Cornwall Life – October 2019

Cornwall Life: August 2019Š 95

COUNTRYSIDE LIFE

With Adam Henson

T

here are a handful of

things that have become

true trademarks of the

great British summer.

Traffic jams to the coast, the

distant chimes of the ice-cream

van and newspaper pics of the

Royals enjoying equine sport in

the sunshine. The Queen and

her family are the nation’s best-

known horse lovers of course, and

whether it’s Royal Ascot, eventing

at Gatcombe or any number of

international polo matches, the

press love to show princes and

princesses at play.

But this year, all the photos of

Their Royal Highnesses and their

horses reminded me just how

important the whole business of

equines is to Britain. Away from

the famous racecourses, show

jumping arenas and polo fields

there are numerous stables, riding

schools, pony clubs, gymkhanas,

trails and treks all over the UK.

Not to mention police mounted

sections, heavy horse displays at

county shows and the handful of

horse-drawn brewery drays still

dotted around the country.

While these beautiful beasts

enjoy the spotlight, there’s

an army of people behind

the scenes – grooms, farriers,

saddlers, hay merchants, equine

vets and everyone from the

person who cleans the horse

blankets to the driver in charge

of the horse box. If you add in the

casual employment in catering,

hospitality, security, retail and

marketing created by large public

events like the Derby or the Horse

of the Year Show, you get an

idea just what a contribution our

four-legged friends make to the

economy.

I know from my own experience

just how important all this is. For

many years we’ve been staging

monthly Fun Rides from our farm

in the Cotswolds, out across ten

miles of limestone grassland,

picturesque hillsides and through

the cool waters of the River

Windrush. These events have

never been more popular and

every year the expectations of the

visiting riders increase. So now

there are 60 optional jumps along

the route, fixed start times and a

set number of horses taking part

to improve the whole occasion for

all involved.

Remember that my home

patch, Gloucestershire, plays host

to the Cheltenham Gold Cup,

the Badminton Horse Trials and

the Festival of British Eventing.

Combined with all the other local

equine-related activities, large and

small, it’s thought that the horse

industry could well beat farming

and tourism as the biggest

employer in the county. There are

no official figures to confirm it, but

I’d be prepared to bet it’s a similar

picture in places such as Devon,

Kent, Hampshire, the North

Riding of Yorkshire, Somerset and

Surrey. So, I wonder, does that

make our equine businesses a bit

of a dark horse? 

Horses

for courses

From racecourses and polo fields,

to riding stables and picturesque treks,

the equine industry is truly thriving

Photo: Sportactive / Getty Images/iStockphoto