Fiona Harrison

Fi is the Senior Coach and Equine Standards Manager at University Centre Askham Bryan (UCAB), where she also serves as Academy Director. In this role, she mentors student-athletes, oversees coaching provision, and supports learners in balancing their academic aspirations with competitive goals. She teaches across a range of higher education equine modules and contributes to the Northern Region British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) organising committee.

Fi holds a MSc with Honours in Professional Coaching in Practice and is a British Horse Society (BHS) Level 5 Performance Coach (Complete Coach – Registered). She is also a UKCC British Eventing (BE) Level 4 Accredited Coach and a graduate of the National Development Programme for Coaching Excellence. Fi is a BHS Senior Assessor, Internal Verifier, and IQA, as well as an ABRS Assessor, Pony Club Assessor, and a Fellow of Advance HE, BSC Agricultural Business and Finance.

Having worked in the equestrian and farming industries her entire professional life, Fi brings extensive experience in both practical horsemanship and business operations through her experience as a competitor and running a business. Self-employed for much of her career, she has combined roles as a competition rider and farm accounts manager. She and her family run their own yard, where they keep racehorses, competition horse, and breed a small number of horses each year.

Fi has a strong coaching background and regularly delivers clinics in show jumping, flatwork, polework, gridwork, and cross-country. She has coached for British Eventing Northern Region, Pony Clubs, Riding Clubs, Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) North East Region, and as a BHS-accredited coach.

She has been teaching on Higher Education animal and equine courses in the UK for over 25 years. Alongside her academic teaching, Fi works as an external consultant and academic quality advisor for various UK universities. She also volunteers her time on the BHS North West Yorkshire Committee, where she serves as the Education and Events Coordinator. In addition, she supports individual athlete development as a mentor and business consultant within the industry.

Presentations

Fi leads on modules primarily focused on sport coaching and practical horsemanship at Levels 4 through 6. Her research interests include decision-making in equestrian athletes, coaching pedagogy, and athlete-centred development. She recently presented her research at the Alltech Research Conference, focusing on decision-making in athletes, and has contributed to conferences hosted by the British Equestrian Federation.