About Deborah

Pearson Equine

Deborah Pearson

My journey with horses started when I was about 5 by riding my sister’s, and any horse as often as possible, and pestering my parents until they finally caved and bought me a pony. Ajax was a 12.2hh Welsh Mountain Pony, and the love of my life despite bucking me off at every opportunity. My parents were definitely NOT horsey and the rule was – “your pony, you look after it!” The only help I was given were for things I couldn’t physically do myself (tightening girths, putting on winter rugs), otherwise, it was expected that I would look after Ajax to a high standard – or he would be sold.
I was fiercely independent, and proud of being responsible so this was fine by me and little did I know the competence I gained as a result would hold me in good stead.
I’m sure my parents were hoping my love of horses would diminish as I grew older. Sadly for them though, it went the other way and I took over my sisters horse when she lost interest. It wasn’t long before I outgrew him so in reward for my hard work, my mother gifted me a beautiful Thoroughbred mare for my 14th birthday. “Royal” was my heart horse and we “had a crack” at pretty much everything from Hacking, Dressage, Eventing, Showjumping, and even Campdrafting. Royal was a beautiful, amazing horse and we would have achieved so much more except for my severe lack of self-confidence.

Badly bullied at school and with only average grades, I gratefully left, but with no real direction or confidence in life, I zigzagged aimlessly, trying to get a foothold in my place in the world. Through it all Royal was by my side – she was my everything. Some of the jobs I held included Racehorse strapper, Trackwork Rider, and Stud Hand on a Thoroughbred Stud Farm. I was desperately unhappy, felt isolated and had no idea how to move forward. Surely there was more to life than this? Although my school marks had been average at best, something told me I was more intelligent than I thought. But I was chronically depressed at the time and just wanted to be left alone. The world, however, refused to leave me alone.

In my early 20’s, in an effort to please my father, I took a sabbatical from horses and moved to an apartment in Hornsby to, “get a real job” working in an office (which I hated). I knew I wanted to travel, and I’d have to work while I did, so I commenced employment at Hornsby RSL for hospitality experience. I worked there for 5yrs and in that time went from collecting glasses and cleaning ashtrays to working behind the bar, learning Keno, Poker Machine Attendant and Cashier, TAB, Fine Dining, everything! I had a great time and my self-confidence started to develop as my skills increased.

The travel bug bit hard and I spent 2 years working and backpacking around the UK and Europe. During this time, I also dipped my toe into the world of psychological therapy and saw a CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Therapist in London. It was eye opening. For the first time in my life I started to understand ME, without the curtains of other people’s impressions. I had always been heavily influenced by other people’s beliefs about myself – but sensed that what people saw, was not who I was. I had no idea who I was – or what I wanted to be, but the longer I was away from those influences, the more I came to see what I wasn’t. It was a revelation – but I had a long way to go.

Back to Australia I came – with a better idea of who I wasn’t, but with still no idea of what I wanted to be. The “Laws of Manifesting” say to focus on the “What” and the “How” will appear. I knew I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t stupid and could be successful at what I did along with financial stability by earning a 6 figure salary. I had no idea what sort of role that would be, or how to get there.

The hard work in Therapy had gifted me with an increased sense of self-worth so, reluctantly, I went back into the corporate world as an Office Manager. To my surprise, I liked it! Whilst it was a steep learning curve, I had wonderful support from my boss and co-workers so hunkered down and did the hard yards. The work paid off and my natural talents in the areas of organising and administration strengthened. Don’t get me wrong, I also made some doozy errors, but somewhere along the way I had learnt the importance of owning mistakes, so took a deep breath (gulp!), put on my big girl pants and fessed up when they happened. It was scary, but a really positive thing happened – I learnt that bosses care more about solutions than they do about mistakes! Don’t get me wrong, mistakes aren’t great, but they happen, so best to see them as an opportunity to learn about your own shortcomings.

Other important lessons were being learnt and none were bigger than money. With a friend, I purchased my first apartment. I wasn’t in a high paying job, and with a mortgage, my budget was tighter than a toddler’s grip on an ice-cream. If I could afford a coffee on a Saturday morning, I was doing well. However, I was proudly doing it on my own and making headway.

A new organisation, a new role and more money meant the purse strings got a breather. My newly acquired skills stood me in good stead in my new role and within a year I was promoted to HR Manager. What surprised me the most? I loved it and was good at it! 10 Years passed. Company’s and roles changed and I far surpassed my own expectations to become an executive HR Manager earning far more than just a six figure salary.

The world of Human Resources was a wonderful experience. It provided me with invaluable insight into Emotional Intelligence as well as Training & Development. I learnt how to apply my solutions based mindset to assisting staff in bringing their best and these skills I have transferred into coaching riders.

I was restless without horses in my life, so I threw myself into other activities – sometimes with reckless abandon. Mountaineering in Nepal and New Zealand, Scuba Diving, running Half-Marathons, completing the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker in under 22hrs, Rock Climbing, Abseiling, Canyoning, Triathlon and Mountain biking, anything that would give me an outlet. The only thing that came close to the partnership I felt with a horse was being on a motorbike – so I learnt to ride, got my licence and, to the horror of my mother, bought a motorbike.

In 2016 I accepted a redundancy from my corporate job and then my father passed away. It was like the universe was telling me it was now the right time to get back into horses. When I was 19 I had a dream of being an Accredited Coach, however did not have the confidence at the time to do so. I was a different person now with a different outlook so commenced my Equestrian Australia Coach training with Chrissie Johnson. Chrissie and her son, George, took me under their wing and I worked for them for a year gaining invaluable experience and their assistance with my horses whilst completing my Introductory and Level 1 Accreditation.

Oh yes – horses. I had always loved Thoroughbreds. Their athleticism, generous nature and work ethic coupled with a sensitive yet courageous attitude. I wanted to purchase an ex-racehorse, but what I ended up with was a 2yr old leggy Stock Horse. Razzie was (and still is) a super cute chestnut with a blaze and 4 stockings. He has all the bling and an attitude to match. I didn’t want to buy him – he was too young, but he wouldn’t leave me alone! Kept insisting on being with me so I relented. But I needed something to ride now and then another Chestnut came into my life.

“Trevor” is a 16.1hh Thoroughbred gelding who required lunging before I rode and never failed to put on a display of joyful leaping, bucking, grunting and squealing. A few times spectators questioned whether he was even broken in and expressed horror when I put a foot in the stirrup. The leaping and squealing would continue – not in an effort to get me off, just in the pure joy of being alive. He loves jumping and won’t hesitate to incorporate his acrobatics into a jumping round. But despite this, he has become a heart horse. Super sensitive, gentle, cheeky and intelligent, he loves to work. He’s incredibly generous when I stuff things up and will happily do a line of jumps over and over again.

Meanwhile, Razzie was growing up, and true to his Chestnut nature, he wore the label of “Chunt” with pride. I’ve never had such a challenging horse before, and I hope I never do again! Don’t get me wrong, I love the little bugger, but I have shed so many tears of frustration I could fill a pool. Highly intelligent, he learns with ease – but that doesn’t mean he’ll do it! Easily distracted by the many “monsters” conveniently hiding, he would spook and shy continuously. Once he shied so violently he nearly fell over. Another time I got whiplash when he violently spooked at a duck!

I had achieved my Introductory, then Level 1 Coaching Accreditation with Chrissie Johnson and Colleen Brook. But although these two highly experienced equestrians thought I was proficient enough, my self-confidence was saying otherwise and it was with trepidation that I dipped my toe into the world of coaching. I definitely did not enter the coaching world guns-a-blazin’. I started slowly, trusting my gut instinct. My corporate coaching and development skills seamlessly integrated into my new role and I looked beyond what I simply saw in front of me for the “how” and “what” and letting this flavour my teaching.

The tipping point was a riding accident in 2020. I had a refusal at a jump and ended up landing on my head resulting in a fractured neck. Seven weeks in a neck brace left me with the question: With all my years of riding experience, why did I come off? and a lot of time to think. Back to the books for answers. What did the Masters say? Down the rabbit hole I ventured. What is a classically correct position? Why? What influences it? How should our bodies be used to maximum benefit? What muscles should be used? Why could some people stick like glue in the saddle and others not?

And this was how Pearson Equine was born.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is your coaching style different?

To ride a horse well can be a difficult thing to learn. Making mistakes is part of the learning process so creating a learning environment where students feel safe to make mistakes is key to our teaching.

I’ve lost my confidence. How can you help me?

At Pearson Equine, the focus is primarily on the riders’ position being a safe and stable one by ensuring the correct muscles are used correctly. As the riders’ position and stability improves, their confidence increases.

I want a better connection with my horse. What do you suggest?

Working with horses should be a relationship that listens and whispers. Our students are taught to listen, and form a partnership with the horse, instead of just telling it what to do.

I’d like to improve my overall horsemanship skills, but don’t know where to start.

Great Stuff! Horsemanship is a never ending learning curve. Whatever your goal is, you will be supported in achieving it.