Where you began riding? Me, Whiteleaf...

Muchadoaboutnothing said:
I was also a 'helper'! lol Was about 89-94ish.

Black Magic used to be stabled next to a little shettie called Peter who was ancient :D

Ahh and 'mini school' where the ponies were kept.
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i am soooo impressed that you remember there names i think i have worked at tooo many stables i can barely remember mine lol.
i think when you were starting there i was just leaving
i think i went on a sunday and did a mixture of lessons and hacks.
i remember the yard being all over the place ?!? is that right? i have a photo somewhere of me i must have been about 6 and i was there with a little jack russel and i had my hat and a blue and white spotted coat and a whip i looked sooo cute :D
 
Mrs Pettys riding school at Hallen Nr Bristol, it was way outside of bristol and very leafy laney, I used to catch the country bus and this was in 1962.

When we arrived it was always bedlam and we were all told to run along to the tack room and 'find a hat that fits ok' which we all did in huge excitement!!! as you can imagine hats very rarely fitted your head and I would often end up unable to see where me and the pony were going as the peak had tipped over my eyes. Instructor would just shout "look up!!look up!!".

Ooooh happy days.
 
1971 aged 8 :eek: Coach House Stables at Milverton in Somerset, posh stables, great indoor school, lovely hacking right off stables onto track..I learnt to ride on the most gorgeous little skewbald called Nutmeg, week 2 went out for a hack and he put his head down between his front legs to eat, the saddle slipped and I slide down his neck to the ground and ended up winded :)..there was also Smokey, Taffy, Smally, Debbie, Dandy, Carrie, Pippin and others...the daughter then moved as she married a local farmer and she took some of the riding school ponies to Bradford on Tone to her own little stables and I continued with her there riding every Saturday until I was about 15. I also did stable management days and their own tests which were their version of the Pony Club tests. Happy happy days.
 
billy2 said:
Dougalsmum, not only do I remember it but I went out with Graham (you did get the name right). Those stables are now a smallholding, Graham still lives around the corner in Osiers Road, and Whiteleaf Stables is now next door. where the stud farm used to be, if you remember that. I work there!
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OH MY GOD yes! I do remember the place around the corner. Think you had to go under the railway to get to it, up the lane and it was on the left. I am sure it was his mothers place and she was a lovely lady from memory (a hell of a long time ago mind you).

As a child, Graham terrified me, but it didn't stop me going back week after week.

Doubtless we would have bumped into one another if you were on the scene all those years ago (not for one moment you are suggesting you are as long in the tooth as me). You the glam GF of the instructor, me the irritating pony loving school kid with snotty nose and full of ridiculous questions.
 
chestnuttymare said:
Did we not do this one a few months ago.
I was at Tarduf riding school in central scotland. Penny Ritson was the instructor, aussie woman called Penny Ritson, she had the most stunning big chestnut called Jacobite, i think that is where i fell for the colour first. The other ponies were Flash, kim, rusty, thelwell, plum, timpani, misty, tosca. great memories of that place. This was in the early 70's.
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Ah, sorry I didn't see that thread, sorry was just wandering down memory lane. Nice to share the memories though. x
 
Hi al,l approx 1977 Park farm Northwood Middx, lessons were about £12-£15 per half hour :eek: so I used to take cancellations in the school holidays;) I remember the pony was bay/brown and called Robin:)
 
Dougalsmum said:
OH MY GOD yes! I do remember the place around the corner. Think you had to go under the railway to get to it, up the lane and it was on the left. I am sure it was his mothers place and she was a lovely lady from memory (a hell of a long time ago mind you).

As a child, Graham terrified me, but it didn't stop me going back week after week.

Doubtless we would have bumped into one another if you were on the scene all those years ago (not for one moment you are suggesting you are as long in the tooth as me). You the glam GF of the instructor, me the irritating pony loving school kid with snotty nose and full of ridiculous questions.
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I never actually went near the yard! I kept mine at Lynsted and Graham kept work and social very separate. His mum Sylvia is still on the scene, as is his dad I should add! And his sister, if you knew her. I like the idea of being 'glam' but sadly the reality is I exude eau de cheval pretty well all the time and am a dirt magnet - engaging at the age of 6 but wearing a little thin at 53 - there, I said it!
 
Daisydo said:
Rednil riding stables in Welton Lincs. My fav was Copper, started there when I was 5 and still go off and on 30 years later
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Yay Rednil :D do you remember Bogey at all? Loved that horse! :)

First ever RS I went to was Birdsong near Louth in 1997/98 aged 7/8 (shut down now), remember there being a chestnut pony I always rode who I was scared of, 2 shetland ponies, and a grey called Blue.
Next RS was Rednil and I'm still there now (well I am when I can ride! currently not able to.)
 
There was a riding school at Lynsted too wasn't there. Opposite ish to a pub (can't remember the name, Black Bull possibly)

A girl at my school took two ponies from there, I think it may have shut down. Toby a coloured shetland and Prince a roan gelding. She lived in the big dutch barn type place on the left as you turn into Lynsted from the A2.

Good to know that Sylvia and family are all still about and thanks for the reply billy2. I also have the ability to attract anything smelly/dirty and have two Indian street dogs and an OH to show for it ;-)

NOt far behind you either, i'm on the count down to the big one....
 
Dougalsmum said:
There was a riding school at Lynsted too wasn't there. Opposite ish to a pub (can't remember the name, Black Bull possibly)

A girl at my school took two ponies from there, I think it may have shut down. Toby a coloured shetland and Prince a roan gelding. She lived in the big dutch barn type place on the left as you turn into Lynsted from the A2.

Good to know that Sylvia and family are all still about and thanks for the reply billy2. I also have the ability to attract anything smelly/dirty and have two Indian street dogs and an OH to show for it ;-)

NOt far behind you either, i'm on the count down to the big one....
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Yep, Vicarage Farm, that's where I learnt to ride - on Prince! Lame in both front legs but at least he limped evenly. I bought my first horse from there and the rest, as they say, is history...small world. isn't it?
 
I learnt to ride at Thurning Riding School (Cromwell Equestrian Centre?) umm, must be 25 years ago now! First ever ride was a hack on out a shetland called Sam, my friend rode Sparky who was bigger, she only got to ride him cos I thought bigger horses were cool (c'mon, I was 6) so I had to stay on Sam for bloody ages! Learnt to canter on a little chestnut mare called Jolly who I fell off every time I asked for canter and has left me with a 'worry' of canter transitions to this day! :wimp: Also rode at a riding school in Sawtry (Cambs) but can't remember the name - I could take you there though!

Whoever it was at Cimla, my little cob was on loan to a girl who worked there, maybe 3 or 4 years ago now :)
 
Gemzie121 said:
Yay Rednil :D do you remember Bogey at all? Loved that horse! :)

First ever RS I went to was Birdsong near Louth in 1997/98 aged 7/8 (shut down now), remember there being a chestnut pony I always rode who I was scared of, 2 shetland ponies, and a grey called Blue.
Next RS was Rednil and I'm still there now (well I am when I can ride! currently not able to.)
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Hi, do not remember him, I am clearly a little older than you :), when you are fit we should go back together :), do you remember lance?
 
we already had a little pony which was my sisters really and when i was about 8-9 we moved to cornilo riding which was great, after a little while we sold bennie and got kai then in jan 09 i left there and bought my boy i have now and have him on diy grass livery, so nice seeing him everyday, wrather then just at weekends!! (sorry long winded story lol)

and also some names:
bobbin, medley, rocky, daisy, bella, dale, digby, arthur, roxy, ebony and many more. a couple have passed now
 
monkeybum13 said:
I learnt to ride at White Cat Stables, Bristol on an ancient bay pony called Kelly and a dun pony called Jumbo.

I remember the riding school very clearly as it wasn't that long ago that I went! (approx 14yrs ago which is nothing compared to some of you! )
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I live within walking distance of White Cat - we sometimes walk the dog up that long lane (forget the name)! :D
I didn't learn to ride there though, I learnt at Wapley Riding Stables which is now livery only. I then went on to ride at Avon Riding Centre in Henbury. :)

ETA : My parent's home I mean not Aber lol!
 
Daisydo said:
Hi, do not remember him, I am clearly a little older than you :), when you are fit we should go back together :), do you remember lance?
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Sounds good to me! Not sure when I will be back as Im having surgery but will see. No I don't know Lance, I only remember the likes of Treacle (little pony, rode him bareback on a day course), Noko, Honey, Duchess etc saying that I haven't been there all that long really! I know/have known: Eddy, April, Rowley, Grebe, Hannah, Faith, Inca, Kitty, Millie, Briggy, Crunchie, Diana, Treacle, Noko, Rosie, Belle, Honey, Bogeyman, Bess, Autumn, Duchess, Monty, Jessie, Shonie, Nikki, Penny. And I think theres been a couple of other horses, the names of which escape me, including a dappled grey that was there for a while and a small chestnut pony not much bigger than Treacle... Ginger? or something similar. :)
Inca and Grebe etc must have been there a long long time!
 
In Dorset, Bridle Path Lodge RS, mid 80's. Ponies i can remember riding were: Spooky, Rosie, Pinto, Burt.

Then early 90's Myrtle farm RS, near Axminster, Devon. Ponies were: Bramble, Bunty, Shadow, Tasha, Rolo, Jester.

THE best RS ever, in the early 90's was Drake Farm RS, Ilton, Somerset. Ponies were: Gracey, Merrylegs, Posie, Blossom, Blackberry, Maize. That's where I really learnt how to ride a pony and had so much fun.

The memories!!!
 
My mum did RDA for many years,my first ride was in a basket on one of the old ponies,from there i went to york riding school with major cole chasing me round with a trotting pole x
 
Anyone here from Sheffield ?

Clough Fields, Sheffield - had 3 lessons in one year, parents were skint, rode Peanuts and still got bump on foot from her standing on it all them years ago.

Spring Vale, Sheffield - loved Sandy and Crystal

Millview, Sheffield - now closed down, Muffin was my favourite, did my work experience here, lugging bales of hay/straw around at 14 and climbing on haystacks when no-one else would. Constantly got put on Beauty for some reason.

Smeltings Farm, Sheffield - best place ever for me with the two bestest ponies Bravo and Domino, worked here for 3 years
 
I learnt to ride at a stables that must have been somewhere near Alnwick, Northumberland. Can't remember much as I was tiny at the time, but I can remember a really long track there, with many pot holes. My first ride was Barbie, the most beautiful roan :)

After a break I then picked riding back up at Sharna Riding Stables in Buckinghamshire. Loved, loved, loved that place! My fav was Mr Tash, I can also remember Jake, Alpha (plus foal!), Foxy Lady (the bane of my life, taught me to tack a fly kicker up!), Whisper .... some massive bay horse that hardly fit in it's stable, and a chestnut with an amazing long mane who used to go for anyone who walked past his stable but was an angel for his disabled owner!
 
To keep this going anyone from Bradford West Yorks? There were loads of stables round there.
Fagley
Lea Ridge
Tong
Shetcliffe Lane
Thornton
Wrose
Cemetry Road
Not to mention all the ones on the outskirts.
Anyone remember these odd little yards? Only two of the above had arenas and outdoor only at that.
 
I learnt at Shay Lane Stable near Halifax - I have photos of all the ponies that I took the day we relocated to North Yorks - I thouht my life would end...:( then I got Mr Beau and life continued wonderfully. Instructors at the time were Gail Lyons ans Sellwyn Yates - still to this day the finest rider I have ever seen on a horse!!! He used to do a lot of business with John Whitaker but cant remember what, i was only knee high....:) Nice post, happy days:)
 
My first RS was Newton Hall in Swilland, Suffolk. Back in 1966, lessons were, I think, 5-/s (25p), we had to wear hacking jackets and hair had to be put in a net for every lesson.
My usual pony was called Swallow, a very bouncy grey pony who taught me that riding was immense fun, very easy and that horses were the sweetest gentlest animals ever created.
The riding school has gone from strength to strength with the same family over the years.
 
Gemzie121 said:
Sounds good to me! Not sure when I will be back as Im having surgery but will see. No I don't know Lance, I only remember the likes of Treacle (little pony, rode him bareback on a day course), Noko, Honey, Duchess etc saying that I haven't been there all that long really! I know/have known: Eddy, April, Rowley, Grebe, Hannah, Faith, Inca, Kitty, Millie, Briggy, Crunchie, Diana, Treacle, Noko, Rosie, Belle, Honey, Bogeyman, Bess, Autumn, Duchess, Monty, Jessie, Shonie, Nikki, Penny. And I think theres been a couple of other horses, the names of which escape me, including a dappled grey that was there for a while and a small chestnut pony not much bigger than Treacle... Ginger? or something similar. :)
Inca and Grebe etc must have been there a long long time!
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I know inca, dont know the rest, it must have been longer than I thought :)
 
I started in1958 at Sally Bells, at Trowle common in Wiltshire, favourite ponies were Shandy and Amber- Sally packed up a while after and married the master of the Avon Vale. After school i upped sticks and went to Bodmin to do my AI--- Grandest of days but bloody hard work-
 
I learnt to ride at New House Farm livery yard on a CCI 2* Eventer called Poppet in 2009 when i was 15. I've only fallen off once since i started riding so apparently i'm still not classed as a proper rider?! lol
 
i learnt at Littledean RC, Glos.

My mum bought me a course of riding lessons for my 11th birthday, and i think my poor dad has regretted it ever since!

My favourite ponies were Rainbow, an appaloosa, Drummer, a dun heinz 57 and Murphey, an EVIL yet amazing jumping machine. I still have rosettes from gymkhanas and shows there, was gutted when i found out it had closed down.
 
Kilmardinny - out between Bearsden and Milngavie at the north side of Glasgow. It was run by the Sommerville family. My instructor was called Wilma and she was really glam (and really scary back then). Funnily enough, I am now married to her then boyfriends brother:D.

I'm going back a good while here though - probably about 35 years:eek:.

I only got as far as trotting - just as I got moved into the canter class my mum stopped me going as I hadnt tidied my room:(. I didnt ride again for another 10 years after that.
 
Wow, this thread is great! :D

Some time ago... a stables in Mareham-Le-Fen in Lincolnshire. Can't remember the name but the horse was a lovely dappled grey called Sparky. After a few months there we moved to Sussex and I started again at Southdown Equestrian Centre in Upper Beeding, then onto to a strange but lovely lady, can't remember her name but the horse I rode was called Waltz, she was gorgeous and I learnt side saddle there. From then on it was Brendon Horse & Rider Centre, Albourne Equestrian Centre, a lady called Gail Brownrigg in Okewood Hill, Surrey where I learnt the most valuable things and groomed for her when she took her pairs to a driving competition at Burghley (when the 3DE was on, awesome weekend that was!) and finishing at Lavant Horse & Rider Centre nr. Goodwood.

Isn't it funny how I can remember horses names from some 20 years ago but the names of some stables and the instructors escape me! :p
 
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