Katherine Bateson-Chandler

Born: April 10, 1975
Hometown: Wellington, Florida

Katherine Bateson-Chandler was born in England and moved to the U.S. in 1986. She started working for Robert Dover at the age of 16 as a groom at his New Jersey and Wellington, FL, farms and also worked as an assistant trainer for more than 16 years. Bateson-Chandler groomed at two World Championships and two Olympics, and in 2008 she started her own training business.

Katherine and Dea II. (Photo by SusanJStickle.com)

Bateson-Chandler had limited competition experience until 2005, when Dover retired from competition. That competition year, at Bateson-Chandler’s first Grand Prix, she made it to the national championships on Ranier. In 2006, Bateson-Chandler and FBW Kennedy won the FEI Grand Prix at the Zada Enterprises, LLC, Dressage Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, scoring a 70.208%.

She has had multiple wins at both the small tour and Grand Prix and enjoyed an exceptional season in Florida in 2009. With Rutherford and Dea II, both owned by Jane Clark, Bateson-Chandler finished in the Top 10 in every outing, including multiple wins at the Intermediaire I level. Both horses qualified for the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions in the Intermediaire I National Championship. At the National Championships Bateson-Chandler proved her mettle, taking first and third with Dea II and Rutherford respectively.

In 2010 during the Florida winter season, Bateson-Chandler moved up to the Grand Prix level with Dea II and Rutherford, garnering consistent results. She was awarded the Trilogy Dressage Saddle “Best Seat” award during the 2010 Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI.

In May, Jane Clark acquired Nartan, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding, who had been competing with Jeanette Haazen of The Netherlands. Nartan was purchased in order to give Bateson-Chandler an opportunity to qualify for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Bateson-Chandler trained Nartan with Haazen at her farm in Neeroeteren, Belgium, over the summer. The pair competed in their first CDI competition June 11-13 in France at the CDI Vidauban, where they finished second in the Grand Prix with a score of 68.359% and second in the Grand Prix Freestyle with a 72.65%.

Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Nartan at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman)

In the fall of 2010, Bateson-Chandler and Nartan represented the U.S. at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY. They helped the U.S. to a fourth-place team finish and individually qualified for Grand Prix Special.