Jennie Wilkinson is a life-long horse lover, Chartered Physiotherapist and Hippotherapist, and mum to two children.
Jennie first became involved with RDA in 2019 as a volunteer on Sunday mornings. So impressed with Lesley and the Belvoir Vale RDA team, and the incredible work that was being done with the horses, Jennie went on to complete her RDA Group Coach training in 2022 and has been a coach at the center ever since. She is also North Midlands Regional RDA Physiotherapist and helps deliver training sessions including the Therapy and Medical module to new RDA coaches.
But Jennie didn’t stop there. She went on to complete a Post Graduate Certificate in Equine Assisted Therapy (Advancing Practice) with Ulster University in 2023, which qualifies her to work as a Hippotherapist and equine assisted physiotherapist. Jennie now combines RDA coaching with a Hippotherapy clinic at Belvoir Vale RDA, working with children, young people and adults on specific physiotherapy goals, utilising equine movement and interaction to make treatment beneficial, fun and rewarding.
Jennie is also a National Para Equestrian Classifier, helping to assess and classify athletes interested in Para Equestrian sport such as para-dressage and para-driving.
Talking of the horses so integral to her work, Jennie says: “They seem to really enjoy their roles; it is amazing to see how they seem to instinctively know how best to look after the participants, with just the right level of calmness or cheekiness.”
