Oliver and Josh have known each other for many years having ridden as amateurs on the racecourse and point to pointing. Both rode plenty of winners on the track before moving into the training side of the industry. Oliver learnt his trade at Michael Easterby’s and Sir Mark Prescott’s whilst Josh worked for Phillip Hobbs and Victor Dartnall before taking on the role of Assistant to Dan Skelton.
When Josh moved to Dan Skelton’s as his assistant for Dan’s first 3 years Oliver got to know him better and when there became an opportunity for someone to come to Stockton Hall as Assistant Trainer Josh felt it was the right move and started as Assistant once Oliver gained his trainers license. Since then the pair have become partners in the business Stockton Hall Farm LLP and now the joint trainers license is the final step. It is uncommon for a non-family pair to adopt the joint license however in doing so it enables the yard to achieve so much more. The yard specialises in syndicates and with 90% of our horses in joint ownership, looking after the owners and going racing with owners that takes Olivers full attention and so it is essential that Josh and the other staff fully focus on training the horses and finding the best opportunities for them instead of trying to do everything. By both having these very specific jobs the yard can work very smoothly and achieve high standards.
Oliver & Josh are fortunate to have an experienced hard working and enthusiastic team to support them:
Colin joined us in January 2023 after a long stint as Assistant Trainer at Manor House stables, having previously worked for John Hills and Dalham Hall Stud.
He has an abundance of knowledge and experience that is extremely helpful in the day-to-day running of the yard and liaising with owners.
Alice deals primarily with the paperwork side of the syndicates and the movement of horses through the business, from the point where they arrive with us to the time they move on. She is in the office part time and is an important part of the admin support team for the yard.
Tori joined us in 2023 from a non-racing events background. She is the main contact for all of our social events as well as working with Alice on the VAT registrations and other admin support. She is in the office part time.
Lucy initially joined us as a work rider from the British Racing School. In 2024, she chose to pursue a new direction while continuing to support Stockton Hall by keeping owners informed about their horses’ progress. Her contributions make her an invaluable member of our team.
Rachael joined us in the back end of 2021 as travelling head girl and is a massive addition to the team here at Stockton Hall. She overseas all the racing, as well as going a lot herself. She helps organise the schedule of who goes racing, especially when we have multiple meetings. Over recent months she has established herself as a important and well respected member of the team.
Cai is in charge of the day to day running of the yard and his attention detail and fantastic people skills enable the yard to run like clock work and to a very high standard.
Prior to joining us, Cai has previously been with local trainers including Donald McCain and Gary Hamner. In addition to his responsibilities as Head Lad, Cai is a great asset in riding work and schooling.
Toby started full-time in 2019 at Stockton Hall after riding out on weekends and school holidays for a couple of years. Having had plenty of success as an amateur it was a natural progression to become a resident conditional here at Stockton Hall, he is now close to riding out his claim.
Ben has ridden since he could walk, and his father is a successful trainer north of the border in Ayrshire. He hopes to have a successful career as a jockey and is currently on a conditional license. He loves riding Jagwar, and he is definitely his current yard favourite.
Originally joining us in 2018 from the National Racehorse College and since then has taken some time out to get further experience in Ireland for Jessica Harrington. Now back with us, Kerry is a valuable asset to the team. Her attention to detail, dedication and experience helps the team run smoothly both at home and away at the races.
Antonia joined us in April 2023 and has become a key part of the team. She is very good at getting on with the job and always a smiling member of the yard.
Amy has ridden since she was very young and worked at Rose Dobbin Racing after Racing School before coming here in 2023. She is a definite team player and enjoys going racing.
Nat did not always know she wanted to work in racing but learned to ride as a child and as a teenager was looking for a career direction. She googled how to get into the racing industry and the NHC came up. She is with us on an apprenticeship and dreams of being a jockey one day and is working on her riding skills all the time. Post Chaise is her favourite horse to ride and look after.
Molly joined us from the British Racing School at the end of 2024. Molly has been around horses all her life and previous to this has a background in dressage. She has fitted into the team well and is looking forward to travelling more.
Isabel joined us in February 2025 having ridden out for us on weekends whilst at school. After going to racing school, she is now on an apprenticeship with us and lives locally. Loves riding out with the string and Lipa K in her current favourite.
Kim joined us in February 2025 aged 16 on an apprenticeship with the NHC having always known she wanted to go into racing. She moved into our accommodation as her first job on leaving home and has settled in brilliantly. She even brought her chickens with her.
Her favourite thing about the job is the riding and Las Canals is her current favourite.
Steve is a yard man here at Stockton Hall and has been for a while now and is a massive part of the team and has been for many years and has very few days off!
Craig joined us in July 2023 having previously worked for Donald McCain, Keith Dalgleish, Brian Barr among others. His day to day role is mucking out, dealing with the horses on the walker, assisting the vet and physio as needed as well as lots of other necessary jobs. He has also started to help us with the social media side of things and is really keen to show people what life on a racing yard is really like.
Came to us as a work placement from Reeseheath College two years ago to do 100 hours of relevant industry experience for his apprenticeship. Started working for us part time and now full time. He went racing for the first time recently and Crystal Glance won so he led up his first winner and was very happy to be there.
