OLIVER SIGNY

Oliver started his equestrian career Eventing, representing Great Britain at junior level and running a successful yard in Suffolk, where he grew up.

He produced and competed a string of event horses up to the now four-star level and created a breeding program, bringing back a foundation mare from Heath Ryan’s Australian setup. The most successful horse from this now competes at Grand Prix level in dressage. Following a serious fall when competing, he studied at Cirencester Agricultural College gaining a degree in International Equine and Agricultural Business Management.

Having always followed racing and bred some point-to-point horses, Ollie jumped at the opportunity to work as Oliver Sherwood’s assistant. This coincided with the Many Clouds era, cementing the dream of being a trainer in his own right. Ollie spent two years working and learning the Lambourn gallops before spending a year in America with the late USA Hall of Fame trainer, Jonathan Sheppard who was an institution for aspiring English trainers to learn their trade. On returning to Lambourn he joined Jamie Snowden as assistant trainer for a further three seasons, before taking out his own license in September 2019 at The Croft Stables.

Oliver started with six young, un-handicapped horses just six months before covid lockdowns made his first year of training even more challenging. The first winner came in July 2020 with Etat Major Aulmes at Newton Abbot, who went on to land a chasing hat-trick last summer. The string of horses has steadily grown as have the number of winners and last season was the best to date. Oliver is most proud of the 40% strike rate over chase fences for the 2022/23 season, which reflected the hard work and faith in his horses and support from and his owners. 

Oliver is supported by his wife Katherine who helps with the running of the business, formerly an international fencer with a background in event management. 

It’s been a challenging time to start training but I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made. I’m really looking forward to building up the exciting string of young horses and chalking up some more winners