All in a day’s work City yard manager Jen Fryer
Jen Fryer, instructor and yard manager at Wimbledon Village Stables, on quality hacking, 6ft Wombles and horseback tennis
WE love Irish horses as they have fantastic temperaments and versatility
— we need them to suit a city yard and many different riders. It amazes me just how adaptable horses are when given a good daily routine with regular holidays. We have all shapes and sizes, from Irish Draughts to thoroughbreds, and part-Shires to Fudge, our miniature Shetland.
Our horses have more holidays than we do!
Keeping them happy and sound in a city yard is paramount, so they have a strict working routine to keep them physically and mentally fit, and often visit their “holiday home” in Surrey.
Wimbledon tennis time is fun. Riding along an urban high street can be challenging,
especially when tourists arrive for the tournament. We’ve encountered all sorts, including a human tennis ball, a family of 6ft Wombles and the popemobile. Although it’s just as likely to be us in fancy dress — Santa and his elf, the Easter Bunny and even The Queen have paraded along the high street in aid of charity.
We tried out tennis on horseback once, on the Common, complete with a full-size net
— which we later jumped over. The horses wore tennis visors, and we gathered quite a crowd, who cheered each winning point.
There are many more horsey people in London than you might think.
And not just locals: we have instructors from Zimbabwe, Brazil, Sweden, South Africa and Slovenia.
I love the diverse range of individuals who ride at the stables,
from transplant surgeons to actors and tennis players — we’ve bumped into Boris Becker and Roger Federer, but haven’t got them on a horse — yet!
People are surprised how good our hacking is.
With Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park on our doorstep we have plenty of beautiful — and gate-free — hacking. The horse paths stretch for miles, with stunning views over London and Surrey.
‘We tried out tennis on horseback once, on the Common, complete with a full-size net — which we later jumped over’
We hold lessons on the Common and ride down a busy high street to get there,
so we start beginners on our riding simulator. It’s such a luxury. It makes a huge difference, not only to people’s riding but also their confidence before they mount a real horse — and it’s much nicer for the horses.
My proudest moment was competing on the stable owner Carol Andrews’ horse Minnie,
whom we nearly lost to grass sickness as a youngster. It was awful, but Carol and the vet nursed her back to health. Two years later, entering the arena on her for the first time was emotional. We’re now competing at medium level dressage.
Our horses have starred in
Strictly Come Dancing,
Come Date with Me and Countryfile. We’re often asked if they can participate in TV programmes; it’s one of the quirks of being a city yard. Requests for wedding photo shoots are also common and we’ve even had a marriage proposal. We hid champagne and glasses in the bushes for the groom to be. Luckily the lady in question said yes…