Lingfield Equine Distance Learning est. 1996

Lingfield Equine Distance Learning was founded on the belief that everyone deserves access to clear, practical, and genuinely supportive equestrian education, whether they’re new to horse care, preparing for qualifications, or simply wanting to give their horses the best life possible.

That belief was at the heart of Paula Clements’ vision when she began teaching her first lecture courses in the early 1990s. Born and raised around horses in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, Paula’s own early days of pony ownership taught her how essential good advice and experienced guidance were. She knew the challenges of being a novice owner, and remembered the value of every kind word and bit of help she’d received. From the start, she wanted Lingfield to be a place that offered that same friendly, trustworthy support to others.

Paula wasn’t just an instructor – she was a mentor, guide, and sounding board for thousands of students over three decades. She spent long hours personally replying to questions about careers, feeding, stable management, behaviour problems, and training dilemmas. Many of her students would say she truly listened—she understood their worries and treated every query with patience, empathy, and an impressive depth of knowledge.

Professionally, Paula was highly respected for her specialist expertise. She developed Lingfield’s range of courses alongside other experienced educators and subject-matter experts, ensuring every module was grounded in real-world, humane, horse-centred management. She championed a more natural and flexible approach to horsemanship long before it was widely accepted, questioning rigid, old-fashioned methods in favour of understanding each horse as an individual.

Paula also understood that not everyone wanted to compete at high levels. She believed the horse world should be welcoming to the owner who simply wants to improve, feel more confident, and enjoy their horse in the most natural, fulfilling way possible. For Paula, qualifications were valuable, but they weren’t the end goal. The real measure of success was a happy, healthy horse and a confident, capable owner.

Under Paula’s leadership, Lingfield stayed true to its specialist mission: offering detailed, practical equestrian education, with lifetime access and real support long after the certificate was earned. She believed learning should be friendly, accessible, and ongoing, and she took immense pride in seeing Lingfield students go on to run their own yards, become accredited instructors, or simply become better carers for their own horses.