With London being renowned as a city of sport following the successful 2012 Olympics, it should not be a surprise that riding is one sport making its mark in the very centre of the capital. <i>Artefact</i> went to Vauxhall City Farm to talk to the Riding Centre Manager Bethan Stacey.
Once you step into the farm it is as though you have transported yourself to a farm far away from the city. Pens for the different animals (including pigs, hens, sheep and horses ) are strewn with straw, feeds being prepared for the 11 horses currently stabled there, and of course the usual farm smell of manure.
The farm has been in Vauxhall for 38 years and grew as a result of local residents clearing the area – it was a former bombsite – and turning it into allotments. Chickens came first and then larger animals, such as pigs and donkeys, came as the farm grew up over the next few years.
Several horses and ponies reside in the ménage [an arena for riding], looking relaxed and happy behind the backdrop of numerous urban buildings. This will no doubt be a strange sight to many, particularly those who think that horses belong in the countryside.
According to Bethan Stacey, whilst the farm has been in Vauxhall for a significant amount of time, introducing horses and riding to the farm has been a new phenomenon: “The riding project itself took off probably in the 1990s with the odd pony ride session but it wasn’t until 2002-2004 that the actual riding therapy centre was born. The riding centre started with seven horses and it’s grown over the last few years to where we currently work with 11 horses.”
Beginner
The riding centre is affiliated to the British Horse Society (BHS), the Association of British Riding Schools (ABRS) and the Riding for the Disabled (RDA).
“We generally work at the beginner – never having sat on a horse level through to more advanced who can walk, trot, canter with a little bit of lateral work and maybe some jumping – two foot six kind of level,” she says.
[pullquote align=”right”]”Riding has always been perceived as an elitist sport and that is not necessarily true – Vauxhall has already shown that.” Bethan Stacey[/pullquote] In comparison to other sports, anyone can learn to ride regardless of their age. The average age of riders at Vauxhall City Farm is, “probably, for child riders, around 10-13 and for adults you are probably looking at late twenties. Last year we had a couple of riders in their late sixties learning to ride so we do get a very wide range of ages.”
Having a riding centre does have its space constraints due to being in the middle of a city and Bethan admits that “because of the size of the site the horses have to be dual-purposed – they have to be suitable for the beginner riders and well schooled enough to do the more advanced things.”
Considering the wide range of riders of all ages, backgrounds and sizes, finding the right horse for the riding centre is not especially easy as Bethan explains: “Buying a horse for a London riding school, especially one in our situation, is very different. We go anywhere [to find horses for the centre] to be honest – I’ll try them at sales. There’s always this perception that selling to riding schools means they will have an awful life. We are very keen on promoting our horses’ welfare.”
She adds: “With regard to what we look for in a horse to buy, temperament is everything. They need to be nice and quiet and to be able to deal with strange and unusual environments. Our arena for example is in the middle of a park, which obviously is surrounded by members of the public, with trains and buildings on both sides. The horses have got to be able to come in and be able to deal with that.”
Temperament
Bethan would not necessarily be put off by an inexperienced horse but strongly maintains that a genuine and kind temperament is key given that the majority of riders at the farm are novices.
“It is nice if they have a little bit of schooling but we have got very experienced members of staff here and riders who put in a lot of hard work, time and effort into the horses before they go out with our clients on board. Education we can work on but temperament and personality have got to be spot on. If they are not happy here we rehome them.”
It’s been three years since the London 2012 Olympics, where Britain won team gold in both dressage and show jumping, alongside silver in eventing, so has the riding centre seen more interest in riding since then? “It’s slightly harder to judge for us because we had a growth period as we had three new stables built at the start of last year which has increased participation numbers for us anyway,” she says.
“There was definitely an increase in 2013-2014 in people saying ‘we’d like to learn to ride’ having never ridden before who had watched the success at London 2012 and felt inspired. Participation has definitely grown nationally for the sport.”
Equestrianism is currently riding at the top of a golden peak with Scott Brash, Charlotte Dujardin and William Fox-Pitt retaining their world number one spots in show jumping, dressage and eventing. Will riding continue to hold the general public’s imagination?
Bethan “hopes that riding will continue to be popular in London but it is crucial to have facilities in Vauxhall – there is a need and we offer subsidised lessons. It’s really important we continue to offer these lessons, riding has always been perceived as an elitist sport and that is not necessarily true – Vauxhall has already shown that.”
Featured image: Kitty Trice