Our People

Ineke Pitts

Ineke dedicates a great deal of her time, to voluntarily support and uplift the industry, including advising new owners and helping in the treatment and rescue of sick and injured horses and ponies. We have established a massive network of like-minded individuals, of horse lovers; owners, equine professionals including vets and riders from the region. We support one another by open-handedly exchanging knowledge and experience through social media and WhatsApp groups, to improve knowledge, improve access to proper advice on all things relating to horses in Sri Lanka’. Her social media group “Horse Lovers in Sri Lanka” has a membership of over 2500, mostly Sri Lankans who genuinely want to improve their knowledge. Ceylon Riding Club Facebook Page has almost 8,000 followers.

During the lockdown Ineke offered an online course for new horse and pony owners in Sri Lanka, to learn all aspects of horse husbandry and how it relates to ground realities in Sri Lanka. Eleven people participated and graduated the eight-week course which included everything from selecting the right horse, recognizing and treating life-threatening conditions and how and when to call the vet.

Ineke is an international business management consultant, with a Doctorate in Organisational Change, at Ashridge Business School. She understands better than most, the complexity of the task ahead. "I started out with the intention of stopping the unnecessary suffering and death of so many horses and ponies in Sri Lanka", she said. "Luckily, I have a wide network of local and international experts, who support us free-of charge, and share a passion, to see the industry in this country develop at the rate it should, and in line with other Asian countries."

Founder and CEO of Ceylon Riding Club, Ineke, is a British Lady who made Sri Lanka her home for the last 25 years after working in Hong Kong on the airport project. She played a significant role of establishing the Sri Lankan Army Mounted Division. She has a vision to uplift the equestrian industry in Sri Lanka. "We don’t want to replicate what others are doing," she mentioned, "we should aim to do things at a high standard, but in a way that also reflects and appreciates Sri Lankan Culture and traditions."