M E E T   T H E   T E A M

Childéric Saddle Specialists

Tricia Bracegirdle

07886 802 553
tricia@childericsaddles.co.uk

Tricia became the UK distributor for Childéric Saddles in 2010 and is now director of Childéric Saddles UK and Senior Saddles Specialist with Childéric Saddles.

Tricia covers the the South West, West Midlands, parts of East Anglia and Ireland.

​Tricia has competed to Intermediate level eventing, kept horses, and ran her own yard, for many years.  Having worked in the equine business sector for the past 20-years, Tricia understands the pressures of being a being a rider looking to succeed, and also being a working mother.

Qualifying for the Gatcombe Novice Championships (The Festival of British Eventing) was a personal milestone and to finish without disaster was the icing on the cake.  Dissatisfied with the security offered by the saddle she was using at the time, Tricia set about finding a new saddle which led to a career change and then later on meeting Luc...the rest is history so they say.

Tricia lives in Oxfordshire and has a team of experienced Childéric Saddle Specialists, distribution, marketing and PR people working with her. Tricia is a hands-on horsewoman who takes a holistic and synergistic approach to saddle fitting, sales and customer service, but there is no hard sell - thats one thing she is insistent upon with all her team.

Helen Dunning

07786 796 457
helen@childericsaddles.co.uk

"I began training with Tricia in August 2013, working with Childéric is the most rewarding and enjoyable job. I feel being able to combine my knowledge and feel as a rider with experience as a saddle fitter works brilliantly when I'm working with riders and therefore offers a unique service."

Based in the North of England, Helen covers the Northern counties, Scotland and North Wales.

Helen has a long and glittering equestrian career that goes all the way back to starting out as a show rider with Team Hollings, where highlights included HOYS and The Royal International.

From there Helen made the switch to eventing, where she went on to represent Great Britain on numerous occasions.  First up was at Necarne Castle in 2006 with Bletchendon Fanfare, then onto the National Pony Championships with Glenayre Bay Surf in 2007 and 2008.  The same year saw Helen finish 10th at the European Championships held in Avenches, Switzerland.

Eventing success kept coming for Helen, first with Mossfort in the Young Rider National Championships, then with Pebbly Flux at the 2010 European Championships in Germany.  From there Helen gained the ride on Keep Your Options Open and together they won the CCI***-S at Gatcombe, the CCI****-U25 Championship and the ProAM pairs with Caroline Powell at Bramham in 2011.

​More recently Helen made the switch to pure dressage and has also competed successfully at Prix St George level, winning the Petplan Area Festival and finishing 3rd at the National Championships.

Michelle Blake (nee Nichols)

07896 971937
michelle@childericsaddles.co.uk

Michelle met Tricia in 2014 when she was working as a Dressage rider for Prestige Liveries based at Kilbees Farm in Windsor, and she's ridden in Childeric ever since!  Soon after, Michelle joined Team Childeric on a more permanent basis and covered the South and South East area from 2015 to 2019 before taking some time out to start a family.  Fast forward a year and she's back as part of the team and will resume looking after part of the Home Counties, South and South East.

Michelle started riding at age 3 and has worked in the equine industry for over 15-years.  Her passion for dressage started at a young age with ponies, whilst training with Ian Woodhead.  Michelle moved up through the levels, competing at Prix St George level as a Young Rider.

Michelle started her professional riding career as a working pupil for Ferdi Eilberg and has been lucky enough to work for, and train with, several Olympic riders and top trainers within the sport.

Perry, the rather handsome orange pony, has been with Michelle since a 5-year-old and is currently competing a Small Tour level and is working towards Grand Prix.  Together they have had many successes at Regional and National Championship level.

Elliott Reeves

+353 87 248 7633
elliott@childericsaddles.co.uk

Elliott joined Team Childeric as initially as the Showjumping specialist, but has since taken over the Ireland business.  With his wealth of knowledge and experience in the sport, he will be able to deliver a bespoke and trustworthy service to both horse and rider. 

Elliott started competitively showjumping in his early teens going on to jump in the UK on the National and International circuit. He has results up to 1.50m including Young Rider classes and was clear and placed in the infamous Hickstead Speed Derby in 2014. In 2017 Elliott made the decision to sell his string of horses in the UK and make the move to Australia to travel and ride. His success most certainly continued winning numerous Grand Prix’s and jumping clear in his first World Cup Qualifier. A highlight for Elliott was placing 6th in the Australian Senior Title and gaining his full MER qualification for Tokyo 2020.

​Elliott has always loved the education of young horses and training riders through the levels finding great satisfaction in their progress.

He is very excited to be able share his knowledge of saddle fitting with riders of all disciplines around Ireland. 

Jess Bracegirdle

Jess rode when she was younger and went on to work for Charlie Hills for several years.

Jess joined the Childéric UK team as Personal Assistant/Driver to Tricia, following moving in with her partner.  Jess now ensures that the team is organised and enables Tricia to respond to clients whilst on the move.

Luc Childéric - Sellier

Being passionate about the equestrian world, Luc Childéric embarked on becoming an established master saddler in 1978.
In 1991, he created the `Manufacture Childeric` which produces and markets beautiful and bespoke, made to measure, saddles. It is by being in constant contact with sport horses and their riders that Luc forged, and obtained, his expert eye. When watching horses moving freely he understood the necessity of making a saddle that would enable the horse to move as loosely and unrestrainedly as possible.  

He creates a variety of saddle styles that allow the riders to achieve a perfect balance between equilibrium and comfort.  They are made to free the horses’ movements and actions,  and are designed for all equestrian disciplines. Riders then discover that working with their horse is much more about giving than receiving and their communication becomes as graceful as a dance.