She Leads the Field – Helen | Brymbleton Gundogs
Patience, perspective, and letting the dogs lead
Helen’s story is rooted firmly in the countryside. She grew up farming and hunting, surrounded by animals, ponies and family dogs, though not trained gundogs. Her path into gundog work wasn’t immediate, and it certainly wasn’t smooth, but it was shaped by curiosity, persistence and a deep respect for the dogs in front of her.
In her mid-twenties, Helen began beating on small farm shoots with friends. It wasn’t until she bought her own home and her first Cocker Spaniel that everything changed. The dog was, in her words, “horrendous” running off, testing boundaries and forcing Helen to seek help from a local gundog trainer. Watching well-trained dogs work lit a spark. “I want my dogs to do that,” she remembers.
That first Spaniel taught Helen resilience.
Confidence didn’t come easily. She avoided taking dogs beating for fear of embarrassment, but stuck with it anyway. Over time, training became the focus rather than the shooting, and with the arrival of her first Springer Spaniel, everything began to click. Today, Helen works with two Cockers and five Springers, competes in field trials and runs Brymbleton Gundogs alongside her partner Rob, a gamekeeper.
Helen’s love of Spaniels runs deep. She’s drawn to their intensity, their hunt and the way they demand thought and adaptability. “They make you think,” she says. No two dogs are the same and that’s shaped her training philosophy. Her style has evolved constantly, adaptive, empathetic and patient. Every dog has forced her to change how she trains, how she reacts, and how long she waits before asking for more.
One of the biggest lessons Helen has learned is patience. Where once she might have rushed a young dog into work, she now allows time to build confidence and understanding. Tailoring training to the dog’s personality rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all method has transformed both her results and her relationship with her dogs.
Being a woman in field sports hasn’t been Helen’s main obstacle, navigating cliques has. She describes the difficulty of entering established picking-up groups and trialling circles as more intimidating than gender itself. Confidence, again, was the barrier. Trialling in particular pushed her out of her comfort zone, teaching her to be selective about whose opinions matter and to surround herself with people who genuinely want her to succeed.
For Helen, the field is freedom. Her perfect day isn’t about pressure or performance, it’s rough shooting with friends, older dogs working well, no politics and good company. It’s a lifestyle that can feel isolating at times, but one that offers authenticity, especially after years in a corporate role where she felt she had to be someone else.
Helen chose to partner with Nordic Field & Sport because the gear does what it promises. Warm means warm. Waterproof means waterproof. Beyond that, she values supporting women building businesses in the same space, women who understand the balance between personal ambition, family life, and supporting a partner’s career.
Looking forward, Helen is entering a new chapter. A move to North Yorkshire, her first homebred litter, and continued progress toward open and novice trials. Her focus is steady, grounded, and realistic much like her presence in the field.
Quick-fire
- Must-have kit: A whistle
- Post-field drink: Coffee
- One word in the field: Laid back
Looking Ahead
Helen's story is a reminder that there's no single route into field sports, no fixed background, no perfect start, no 'right' way to do things. What matters is patience, adaptability and the willingness to keep showing up for the dogs in front of you.
Through Brymbleton Gundogs, Helen continues to build a life shaped by the field: quietly, consistent, grounded and deeply respectful of both the work and the animals she works alongside. It's a journey defined not by noise or ego, but by trust, earned day by day, dog by dog.
She leads the Field exist to share stories like Helen's. Stories that prove these is space for different personalities, different paths and different ways of doing things, all united by the shared love of the field.
Next in the series:
on 19th of March, we'll be introducing Emily of Cottershot Working Labradors, a woman who describe herself as chaotic in the field and whose honest, unfiltered approach to dogs, confidence and learning as you go, offers a refreshingly real perspective on working Labradors.
If Helen's calm consistency resonated with you, Emily's story might just remind you that you don't need to have it all figured out, you just need to have a go.
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Amanda Hjert
Founder
Nordic Field & Sport
She Leads the Field was created to share the stories I wish I’d been able to read when I was finding my own way into this world. Helen’s journey is one of quiet confidence, patience, and showing up, even when it feels uncomfortable. I hope her story encourages you to trust your own path, wherever you’re at.