I am very lucky here at the trekking centre to have a dedicated yard team who really love all my horses and always have their best interests at heart.

My yard manager, Sonia Aston, heads the team, and working with her are Bethan Gould, Leah Dodd and Ellie Jones.

We have already heard from Sonia in an earlier blog, so now it is the turn of the others, who began their equestrian careers here on trekking centre apprenticeships. They are responsible for the care and welfare of all the horses.

Training young people, developing their skill sets and allowing their love of horses to blossom is a passion of mine. When you have a connection with horses, it is always with you, and I love to nurture that so it will be theirs for life.

These three all have relaxed and calm personalities, which are perfect for working with horses and communicating with clients. They work really well together and the dynamics between the four full-time yard staff are brilliant.

All three of my girls worked among my weekend volunteer team, and all of them caught my eye with their hard work and dedication.

First to join the team was Bethan. She came for a paddock ride when she was just a little girl, and, although she had her own ponies, she always came to ride here as well and had a special interest in my young or new horses.

Next to arrive was Leah – another who had graduated from my paddock rides when she was a little girl! Leah was 16 when she started an equine course at Rodbaston College. She did a work experience placement here and I then offered her a full-time apprenticeship under the assessment of Reaceheath College.

Ellie is the newest member of our team. I had already spotted her potential during her volunteer work on the yard. When a vacancy arrived, she was the obvious candidate for an apprenticeship.

Now let’s hear from the girls.

Bethan Gould

My mum has always had horses, and when I was a baby, she used to sit me on an old Welsh Section A pony she had.

I was four when I was taken to the trekking centre for the first time to have a paddock ride. Then I got my first pony, Mowgli. He is 20 now, and I still have him. I have had Solo, my Connemara, for seven years. Despite having my own ponies, I still liked coming to the trekking centre to ride. In fact, I had my first canter here, on Dolly, because Mowgli was a little bit sharp for a beginner to canter.

As I got older, I really used to enjoy it when Lisa had a new horse or was training a youngster. I was always asking her if I could ride them, and she would often let me be one of the first.

I started volunteering at the trekking centre when I was 15, and after I did my A Levels I started at university with the aim of becoming a veterinary nurse. But it didn’t really suit me, and I wasn’t enjoying it. When a vacancy came up at the trekking centre in November 2018, Lisa offered me an apprenticeship. My mum could see that I wasn’t happy at university, so it was decided that I could give it a chance.

I am so happy that I took that chance – I love it here. Since then, Lisa has given me a more senior role and extra responsibilities. At first, I found that a bit daunting, but I am really enjoying my new duties now and I love the variety. I am so happy spending time with the horses, grooming them and taking care of all their health checks.

I love them all, but I do have a few favourites. My favourites for my role as a trek guide are Oregon and Atlantis, and my number-one girl is Nymeria, our beautiful, young Andalusian mare.
I have spent a lot of time with her because Lisa allowed me to help in training her. I have a real love for Nymeria, and she gives it back to me.

We have a wonderful summer of events planned here at the trekking centre, and I am really looking forward to all of them, especially when we can repeat the Western riding display we learned last year. I loved that and can’t wait to do it again!

Leah Dodd

The first time I ever sat on a pony was here at the trekking centre, when I had a paddock ride on Lady. I rode here some more to pick up the basics and continued to go on treks, and then I had lessons at a riding school (this was before the trekking centre did lessons).

My dad had booked my paddock ride for me. He had shares in race horses, and I always used to go to the races with him.

When I was 14, I had my loan pony, Sparky, but I always kept on riding here as well. Sparky had been retired when he passed away last year and coming here really helped me at that time.

I became a weekend volunteer at the trekking centre, and then decided to go down the equine route when I left school, so I started at Rodbaston College. I was coming here once a week on work placement, and then Lisa offered me a full-time apprenticeship, which I was really delighted to accept.

I have nearly finished my apprenticeship now, and I am so happy that I will be staying on. I love my job – I really don’t know what else I would want to do.

The highlight of my time here so far has been helping Lisa to train Lola’s daughter Montana. Lisa allocated us all a project horse to work with to improve our skills and knowledge, and mine was Montana. She was only two when I first met her, and I have learned so much because of her.

I have a few other favourites too! I just love Princess because she is such a personality and full of character. At one stage, Lisa did consider selling her, but, luckily, she changed her mind. I have done lots of work with Princess, and she is a great little all-rounder. I did the Lichfield Sheriff’s Ride on her, and it was such a fun and memorable day.

I also love Pirate because he is a brilliant cob, so safe for a beginner and a fun ride for someone experienced. And Lola is my perfect guide horse.

I am really looking forward to helping Lisa when she starts training Colorado, the youngest of her stallion Zidane’s offspring.

And we have a special day to look forward to on June 20th, when we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the start of the trekking centre. I can’t wait to find out all the exciting things we will be doing!

Ellie Jones

I have ridden since I was three. My grandmother has horses, and I always used to ride hers and I also had riding lessons for a while.

But the first time I came to the trekking centre was as a weekend volunteer when I was 13. I had emailed Lisa to ask if she would take me on. Lisa said I could come, and so I started working at weekends and I really enjoyed it. I began doing more and more in the holidays, and I also started helping to look after the small animals as well.

I started my A Levels in the sixth form at school, doing health and child development – nothing to do with horses at all! And then a full-time vacancy came up on the yard. Lisa asked me if I would be interested in an apprenticeship. My mum and dad approved, and the more I thought about it the more it made sense, so I jumped at the chance to join the team. Of course, I knew them all already, so that made life much easier.

I am so pleased I made that decision. I am learning so much and I am loving being with all the horses. My clear favourite is Autumn – I love everything about her.

The summer events look so exciting. I am looking forward to getting a chance to take part in the Western riding display team. I filled in a couple of times for missing people during rehearsals last year, and I would love to do it for real.

But I think the highlight for me will be the Lichfield Sheriff’s Ride in September. I have heard so much about it and I will be doing it for the first time this year.

It might seem strange to introduce you to people the regular riders among you already know very well, but my hard-working staff here at the trekking centre are so dedicated to the well-being of both our horses and our clients that I think it is important to recognise their dedication.

So this week I am going to talk about a very familiar face – my yard manager Sonia Aston.

Sonia first came to work for me when she was just 17, fresh out of college and still very inexperienced. I was interviewing more qualified staff, but I was so impressed by how her determination to learn the job properly shone through that I decided to take a chance on her. It is a decision I have never regretted.

I will always give someone a go if I believe in them, and I also believe that if you find someone who is a nice person, you can make them good with horses. That was the case with Sonia.

She had to learn every aspect of the job, and she soon improved her skills and her riding. After two years she moved on, but I was delighted when she decided to return as a supervisor under Lucy Powell as yard manager.

When Lucy moved to Cumbria, Sonia took on the managerial role and she is responsible for the whole running of the yard, from the horses’ welfare and workload to the organisation of the treks.

She loves to be hands on, and I always say that if Lucy is my right-hand woman then Sonia is my left. We make a great team. Now over to Sonia…

Sonia Aston

I only rode a couple of times when I was small, but I really got the bug at age 12 when my cousin got a horse called Danny, and I used to go and ride him sometimes. Later, I managed to find bits of work experience.

After I finished college I applied everywhere I could for a job with horses. Lisa was the only person thoughtful enough to reply to me, and she offered me a job. When I was 18, I bought my own horse Millie.

A couple of years later I had the idea that the grass was greener, and I moved on to work as a showjumping groom, then at a kennels and cattery, and then for a vet. But I realised that my passion was really for working with horses – and especially for working with Lisa. I was constantly contacting her to ask if there was a vacancy.

And then there was – and I came back to work with Lucy, bringing Millie with me to become my guide horse. When Lucy moved away, I became yard manager, supervising the staff.

I was really upset when Lucy left; I wondered if I could cope without her, and I did find it difficult at first. But I stepped up and grew into the role. I have been back here for seven years now, and I love my job.

The yard has become busier and busier since I have been here. Winters sometimes used to be really quiet, but now we have three treks going out most days and the evening clinics too, and it is a change for the better. It is great to be busy.

Something I have really loved doing is helping Lisa with the training of the young horses. I had always wanted to do that, and Lisa’s help and support gave me the confidence to buy and bring on my own youngster, Elka (pictured left), who has replaced my lovely Millie, who I sadly lost a few years ago.

No job too small!

I love the variety of this job. I am doing something different every day. I am happy to go out on a trek or just as happy to muck out a stable. I even enjoy tack cleaning! I believe that you should always lead by example, and I will muck in with any job that needs doing on the yard.

My favourite job, though, is spending time grooming, tidying and clipping the horses. Sometimes we are so busy that we don’t get much time to spend with them. So whenever there is an opportunity to give a horse a pampering session, I love to do it as you get to learn all their different personalities.

Special favourites

Obviously I love all the horses, but, apart from my own, I have a particular soft spot for Buttons (pictured right) and Kitty.

However, if I were forced to name a favourite among Lisa’s horses it would have to be Saffy (main blog picture). I spent a long time bringing her on and training her to be my lead horse, and she helped me through a really tough period after I lost Millie. Saffy will always have a special place in my heart because of that. Elka is really doing well at learning to be a guide horse, but when I am on Saffy I can do every aspect of the job. She is fabulous.

Onwards and upwards!

I love the job as much now as when I started. With an eye on the future, the developments at CCTC are so exciting, especially the proposed 46 new stables, which will make working life somewhat easier.

That being said, I will never tire of riding out on Cannock Chase.

In a couple of my recent blogs, I have been introducing you to key members of my team here at the trekking centre.

This time, it is the turn of Karen Hudson, and she really needs no introduction as many of you already know her – she is our British Horse Society (BHS) instructor and teaches lessons here several days a week. However, she has a key role at the centre, and I thought you would all be interested in learning how she came to be working here and to hear from Karen herself.

When I started the trekking centre nearly 25 years ago – it is our silver anniversary in 2020 – I had no intention of offering lessons. There are some very good riding schools around – notably Ingestre – and I did not want to compete with them. They are excellent at what they do, and we have always been excellent at what we do – offering clients the chance to enjoy our gorgeous Cannock Chase from the back of a good horse.

But, as time went on, more and more of my regular clients started asking about the possibility of having lessons on their favourite horses. So when I began the redevelopment here, it was the perfect opportunity to build an indoor arena and fulfil those clients’ wishes. Of course, I had to find an instructor, and as soon as I met Karen I knew we would be a good fit for each other.

Now we have everyone from children to adults, beginners to advanced, enjoying tuition here. Karen and I love seeing the riders develop, and the horses are benefitting too by turning their hands to every discipline and becoming much more well rounded. Now it’s over to Karen…

Karen Hudson

I started riding when I was just four at a trekking centre owned by the mum of equine dentist Mat Carter, who cares for all of Lisa’s horses.

A little Shetland called Sooty gave me a lifelong passion for riding, although I did not start out in an equestrian career. I was in sales and marketing – including selling equine products – for a long time. And after I had my daughter, I was starting to get bored.

At the time, I had a thoroughbred called Pimm. She had a few injuries, and I couldn’t ride her, so I started riding at Ingestre, where they suggested I take a few exams. I really enjoyed that and I did my Stages One, Two and Three, and then my coaching exams. I also trained at Berriewood Equestrian Centre in Shropshire. I started doing a little bit of coaching at Ingestre, and it was there that I found my passion for teaching. I worked at a number of riding schools and, at that time, it was all about developing myself as a coach.

It may sound very weird, but I always knew I would end up working with Lisa here at the trekking centre. Someone told me that an arena was being built, and I came and handed in my CV. Six months later, I saw the job advertised on the BHS website and I thought, “That job is mine!” I applied, and the rest is history.

It was a challenge at first because the horses were used to being ridden out on the Chase – they found being asked to work in an indoor arena a bit baffling. Working on their own was strange to them when they were used to trekking with their herd mates.

And I had to get used to Lisa’s way – no artificial aids, no crops, no whips, no spurs and no lunge lessons. But I have absolutely loved it!

Our patience has paid off as the horses soon settled in to school work and they are never, ever stale or bored, because they still have the fun of trekking out on the Chase.

I realised a long time ago that this is a leisure industry and you have to send your clients away happy. You cannot boss them around. I have learned that a coach must be interactive; you must make people welcome. A coach must empower clients rather than put them down. I hope I succeed in that in every lesson. When you teach children, you are often making the difference whether they go on to ride all their lives – or give up. It is a serious responsibility.

I love working with groups, so I enjoy our clinics, such as cross country and dressage in the summer, and polework in the winter. I enjoyed learning to ride Western in the summer, so I was able to take part in the Western riding displays at the ranch party nights, even including some exciting barrel racing!

Lisa and the girls on the yard provide me with wonderful support. She and I discuss how we want to develop the school further, and I love to get feedback from her.

I adore the horses here – I don’t think they have a clue how much I love them! My current aim is to get all the coloured cobs working nicely in the school because they are so safe.

My own horse is a coloured cob called Blaze and he is schooled to novice level in dressage. Any horse can do dressage – it is just a matter of schooling.

Coaching is my passion. Seeing my pupils leaving the arena with smiles on their faces is everything. I want them to go home buzzing.

I can hardly believe that in just a few weeks it will be four years since the diggers moved in and I saw my lifelong dream coming true.

It was January when construction started on my indoor arena and beautiful visitors’ lodge, and we lived with the mud and disruption until the doors finally opened in September 2016.

Happy birthday, dear Ranch Bistro

So, this year has brought the third birthday of the visitors’ centre – and, strangely, it has become such a part of the landscape at Cannock Chase Trekking Centre that it feels as if it has always been here.

When I gave up modelling for a career with horses, my dream was always to create an equestrian centre on my beloved Cannock Chase that would bring visitors from far and wide. And I always had in mind a state-of-the-art facility where my riders could enjoy a taste of “après-horse”.

The battle for planning permission was a long one, but when I saw the walls rising on my unique, architect-designed cedar lodge, I knew that all the stress and worry had been worth it.

And the last three years have exceeded my wildest dreams. The bistro and coffee shop are not simply a facility for my riders: the lodge has become a popular eating place for walkers, cyclists and Cannock Chase visitors of all ages. We attract more than 25,000 visitors a year.

The floor-to-ceiling windows provide panoramic views out over the Chase, and the outdoor patio is always packed in summer with customers enjoying the same landscape. And, of course, they love to see the horses coming and going on treks and lessons.

In the winter, the underfloor heating, blazing log burner and comfy furniture make it a cosy haven. I like to think that in the winter it is like a Norwegian ski lodge and in summer a ranch in the Wild West.

We have a separate area where events can be staged, and we have already had requests from people wanting to get married here!

‘Food, glorious food’

We’ve taken time and care in creating our menu, and now many people come simply because they enjoy the food. And, of course, it is a comfortable retreat for our riders. It has given our treks a social aspect and many friendships have been made over a cup of our barista-created coffee.

Our coffee is fresh from the roaster at Chartley Coffee, Hixon, a family business with over 40 years’ experience. It is the most amazing coffee, and our baristas create speciality drinks. Our luxury hot chocolates and milk shakes are renowned! Just pretend they are calorie free! Luckily, my mum, Carole Gregory, is a cake designer, and we always have her delicious creations on offer.

Head chef Samantha Edmunds is always developing the menu, which has a contemporary ranch-style concept, and she uses the freshest and highest-quality ingredients. Our meat and vegetables all come from local suppliers. We also cater for dietary problems, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options always available.

We are very proud that we have twice received five stars for our hygiene ratings.

Events galore!

This summer, we have held our first evening events: two parties with a Western ranch theme, at which we served smokehouse barbecue food, and the guests enjoyed a riding display and a live band. Both events were really popular.

A few weeks ago we staged a Game Of Thrones-themed ride across the Chase. Our riders were in costume and enjoyed a medieval banquet when we got back. In December, we have a Christmas-themed ride and our first ever Christmas party.

The bistro’s success has exceeded all my expectations. I was never sure whether we were going to be a coffee shop or a restaurant, and I think we have settled nicely somewhere in between.

I am delighted with it – but we won’t be standing still. We are always looking at ways we can improve.

A dedicated and hard-working team is absolutely essential to keep an equestrian business the size of Cannock Chase Trekking Centre working efficiently. With 46 horses to care for, clients to keep safe and happy, and a popular bistro to run we have a busy life! And I am lucky enough to have first-class workers, from my yard staff right through to my baristas, to keep the operation rolling along smoothly.

Behind the scenes there is also a highly professional support team, who are crucial to our work. They are our vets, our equine dentist and our farrier, who keep all our much loved horses happy and healthy.

Our farrier is Karl Jones, and he is a weekly visitor to the yard, where there are always customers awaiting his attention. Karl has been my farrier for many years, and his skill and patience are highly valued here.  My horses meet some rough terrain out on Cannock Chase and it is crucial that their feet are kept in tip-top condition.

Each horse has its own farrier record, and Karl has an individual programme of attention for each one, depending on wear and tear. When our foals are born, Karl starts going in with them early on, so they get to know him. And horses that I buy soon settle to his patient handling. He doesn’t have a single problem with any of our horses and he is always quick to spot if a potential problem is developing.

Karl is a massive part of our team and we have such a good relationship with him.

I thought you might like to hear from Karl, so now I am handing over to him…

Karl Jones

I qualified as a farrier in 1998 after a four-year apprenticeship with a firm that had a history of ten generations in the business. I first became interested in farriery because I had two cousins who were farriers, and I used to help them out while I was still at school. That got me thinking about farriery as a career, and I have never regretted taking this route. I love it – it doesn’t really feel like a job to me.

I started working for Lisa about a year after I qualified. She was looking for a farrier and her vet recommended me. When I started, she had about 26 horses, and, of course, the yard has grown and grown since then.

It is the biggest privately owned yard that I visit, and I am here every week. Lisa always asks me if I can see any lameness problems developing with any of the horses, as I can sometimes spot signs from the wear of their shoes before it becomes physically apparent in their work. It is a responsibility I take very seriously as I can help Lisa deal with issues promptly.

And because I know all of these horses individually, and have known some of them for a very long time, I can see if  things are not quite right. For example, I started handling Gabriel when he was six months old. Now he is 15, so I know him very well indeed as I have been shoeing him all these years. I would notice immediately if he began to suffer a problem.

I find that most horses on other yards tend to work on a surface these days. They do school work most of the time. But Lisa’s horses do the majority of their work on a whole range of terrains so I have adapted what I do to deal with that. It is not like shoeing dressage horses! I aim to be looking after joints, tendons and ligaments by correct shoeing. Foot balance is crucial to their overall soundness. A horse that is working on uneven ground is always under extra pressure. With the Chase being so stoney, over the years I have learnt to leave a good amount of sole, only taking away sole that is needed to allow plenty of protection to the ground surface of the hoof.

I am always on call for the trekking centre. If a horse loses a shoe, I try to get there as soon as possible because there may be clients booked for that horse.

One of my highlights is that I very much enjoy starting with the babies. I like to start them patiently and quietly. It sets them up for life if they begin their education with no stress.

We had a little challenge to think about when the beautiful Nymeria arrived. She was an adult horse but very little handled – so potentially a problem. But she loves her food, so she will stand nicely for shoeing as long as Lisa feeds her some lunch!

I am delighted that my 16-year-old son Harrison has become really interested and likes to come with me in the school holidays. He has really taken to it and it is exciting to think that he is following in my footsteps.