Meet The Team
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Founder, MD & Chief Editor
Rory Paddock
Managing Director Rory was originally a Primary School Teacher by trade, however decided to set up his own blog based around his number one passion, horse racing!
His love for the sport cannot be questioned, as his right arm is adorned with various racing silks, including those of the Aga Khan and Rory’s two favourite horses Sergeant Cecil and Grey Abbey.
Ten years after his launching his blog Rory turned it into a racing editorial company, and it has continued to grow exponentially. He admits that at times it's very much been a labour of love but, as he launches SILKS Magazine, he cannot wait to make a much-needed impact in the world of racing, and hopes he can bring a fresh, younger and more in-touch voice to true racing fans.

Assistant Head Editor
Chris Connolly
Our resident, no-nonsense, straight-talking Yorkshireman Chris loves a big field handicap. He's been with the company longer than most, and his knowledge of racing is second to none.
A die-hard lover of Persian Punch and Rooster Booster, he'd argue with anyone about their credentials.
Nevertheless, Chris is a shrewd punter who can spot value a mile off.

Senior Writer
Dean Kilbryde
Born and raised in Bolton (think Peter Kay, Warburtons bread, Fred Dibnah), Dean's passion for racing is only matched by his love of fishing. If he's not sat on the banks with a rod he's fully immersed into a race card.
Having worked with the company for close to 10 years he's been a major part of our success and as such plays in integral role in what we do.
Although he's more of a national hunt fan he's fully versed in the international racing scene and looks forward to the major US races including the Breeders Cup meeting.

SILKS Ambassador
Gina Mangan
Amazing, talented and a masterful young jockey Gina Mangan becomes a SILKS Ambassador. We'll be hearing from Gina regularly in our magazine and quite simply, we're lucky to have her.

Senior Writer
Matt Polley
Ipswich born and bred Matt is a Newmarket resident who is a former assistant trainer and point to point jockey who's worked within the industry for most of his adult life.
Now based at racing HQ he continues to work with many a racehorse which has included superstars such as Frankel.
As with many a racing fan his love for Desert Orchid knows no bounds as he feels he's the best Matt has ever seen.

Senior Writer
Luke Tucker
Luke fell in love with racing after attending the Cheltenham Festival as a fresh-faced 18-year-old. Based in Somerset, and with a preference for the jumps, he can often be seen at Wincanton, and is insistent that anyone who has never been should do so at least once. The brilliant Hurricane Fly, Native River and Balthazar King are amongst the fabulous racehorses to have captured his imagination.
Something of a value seeker, Luke likes to explore the ante-post markets, and especially enjoys targeting the major Festival races.
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Media Lead Co-Ordinater
Dawn Leadon-Bolger
Dawn is a racehorse re-trainer, writer, horse racing fan, sustainable fashionista and owner.
Her parents were both jockeys so she was aptly named after ‘The Mare’ Dawn Run. Having grown up with horses all her life, she has been lucky enough to represent Ireland in numerous equestrian disciplines.
In her own words: “A degree in film has helped to incorporate horses into my creative side. I can usually be found at ‘my altar,’ which is at the parade ring - inside or out. On a race day, big or small, I like to get as close to the horses as possible, as you can tell a lot by watching their behaviour, how they look and their movement. Dressing up in sustainable clothes or making a fun hat becomes a good talking point at the races too. I love fashion, especially when it can be done on a budget and still be enjoyed. The retraining of racehorses to go on to a different discipline is a big part of my life, and I have been lucky enough to have horses win retrained championships and become therapy horses. I feel by doing this I am giving something back to an animal that brings us all such joy. Horse racing makes me get up in the morning and has got me through the saddest times and brought me the happiest.”

Media Coordinator
Charley Logan
Charley has worked in the racing industry for a little over 10 years and competed on the showjumping circuit previously. She's been fortunate enough to work for some fantastic trainers including Mick Easterby, Godolphin and John Ryan and has experience of racing in numerous countries around the world. She's super excited to be a part of SILKS and is going to be a major contributor to the magazine.

News Writer
Jake Green
Jake has been an avid racing fan since he was little, and as he gets older his passion for the sport has continued to grow. Having worked for some of the biggest trainers in the business, including Nicky Henderson and Michael Bell, he has had the fortune to ride some top-class horses in their work. He's now focused on the journalism side of racing and can further his passion for the sport by writing about it and is very excited to be a part of the SILKS team.

Racing Multi-News Writer
Liberty Stone
Horses have been a very main part of Liberty’s life from a very young age competing internationally in mounted games for many years including a 5th place finish at a world championship, being the youngest and only female to make the final that year! In any spare time she enjoys competing on the British Showjumping circuit. She’s been in the racing industry now ever since leaving school 9 years ago!
A few years ago she joined the resurgent Milton Harris as one of his assistant. Liberty has also been lucky enough to experience racing at all of the top meetings in the UK and in countries around the world with her favourite being the famous 'White Turf' in St. Moritz!

Client Representation Executive
Hannah Benson
Hannah has been involved in the racing industry for almost 8 years and holds the claim to fame of riding in a charity race at Ascot back in 2015.
She has previously worked in the stud industry and done yearling prep alongside studying Equine Science at Oxford Brooke’s.
Having caught the bug, she continued riding for a variety of trainers both on the flat and over jumps, but after numerous severe injuries she had to curtail the fun of riding racehorses and team chasing (after much nagging from loved ones!) She now concentrates on her own mare who she goes show-jumping with.

Client Representation Executive
Zoe Adamson
Zoe is one of our Client Representation Executive. She has an equestrian background and has previously worked with retailers in the equine industry. Zoe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Equine Therapy and Rehabilitation and is a qualified Equine Massage Therapist. Zoe has also had horses for the past 10 years and owns a fell pony called Polly.

Client Representation Executive
Zoe Moore-Williams
Zoe is one of our Client Representation Managers. She is a keen racing enthusiast, having grown up and worked within the industry, including a five-year stint with Philip Hobbs. Zoe has benefitted from years of professional experience in various industries. Sales & Marketing is her forte, and she is also a fully-fledged Social Media Manager.

Racing Historian
Steve Bradley
Steve is a devotee of horse racing’s halcyon days from the 1960s to the 1990s. He caught the racing bug as a small boy living near Catterick racecourse, where he was lucky enough to see the great Red Rum in action in the 1970s.
He runs the nostalgia website goingbehind.com, which features daily reflections of historic race cards from the newspapers of the day, and has undertaken private research commissions for various figures within the racing industry.
Away from racing Steve enjoys photography, rescue greyhounds and vintage British TV drama.

Breeding & Sales Reporter
Jane Stevens
Jane’s racing career to date has been varied with time spent working alongside studs and consigners in addition to her time spent at the EBF. This has given her a broad overview of both racing, sales and breeding and she has now chosen to focus more closely on the thoroughbred breeding industry, an area she is especially passionate about.

Editorial & Feature Writer
Samantha Martin
Sam's interest in racing developed whilst watching the sport with her Grandad. Racing was something she knew could always put a smile on his face when he became poorly with Dementia. He would joke that he ‘created a monster’ when she went on rants about the latest news stories or rambled about recent incredible performances. She progressed to writing these thoughts into articles for Rein It In Racing in September 2017, aged twelve, and, more recently, expanded her horizons to podcasting, social media content creating, hosting and radio. After creating an article entitled ‘Should Young People Get Into Horse Racing?’, her talent was evident. We are super excited to have her here at Silks Magazine!

Writer
Peter Keogh
Hailing from the south of Ireland Peter lives in the heart of Irish racing county.
As someone who schooled Silver Birch before he won the Grand National he knows the sport inside and out.
He says there's nothing better in racing than a winner and aims to help readers find some of their own.

Writer
Michael Taylor
Scottish writer Michael lives in Fife, Scotland. As head of operations for racing syndicate Making Headway Racing he provides an alternative insight into the sport.
His punting prowess blossomed from an early age when backing 5 winners out of 6 races at Newcastle at the age of eight. It may have only been £2 a race but he felt like a millionaire!
He feels there is nothing better in racing than talking up a horse to a plethora of people and seeing it win well. Let’s hope for more of the same from Michael.

Writer
Tom Bates
Denman superfan Tom grew up in the small town of, Coleshill, in the midlands. After watching racing with his Father as a youngster, his interest and passion began to snowball once entering his teenage years. With a keen eye for detail, Tom enjoys nothing better than analysing races in depth which explains his position with SILKS.

Writer
Kieran McHugh
Kieran hails from the Lancashire town of Blackburn, which is probably most famous for the football team winning the Premier League before he was even born! He's had the pleasure of speaking with many luminary figures within racing and becoming a part owner of a few horses. He was inspired after hearing tales from his father and his grandfather reminiscing on such horses like Brigadier Gerard; Mill Reef; Crisp, and more colourful ones like Ubedizzy. From his own era, he grew up on a diet of superstars such as Frankel; Hurricane Fly; Denman, and a personal favourite of his, Lord Windermere.

Lifestyle & Fashion Creator
Lucinda Woolstenhulme
Lucinda is an established Country Fashion blogger who combines a love of horses with a keen interest in Country style and fashion. As well as having ridden and owned horses since a child, Lucinda studied Equestrian Sports Science and has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the Equestrian athlete. With a passion for Racing, her love of Country Fashion really accelerated through attendance at race meets, where she found a fondness for creating unique and timeless racing outfits.
![Photo 18-03-2022, 19 33 31[10696]_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fce5f7_33c33459ea7f49f0933c801460b6c3ee~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_180,y_0,w_1633,h_1203/fill/w_456,h_336,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Photo%2018-03-2022%2C%2019%2033%2031%5B10696%5D_edited.jpg)
Lifestyle & Fashion Creator
Lauren Price
Lauren is a fashion designer specialising in luxury footwear, accessories, and clothing, with her designs regularly spotted at race meets. She has also worked for the world-renowned milliner, Philip Treacy, so has a strong understanding of race day attire from head-to-toe.
Lauren also built up a successful Instagram, Laurenprice_looks which is mainly focused on race day dressing and helping others style outfit. Alongside taking a passion in dressing herself for race days, Lauren also styles fellow race go-ers as well as the racing presenter, Adele Mulrennan.
Living in the heart of flat racing, Lauren has grown up around horses and racing her whole life with many of her friends and family being trainers, jockeys, valets or working in yards. Most weekends Lauren wil be found at a race meet getting coverage for social media.

Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
Kaci-Jay Osborne
Kaci’s love for horses started from a very young age, having grown up around them all of her life, which led her to her current role with top trainer Alan King.
She started riding race horses around 3 years ago and hasn't looked back.
Aside from her love of racing she has a passion for fashion: “I have always been interested in the fashion side of the equestrian world and place an importance on always looking my best, because you just never know who you're going to meet, and in the equine industry you meet a lot of people.”
![Natalie Profile[7393].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fce5f7_1ec576c724f448b59572861dac33a13b~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_11,y_0,w_3173,h_2338/fill/w_456,h_336,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Natalie%20Profile%5B7393%5D.jpg)
Lifestyle & Fashion Writer
Natalie Hambling
Natalie has been lucky to have experienced the horse racing world from both the professional and racegoer position. Having been a jockey and an avid lover of racing, the industry is very close to her heart. With a passion for fashion, Natalie loves the diversity in that depending on the meeting, you can wear vastly different items and styles of clothing. With her own equestrian brand, Natalie knows the both the racing and fashion industries inside and out and believes in the mantra that if you look your best, you feel your best.
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