Poplars Equine
Livery Lessons Training
About The Business
Poplars Equine is a business comprising of Livery and Coaching by Laura Elliott.
Poplars Equine was foundered by Laura, as a Livery yard in 2009, on a picturesque farm in a village called Plaitford, in Hampshire.
The yard itself was an old pig and dairy farm, with pig pens stationed around the dairy barn, milking parlour and bull pen. Initially, and with some help, Laura converted 4 pig stalls into stables.
The Livery yard has since grown from a DIY yard with the initial 4 stables, to an 18 stable yard with a large all weather school, solarium, hot horse wash, and a 15 meter Monty Roberts round pen, offering Assisted livery to full training livery.
Other services offered are lessons, schooling and training onsite and offsite locally.
About Laura
BSc (Hons) Equine Science
FdSc Equine Studies
National Diploma Horse Management
BHS Stage 3
Laura has been working with horses all her life and has been running the livery yard since she started the business in 2009, whilst studying at the Royal Agricultural University, completing her degree in Equine Science.
From pony club days, competing in Prince Philip Cup Games and Show Jumping, Laura fell in to Dressage whilst training and working for Dressage coach and judge, Heather Ashley from Woodington Training Centre.
After a stint working for a professional polo player Laura got hooked on the sport and began to play in 2010. Sadly 2022 was the last season playing polo (for the time being) and is now concentrating on Dressage.
Over the years, Laura has also worked for event trainer Sorrel Warrick, show pony breeder Gilly Davis at Chiddock Stud, Geoff Smith at Littleton Stud breeding racehorses, private hunting families and polo players.
A slight step away from horses, Laura joined the Army Reserve, and was lucky enough to represent the army playing polo for the reserve team at Tidworth Polo Club and Sandhurst.
After a brief trip to Argentina and Spain for polo, Laura flew off to Australia in 2017 for three months to work with young polo ponies and groom for two professional polo players, and got to play a little too!
Retraining racehorses is a major focus for Laura, with this in mind and always wanting to self improve, Laura began training to become an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Coach over summer 2020. Laura has one more stage to complete and hopes to go to America in the future to train with Monty Roberts at Flag Is Up Farm.
Laura’s own techniques follow a very similar pattern to that of IH, Monty Roberts, Parelli and other similar sympathetic approaches.
The Article featured (left) is from the Intelligent Horsemanship magazine, Meet a Member.