Role: Owner
Company: Laurel View Equestrian Centre
Track Record: My husband, Robert and I own and run Laurel View Equestrian Centre outside Templepatrick, just a short distance from Corr’s Corner and Sandyknowes roundabouts.
Laurel View is a British Horse Society (BHS) Approved Centre providing riding lessons for all, from age 6 up. Teaching is in place to progress riders from the first tentative toe in the stirrup through to an advanced level.
We took over Laurel View in 2007, when the emphasis was on riding lessons and competitions. We have developed the lessons and expanded on the Horse Care and Knowledge training, putting in place training courses to prepare candidates for the industry recognised BHS exams, which we also facilitate at the centre. CAFRE Enniskillen is the only other exam centre in Northern Ireland.
DAY IN THE LIFE
7:00am
The alarm goes off seven days a week, no time for lie ins when you live and work at the same address. With one 13 year old and two 10 year old daughters, the hour between wake-up and dispatch needs to be like a military manoeuvre.
9:00am
With coffee in hand, I’ll have sifted through emails and dealt with as many as possible while the yard is still relatively quiet. This time is often used to process invoices and to keep on top of the essential book keeping and paperwork.
The Centre operates seven days a week, with group riding lessons Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings, then all day Saturday. Wednesdays and Sundays are mostly competition days, with the two large indoor arenas, all weather arena and cross country facilities making Laurel View a popular venue.
Specialist clinics in the various equestrian disciplines are regularly run at Laurel View and the centre is used by a variety of groups. Non equine users are also welcome. Ballyclare Rugby Club use an arena for training when their pitch is unusable and we’ve a Dog Agility Show booked in.
Laurel View is also home to a number of other species, including alpacas, Irish Moiled Cattle and a micro pig to name a few. Perhaps not what you’d expect to find at an equestrian establishment, but an added attraction for visitors. Life at Laurel View is never dull!
11:00am
During the week our facilities are used by four different Riding for the Disabled Groups, it is very fulfilling to see how much these riders get from their weekly ride. If you have a spare hour in the week, I would wholeheartedly recommend volunteering to assist a local group, experience not necessary. A ‘Learning with Horses’Â? course is run by the BHS for young people not coping in mainstream education. Groups from Action Mental Health also avail of lessons at Laurel View. These groups in particular highlight the positive health and general wellbeing benefits that can be attributed to horse riding and care.
1:00pm
Lunch is generally on the run, normally a working lunch with our Yard Manager or other key personnel to get updates on work in progress, plan training and competition schedules and to review events and activities.
Strangely, I would not call myself equestrian and I have yet to ride in my own yard! But having grown up on a dairy farm I am no stranger to the hard graft that goes with working with animals. Many animal husbandry skills are transferable into the equine field, though as we have an experienced and qualified team working at the centre, it’s rare that I am called to get hands on.
3:00pm
In the afternoon Year 11 and 12 students from local schools arrive at the yard for the practical sections of their Edexcel First Certificate in Horse Care. They utilise the excellent facilities in our recently completed Training Barn (part funded by GROW South Antrim under the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme.)
4:00pm
Our group lessons are underway and often I am in the shop, taking the bookings, planning and organising the week ahead, interspersed with testing spellings and checking homework for my daughters! The profile of our riding school students is varied with ages of riders currently on the books from 6 – 72! Experience varies greatly too, but we have welcomed an increase in adult beginners and returners.
7:00pm
By this time our training loft is usually occupied. One of the regular users is our Pony Club available to our young riders, where they work on badge work to develop their knowledge and skills.
10:00pm
Hopefully by now the yard is generally cleared and only the four legged customers remain (the horses liveried with us.) This is often the best time for me to update our website and Facebook pages with results, news and future events plus despatch press releases to the equestrian media. Then perhaps I head to bed for a few hours sound sleep before beginning another ‘Day in the Life.’