Helen Nicholls, whose time as a high-performance athlete was spent in windsurfing, will join British Equestrian as performance director in early May.
Her mission is to provide leadership of the elite talent World Class Programs funded by UK Sport and the National Lottery, and senior championship teams in the disciplines of dressage, eventing, jumping and para-dressage. She has spent more than 20 years in elite sport, and her experience is geared toward working with athletes and support teams to provide the correct environment for delivery of results.
Richard (Dickie) Waygood (you’ve often seen him at Land Rover Kentucky) acted as interim performance director through the Tokyo Games and led the teams to one of their most successful Games performances ever. He will have a new role, technical director, as well as continuing as eventing performance manager.
Helen has a degree in Applied Sports Performance,which led her to a decade-long career with British sailing (the Royal Yachting Association) in roles covering sport management and coach development in pathway and elite programs.
Helen then went to UK Sport as a performance advisor, where she worked across a number of sports, equestrian included, to facilitate maximum medal return for the investment into each governing body.
In 2018, she went into the Paralympic sport of Boccia as performance director, leading the team to Tokyo, where the highlight was individual gold for David Smith.
“I feel privileged and excited to be given this opportunity to join British Equestrian and I look forward to building on the outstanding success in Tokyo,” commented Helen. “My role will be to lead the WCP team, work closely with Richard Waygood, the performance managers, athletes, coaches, and the wider staff to continue delivering successful programs which enable riders to fulfill their tremendous potential.”
A horse owner in the past, Helen has a passion for the sport and is very aware of the unique challenges equestrian sport faces.
Richard Waygood has been involved with British Equestrian’s World Class Program for over 12 years and has been integral to its success over the last three Games cycles. He agreed to take on the Performance Director role and lead the effort through Tokyo on the basis it was an interim appointment. His extensive knowledge and skill set should serve well for the new role of technical director to advise and support the performance director, as they work in tandem to create and deliver a successful program.
Dickie said: “I’ve worked closely with Helen [Nicholls] previously during her time with UK Sport and as a fellow performance director in the run-up to and during the Tokyo Paralympics and her credentials are exceptionally strong.
“She understands elite sport programs and how to deliver results which is key, as is a solid relationship with UK Sport and other key partners, which Helen can provide. I believe that the technical director role will give our program a new dimension and with Helen and myself, plus our outstanding group of support staff, working with our immensely talented athletes and horses, it’s never been a more exciting time for us.”
British Equestrian Chief Executive Jim Eyre added: “Paris (the 2024 Olympics) is on the horizon and the World Championships later this year provide us with our first chance to secure qualification, which will be our primary objective – I look forward to working with Helen, Dickie and the World Class Program staff and athletes to make it happen.”