"If the horse does not enjoy his work, his
rider will have no joy" H.H. Isenbart
The key to a happy and
successful riding school is the welfare of its horses.
At Wimbledon Village
Stables we understand that the well-being of our horses and
ponies is paramount. Healthy, content horses are eager to
work and enjoyable to ride.
On this page are some of
the 25 horses and ponies currently kept at Wimbledon Village Stables.
Choosing the right horses
takes time. It is a very special horse that meets our high
standards of temperament and conformation; we look for kind,
safe horses that are well-mannered and a pleasure to ride.
We have a network of established contacts in Ireland, so
most of our horses have Irish Draught, Irish TB or Connemara
breeding.
"Horses can't talk, but
they can speak if you listen."
"I have seen things so
beautiful that they have brought tears to my eyes. yet
none of them can match the gracefulness and beauty of a
horse running free" Anon
All our
horses, regardless of type or size receive the same ‘5 star’
treatment. They are schooled regularly by our staff team to
maintain their fitness and improve their education and they
all enjoy variety in their lives. We ensure that every
horse has a range of work both within lessons and hacking
out over the 3,000 beautiful acres of Wimbledon Common and
Richmond Park. Many of our horses are also competed
regularly in dressage, show jumping and cross country and
all of them take part in our annual Summer Show.
Just like us horses need holidays.
Throughout the year all the horses benefit from spending
several weeks at Sandra and Amy Cullingham's idyllic
retreat, Manor Farm Stables in Claygate. There
they are able to spend their days grazing and kicking their heels in
70 acres of glorious Surrey countryside.
We have a
very structured routine at WVS and it is something that horses
really thrive on. They need to have regular ‘quiet time’ and
quickly learn when these rest periods are, so we keep the stables
free from visitors at lunchtimes, all day on Monday and every day
after 4.30pm.
"The horse. Here is nobility
without conceit, friendship without envy, beauty without
vanity. A willing servant, yet never a slave."
Ronald Duncan
Keeping them in the peak of physical and mental condition
involves a great deal of hard work and dedication by our
team. There is meticulous attention to detail in all
aspects of the horses' care. The stables are
mucked out early in the morning and each horse is given a
clean and comfortable shavings bed; they are also skipped
out several times a day to ensure they remain clean and
tidy. Many visitors comment on our non-smelly yard!
The fact that all our waste is collected daily means that we
have no muck heap and consequently no familiar odour.
At WVS
we take great pride in our horses being immaculately turned
out. All of them are thoroughly groomed at the beginning of
each day which promotes excellent physical health and mental
well being. The tack is also checked and cleaned daily.
We couldn't do all
this without our wonderful support team which includes our
Veterinary Surgeons from PJ McMahon’s renowned practice in
Billingshurst, W Sussex, our farrier Raymond Higgins DIP WCF who visits weekly, and our indispensable saddler
is John Marshall, who travels all the way from Yorkshire to
replace, repair and maintain all the horses' tack.
