About Us

Nan, as her students like to call her, is our resident trainer here at Hampshire Woods. She herself has trained with five Olympians and has spent most of her life on the "A" rated hunter/jumper circuits in Ontario and California. She has been riding and training for over thirty-five years, and her experience is reflected in her students; they advance quickly and, most importantly, in the correct way with all the necessary basics.

Nan not only teaches our intermediate/advanced students but also rides and trains our young or difficult horses. Under her training, we have seen many rather 'backwards' horses come full circle and turn out to be beautiful, talented, happy animals that love their job.

Marianne's riding background has been in eventing, and she has been quick to learn the ways of the hunter/jumper world and now has three years working with us on the "A" circuit under her belt. She has a degree in education and is pursuing a career as as a teacher as well as working as our Beginner Lesson Instructor at Hampshire Woods.

Chuck and Susan Groot:

Chuck and Susan are a fabulous pair. They are willing to try anything, and they have proven that if they want something to happen, it will. After moving from the suburbs to their first 3-acre farm, they decided after a few years that three acres just wasn't enough -- and here we are, on the beautiful 10-acre Hampshire Woods Farm, owned by Chuck (the high school teacher/photographer/tractor driver) and Susan (the mother turned kiwi and chicken farmer). We look forward to seeing their optimistic attitudes as Hampshire Woods expands; they are what makes this all possible!


Samantha Carley:

Well, it appears that the "horse gene" skipped a couple of generations; though her parents and grandparents didn't seem to catch the riding bug, Sam definitely has, and it has inspired her to take up the family business again. Great-granddaughter to the locally well-known Don and Aileen Carley, who were the owners of the Victoria Riding Academy (closed ~1976), she has been riding for over 12 years now and loving every minute of it. As a child, she rode at Ambleside Farm and later at Hunt Valley Farm with multiple trainers, many of whom were taught to ride by her own great-grandfather. She has taken years of both dressage and hunter/jumper lessons and has shown successfully in local shows as well as at Thunderbird Showpark in Langley, BC. Though she is the daughter of farm owners Chuck and Susan and a part-owner of the farm herself, she has a Working Student position at the farm under trainer Nan Cunningham and is earning her stripes to become a trainer and coach herself one day. Now, at 19, she has high hopes for Hampshire Woods Farm - she is currently organizing the building of a new indoor arena and barn on the property to expand the facilities. She also manages our website!

Megan's enthusiasm and Energizer Bunny characteristics make her an invaluable addition to the farm. She has two horses of her own - Koca Kola, the locally well-known jumper pony, and Joker, her new project. We wish her lots of luck in her show season!

We would like to thank our fabulous barn employees for all the work they do on the farm every day. None of this would be possible without their help and support.