My name is Victoria Spicer, and I am a freelance journalist and press officer, based in London.

I am originally from Scotland, growing up in a small village on the edge of Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. I was obsessed with horses from an early age - in fact, my first pony was bought for me three months before I was even born!

I was a member of The Pony Club and tried absolutely every discipline I could with my ponies. During my teens, I competed mainly in showing and dressage, but I watched as much show jumping and eventing as I could.

After school, I went to the University of Edinburgh, where I graduated with an MA (Hons) English Literature. During my four years at Edinburgh, I was a section editor on the Student newspaper, and also wrote for Scottish lifestyle glossy Caledonia. Keen to work in the publishing industry, my next plan was to complete a postgraduate qualification in journalism at Sheffield University.

I spent the summer on the British Horseracing Authority's graduate scheme, then a few weeks before I was due to start my course at Sheffield, I was offered a job at Horse & Hound magazine, as a senior sub editor.

I stayed there for three hugely enjoyable years, before being offered a promotion to deputy editor of H&H's sister title, Horse. In my time at IPC Media, I have written a great number of features on a range of topics, including training, competing, horsecare, fitness, products, rider fashion, property, careers, veterinary care, racing and more.

Highlights during my time at H&H and Horse have included interviewing a number of high-profile and Olympic riders, and also achieving one win and four nominations at the company’s editorial awards, which cover every magazine that IPC publishes.

After a total of six years at IPC Media, I made the decision to leave in order to focus on my writing career. Since April 2010, I have been a full-time freelance writer. I have continued to write for Horse & Hound and Horse, as well as a number of other publications including Eventing and Paces. I have also edited several full length non-fiction books for Cadmos Publishing.

In October 2010 I was given the role of Press Officer for the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead. This involves sending out press releases throughout the year, dealing with media enquiries, manning the press office during the shows, arranging media competitions, updating the Hickstead.co.uk website, assisting with social media, and liaising with riders.

Recently I have taken on the part-time role of Editor for Horse & Country TV and I also do PR for equestrian publishers LewisHarding.