Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2016 | Page 78

Equestrian

Dawn Norris: Island girl
There are two
males in the life
of Dawn Norris.
One whom she
hopes to marry
and the other who
shouldn’t really be
here at all.
Dressed in breeches, Island girl,
Dawn Norris, smiles a gentle smile
and I’m happy to snatch a few
moments of her time, to find out
about the two males in her life and
how she came to be owning and
running her successful equestrian
business at Kingates, Whitwell, at
only 30 years of age.
“My mum, Sonia, owned a horse
and kept it at Lake Farm, Rookley,
where I had lessons when I was
about five.” Heathview’s Pride
came along when Dawn was 12
and together they were successful
showjumpers, but Dawn quickly
outgrew him. Mumbo Jumbo,
an Irish Sports Horse, was a just
backed three-year-old when, aged
13, Dawn acquired him.
“I was already riding other
people’s horses, so I wasn’t fazed
by this big horse. I thought I would
bring him on for showjumping.
He was a lovely coloured horse,
who was good at dressage as
well as showjumping and he
was good in the show ring too.
Sadly, arthritis in both hocks put a
premature end to his career when
he was eight. I kept him and did
low level riding club stuff, “Dawn
says, modestly.
After leaving Medina High
School at 16, Dawn had a spell

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working for mainland dressage
supremo, Matt Hicks, before the
quirky Palito, a showjumper from
Oxfordshire arrived.
“He taught me to ride quietly and
patiently. He’d jump the top of the
wings at home, but was unreliable
in the ring, so we tried him at
dressage. He took to that, but I still
had to be careful. We were doing
well, up to elementary level, until
he badly damaged a ligament and
didn’t come right.”
In 2006, Dawn’s family acquired
farmland in Niton and set up a
small commercial equestrian
operation. Dawn, a qualified
personal trainer, trained herself
to pass her British Horse Society
BHSAI exam and UK coaching
certificate level 2. She is on the
BHS register of professional
accredited coaches.
The business has grown

“I was already riding
other people’s horses,
so I wasn’t fazed by this
big horse. I thought I
would bring him on for
showjumping.”

steadily and now, almost 10 years
on, Dawn finds there the two
important males in her life. She
is engaged to Mike Hanley and
planning to marry next year.
And then there’s Hotmale.
Hotmale, a British Hanoverian
by Hotline, out of a state premium
mare, ST pr Sinfoni, was bought
by Dawn as a yearling in 2008,
from IW breeder Kathy Hocknull.
Dawn’s ambition is to compete
in dressage with him, under the

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