About VJH

Vanessa's career spans across years of nursing; breeding racehorses; riding competitively at State and International level; teaching, lecturing and mentoring unemployed groups and aspiring Olympic riders; publishing books; creating events; developing rural properties single handedly; founding the internationally renowned Equine Sports Breeding (ESB) program; sales in a global corporate arena and sharing her business skills and creativity as a consultant with PeeP Downunder; and now as an educator with ESB education and HICCUP (a horse industry careers program).

Over the last thirty years Vanessa has developed a number of concepts, events and projects; worked with a wide range of groups and individuals including students; unemployed groups, international organizations; large corporations; business owners and leaders; overcome adversity and realised her own personal dreams.

Vanessa has owned horses all her life, worked in Thoroughbred breeding and racing, and been a breeder of Olympic equestrian horses for more than thirty years. Her Equine Sports Breeding (ESB) program is internationally recognised as one of the largest and most successful in Australia, consistently producing elite eventers including the sire of silver medalist at Beijing Olympic Games, Irish Jester.

Vanessa is designing education programs to share her knowledge and experience with horses creating electronic manuals and using digital technology with ESB education.  She is also developing career programs called HICCUP (Horse Industry Careers 4U & your Parents) to support others with their horse passion and journey with a series of lectures, workshops and seminars. 

She qualified as a Registered Nurse and then studied Horse Management for two years full time at Glenormiston Agricultural College; has covered international events as a journalist; wrote the theoretical material for the first Diploma in Equine Myofunctional Therapy (EMT) course and was the senior lecturer for the National College of Traditional Medicine EMT course from 1993 to 1997.

In 1994, she became a Director and then Honorary Secretary of the Australian Horse Industry Council, Vanessa was actively involved in many initiatives including a five-year strategic plan whilst Andrew Peacock was in the chair.

She also played an integral role in many economic studies conducted by KPMG and RIRDC on the horse industry. Vanessa was the industry representative on the Rural Training Council of Australia (RTCA); was involved in Protect Australian Livestock Week in 2011 and managing the threat of disease outbreak when ‘Foot and Mouth’ became a risk to Australia; she initiated a Road Safety Campaign with VicRoads and successfully developed the first database of the Australian Horse Industry and then self-published and distributed the “A-Z Horse Industry Directory”.

Australian Horse Industry

In 1997, Vanessa was asked to develop the first EQUITANA Asia Pacific in 1999 and was appointed Event Director. EQUITANA has been held in Germany since 1968 and attracts over 300,000 people. EQUITANA Asia Pacific was officially launched by the Premier, Jeff Kennett. The event had a $2 million budget and was held in the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre, attracting over 75,000 people and winning several Tourism Awards.

Her focus changed dramatically when her partner was diagnosed with bi polar and when this relationship fell apart after a seven-year battle, Vanessa became a consultant for Bartercard from 2003-2007. The company is the world’s largest trade exchange and services over 35,000 business owners in 8 different countries with financial and marketing support.

Vanessa achieved international status in her first year and went on to become number one salesperson in the world. She has also smashed the company’s world record, twice. She was the National Sales Manager for Bartercard UK in 2008, recruiting and training a large sales team.

After helping thousands of business owners with Bartercard, Vanessa designed her own specialised consultancy service, PeeP Downunder to support others in their business journey. She offers her skills and experience to assist business owners with unique ideas and creative solutions to leverage their current operation and marketing strategies.

Vanessa is very community minded and was President of her local community group for many years, developing their strategic plan, establishing historical displays, running several events and Australia Day awards. She was also the Editor of the local paper and their representative on the Country Newspapers Association of Victoria (CNAV).