Board of Directors
British Showjumping Non-Executive Board Directors
Charles Britton – Chairman
With an involvement in the sport that spans more than five decades Charles brings a wealth of experience with him to the role of Chairman. Initially involved as a competitor, Charles also has a highly renowned business which designs and builds equestrian facilities for horse owners and riders at all levels of the sport in Charles Britton Equestrian Construction, is the proprietor and show organiser of SouthView Equestrian Centre and has served on both the National Sport and Members Council committees.
Iain Graham – Chief Executive
Starting within the Pharmaceutical Industry in 1993 with an Honours degree in Pharmacy, Iain’s career changed paths when he was appointed as Technical Advisor to British Eventing. Shortly afterwards Iain accepted the position of BE Regional Director for Scotland and the North of England where he remained until joining British Showjumping bringing a depth of knowledge from the equestrian industry. Iain also has a wealth of experience from the commercial sector in respect of formulating and delivering change on strategic planning and re structuring. Iain was appointed as a member of the EEF Jumping Working Group in 2014 and is an FEI Technical Delegate for Eventing.
Chris Johannson BVMS CertEP MRCVS - Equine Welfare
Chris qualified from Glasgow University in 1992, and in 2000 was a founding partner and now Clinical Director at Western Counties Equine Hospital in Devon which has evolved into a busy first opinion and referral hospital. Clinical work is largely focussed on horses in training and sports horses alongside duties as an emergency surgeon. A senior vet at National Hunt racecourses and a FEI official veterinarian responsible for veterinary service provision at Bicton Arena Horse Trials including the one off 5* event and the BS Summer Tour. Chris is also a former BEVA council member.
Chris has a wealth of experience at all levels of sport and is acutely aware of the importance of prioritising the welfare of the equine within sport and providing visible veterinary care.
Bruce Watterson – Finance
An FCA qualified accountant, Client Director and Chief Operations Officer for the Dixcart Trust Corporation Limited office in Guernsey, Bruce looks after a diverse portfolio of commercial, corporate and private high net worth clients. He has an extensive understanding of offshore fun management across a full spectrum of assett investment portfolios spanning both personal and business investments. Bruce has previously served on the Round Table National Finance Committee.
Genevieve Gordon-Thomson– Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Genevieve is CEO of Tactic Connect. Since 2001 Gen has worked actively within sports law; advising private client and organisations and governing bodies in the UK and abroad. Genevieve is the retained lawyer for the Netball Player Association. She is working with Tribe Identity on a new project to deliver sporting opportunities to the LGBTQ+ community. Her work in EDI spans across the projects she is working on with each client and forms a central part of her work in sports law.
Gen holds the following appointments:
Independent Trustee - Football Regulatory Board
Chair - British DanceSport Association
Chair - Sport Excel UK
Vice Chair - British Association for Sport and Law
Governor – Seaford College
Julie Smyth – Legal & Governance
Julie is a highly experienced lawyer who has worked in international law firms and in-house in the heavily regulated Aerospace industry for over 25 years, most recently as the General Counsel of GKN Aerospace. She has extensive experience in advising on, and managing, complex, multi-jurisdictional legal, governance and reputational matters. Her focus is on working with very senior teams to deliver practical solutions, champion positive change, and help organisations have robust governance and assurance controls in place so that they can grow and develop their strategy in a sustainable way.
James Broome – Showjumping Specific
Managing one of the busiest equestrian facilities within the UK for the past two decades, James brings tremendous knowledge and understanding of the sport as a whole in addition to the requirements of those participating in it. James has also sat as an elected Director and Vice Chair on the board of another BEF member body, British Carriagedriving, as well as having served in a voluntary capacity on a number of BEF groups including the BEF Facilities Steering Group.
David Sheerin – Showjumping Specific
General Manager at Wellington Riding, David has designed and upgraded the competition centre to a world class level. He has developed revenue expension strategies and delivered business stragegy and systems to improve quality and efficiency of operations. He is director of the Wellington International Horse Trials (CCI13* level) and also show organiser for Wellington Riding's CSI2* and CDI3* shows. David was Chief Instructor at Wellington Riding before taking the role of General Manager in 2014 - he brings with him a depth of knowledge that spans delivery of training programmes through the understanding of stakeholder needs within the sport.
David brings with him leadership and team-building skills along with an indepth management of coaching and mentoring operations and change management, business planning and corporate governance. He has worked alongside all three Olympic equestrian national governing bodies.
Values
British Showjumping strives to achieve excellence and fairness in everything we do, supporting all people and horses to enjoy our sport.Inclusivity: Open and welcoming to all wanting to be involved
Respect: For each other, our horses and the contributions made at all levels
Excellence: In everything we do from broadening participation to winning medals
Integrity: Demonstrating conduct that is ethical, honest, kind and sustainable
Welfare: The welfare of horses must be paramount