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 their 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.