a deeper production programme where appropriate.
