A showjumper has been accused of ‘pestering’ a female rider for sex in exchange for free lessons – before the pair then went on to have a threesome with an underage teenager just months later, a court has heard.
Horse-riding instructor Guy Simmonds, 37, began flirting with fellow rider Lauren Jarvis, 26, when she attended his yard for a lesson with her horse.
A court heard Jarvis said Simmonds told her: ‘I wish you would ride me like you ride your horses.’
She received WhatsApp messages from Simmonds on the same day as the lesson asking her for ‘inappropriate images.’
Giving evidence, Jarvis said: ‘He was trying to get me to send him inappropriate images while I was in a relationship with my boyfriend. It was the same day I had the riding lesson.
‘I approached my boyfriend and made him aware and then I blocked Guy for a little while on WhatsApp messenger.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard Jarvis spoke with Simmonds two years later when she received a message from him saying ‘hi’ after she had broken up with her long-term partner.
She said: ‘He started to become quite flirty towards me. He started pestering me for sex.’
Horse-riding instructor Guy Simmonds, 37, offered free lessons to Lauren Jarvis, 26, in exchange for sex before the pair engaged in a threesome with an underage girl, a court heard
Lauren Jarvis said Simmonds ‘pestered’ her for sex until she finally ‘gave in’ in October 2023
Jarvis told the court that Simmonds turned up at her home in Newport, Gwent and asked her and an underage teenager to engage in a threesome in January 2024
Jarvis said Simmonds sent flirty messages to her every week until she finally ‘gave in’ and had sex with him in October 2023 – three months before the alleged threesome with an underage girl.
She told the jury Simmonds came to her home in Newport, Gwent, under the guise of coming for a coffee before they had sex for the first time.
Jarvis said: ‘He was ok at first then he started being flirty.
‘He wanted me to have sex with him. He asked me to have sex with him. I felt uncomfortable. He asked me a few times before I gave in.
‘When he asked it was quite calm at first, then it got quite aggressive because I wasn’t giving in.’
Jarvis, who worked night shifts as support care worker, said Simmonds told her she could have free riding lessons in exchange for sex.
She said: ‘He said I could have the lessons weekly with him if I returned the favour with sex. I didn’t want to do it. He kept pestering me for that sex.’
Jarvis said Simmonds repeatedly turned up at her flat before letting himself in to have sex with her – leaving her feeling ‘scared.’
Jarvis told the court that she had sex with Simmonds but claims the underage victim went downstairs while the encounter took place
She said she started to pay £40 an hour for lessons in a bid to stop him turning up at her address.
The court heard the alleged threesome took place in January last year when Simmonds messaged Jarvis to see if the victim was at her house.
But Jarvis claims she believed the conversation was ‘banter and a wind up’ before Simmonds walked in and said: ‘Who am I having first?’
Jarvis said: ‘I said I didn’t want to take any part in a threesome at all. He said: ‘I didn’t come here for nothing.’ He meant that he wanted sex. He said it very aggressively.’
The court heard Jarvis had sex with Simmonds but claims the underage victim went downstairs while the encounter took place.
Jarvis said the victim returned upstairs before she left the youngster alone with Simmonds in her bedroom for between 10 to 15 minutes.
The court heard Simmonds messaged Jarvis after the alleged threesome to say: ‘Hey, I have a feeling that she has said about us. If anyone asks for sake of both of us nothing ever happened that night xx.’
Prosecutor James Hartson said there had been a ‘clear element of grooming behaviour’ from Simmonds before the threesome even though he had ‘no doubt at all’ about the victim’s age.
Cardiff Crown Court, pictured, heard Simmonds had made an agreement with his partner Rebecca Dimes, 34, that he could ‘stray’ in their relationship
Simmonds told the court he had made an agreement with his partner Rebecca Dimes, 34, that he could ‘stray’ in their relationship but she ‘did not want to know anything about it.’
He denied any sexual contact with the victim and claimed the girl had faked WhatsApp conversations relating to the alleged threesome.
Simmonds is accused of six counts of sexual activity with a child and Jarvis faces one charge of sexual activity with a child.
Simmonds, of Undy, Gwent, and Jarvis, of Newport, deny all charges.
The trial, before judge Lucy Crowther, continues.
