WINNER’S CIRCLE
The finest equine properties in which to hold your horses. By Charlotte Brook
Homes for horse-lovers on the hunt for good neigh-bours…
CAIRNBANK HOUSE, BERWICKSHIRE £800,000
In the heart of the Scottish Borders, with views over the Cheviot Hills’ sunny uplands, stands this pleasingly symmetrical Georgian hall fringed with clematis and surrounded by blossoming hawthorn bushes. Eight acres provide four-legged residents with lush grazing in summer, and in winter, the new stabling offers ample shelter. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
HINWICK HOUSE, BEDFORDSHIRE £8,500,000
This imposing Grade-i listed Queen Anne Manor house is the jewel in the crown of a 37-acre estate that also contains a formal walled garden, orchard, stream, wood, paddock and plenty of rolling parkland on which to canter. Its four stables are presided over by a dovecote and 18th-century clocktower. Contact Savills (www. savills.com).
AMPNEY PARK, GLOUCESTERSHIRE £8,500,000
Nestled in the Cotswolds, this 17th-century manor is ideally positioned for racing at Cheltenham. Through the exquisite rose garden, croquet lawn and past the beautifully landscaped lakes lies the seven-stable yard, which has a groom’s flat, indoor school and outdoor manège, and its swimming pool is perfect to unwind in after a long day in the saddle. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
RHONEHURST HOUSE, BERKSHIRE £3,500,000
Wake up to the rousing sound of hooves clip-clopping out of the state-of-the-art yard towards the famous Lambourn gallops at this handsome six-bedroom Georgian house. A veritable horse hotel, it features extensive accommodation (more than 60 loose boxes), a spa and gym in the form of an equine swimming pool and covered horse-walker, and two cottages offering on-site lodging for staff. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
RUSSELL FARM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE PRICE ON REQUEST
Jockeying for position as one of the county’s best equestrian estates, this Chiltern Hills gem is a superb heritage home. Set in gardens containing a vine-covered pergola and a lily pond, the Georgian villa comes with horse-training facilities that include its own six-furlong gallops, outdoor arena, veterinary-inspection unit and 130 acres of grazing. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
CRAILING HOUSE, ROXBURGHSHIRE £1,659,000
Fifteen acres of land, stables, trout-fishing and a mature garden make this salmon-hued house an optimal base for those with a taste for the great outdoors. Happily, there is much to admire within its walls, too: stepping into the early-19th-century Regency-style manor, you are greeted by a classical stone entrance hall, complete with delicate cornicing and a domed temple relief subtly cast into the wall. Contact Knight Frank (www.knightfrank.co.uk).
SUDBROOK LODGE, LONDON PRICE ON REQUEST
Living in this 17th-century villa in Richmond, London’s leafiest borough, would be an excellent way to bring a country lifestyle to the town: quite apart from its wisteria-clad façade and walled garden filled with weeping willows, it is bordered by the green spaces of Ham Common and Richmond Park, with Petersham Nurseries on its doorstep. Although it has no stables of its own, urban equestrians can be halfway through a chukka on the manicured lawns of Ham Polo Club within minutes. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
CHOLDERTON HOUSE, WILTSHIRE £4,000,000
The equine facilities are the star of the show at this nine-bedroom, Grade Ii-listed William and Mary house, which also comes with a swimming pool, elegant reception-rooms and a converted granary that now serves as a party barn. If the stables, pasture, manège, tack-room and rolling fields are good enough for the thoroughbreds of the Olympic eventer Mark Todd, who currently rents the yard, they are fine enough for any. Contact Strutt & Parker (www.struttandparker.com).
BORTHWICK HALL, MIDLOTHIAN £1,950,000
Ten bedrooms and a trio of pony paddocks make this magical Scots Baronial mansion a fitting home for a horse-mad young family. Thanks to the gravel paths that wind around the woods, past the waterfall and through the gardens, replete with giant redwoods and rhododendrons, little riders and their steeds can trot right up to the kitchen window to collect a carrot. Contact Rettie (www.rettie.co.uk).
QUARTER HOUSE, STIRLINGSHIRE £1,500,000
Positioned within 63 verdant acres of grounds and enveloped by towering oak- and beech-trees on all four sides, this six-bedroom 18th-century abode feels like a restful sanctuary. Horses – whether prize showjumpers or pet ponies – will be charmed by their stone lodgings, which overlook a courtyard leading out to open fields (perfect for hacking) and an apple-tree orchard (ripe for the snacking). Contact Savills (www.savills.com).
ASH HOUSE, DEVON £5,000,000
With spectacular south-facing views across Dartmoor – itself home to herds of wild ponies, which still graze and gallop across the sprawling pasture – this delightful Grade-ii listed dwelling would make an ideal purchase for ambitious equestrians. It comes with post-and-rail paddocks, smart stables and an accompanying four-bedroom cottage for a groom with family. Contact Savills (www.savills.com).