Collective Equestrian The Ultimate Riding Centre Launched, South West England
Collective Equestrian – Grand Prix dressage rider Jonny Clarke-West’s decision to set up his own equestrian centre was originally fuelled by the desire to create a commercial entity that would support his and his business partners’ – Alex and Liza – own equestrian interests whilst at the same time providing a collaborative environment where others could pursue their equestrian dreams.
Collective Equestrian at Moorledge Lane, Chew Magna, Somerset was officially launched on 14th February 2016, with a fantastic open day. With lecture demos, wine tasting and perfect bacon butties keeping the guests smiling through the chilling temperatures.
Jonny said,”We were chuffed to bits with how many people came to the Collective Equestrian open day. It was great to meet the local equestrian community and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
Attendees to the open day congratulated Jonny and the team on a successful event:
“Great to have such superb facilities on the doorstep.”
“I had a fantastic day. All horses and riders were turned out beautifully. What a great team. Thank you all, I am feeling inspired.”
“Extremely interesting and informative – both guest speakers and demos – as well as being fun. Look forward to my next lesson.”
Combining a thoroughly British approach to running a livery and training centre, with a European style of horse management. The facilities are superb and include a 42m x 22m indoor arena; a 60m x 25m floodlit outdoor arena; 33 stables with rubber matting flooring in an American barn format; an impressive 50 acres of turnout; fantastic hacking within the 100-acre site; wash-down bay; horse walker and a club room.
With such an impressive array of features and access to expert tuition from three highly accomplished trainers, it would be easy to assume that such a centre would attract only the top flight riding elite, cultivating a potentially cliquish ambience – but this could not be further from the truth.
Jonny’s vision for Collective Equestrian was to create a private yard which allowed riders / owners to benefit from being part of a collective, where advice and guidance are on hand to help everyone achieve their specific riding goals, all within a friendly, non exclusive but supportive setting. Unlike many yards, there is no segregation or tiering of the services provided to ‘professional’ and ‘amateurs’ riders. Between them Jonny, Alex and Liz have a number of serious competition horses but they are stabled alongside any client liveries, with absolutely no difference in the standard of care or facilities – in fact if anything the client’s horses benefit from access to the newer stables!
Already the message is spreading that there is a new breed of equestrian centre in the area and in addition to building up a good number of liveries, the yard is attracting a healthy base of riders who regularly travel their horses to Jonny and his team to benefit from a 1-1 or group training session.
The secret for Collective Equestrian’s appeal lies in the name, it is truly ‘collective’. There are not many centres which manage to successfully combine an occasional invitation to the local pony club, with the provision of livery and training for the committed Badminton rider; or senior level tuition to hone your skills on your own horse together with access to a gentle school mistress suited to the more novice rider. Rather than put on lavish external events, Jonny is choosing to concentrate on small scale clinics and demonstrations specifically designed to be of interest to the Collective Equestrian membership.
Talking about the new venture Jonny says, “I want clients to come to Collective Equestrian and truly feel part of the community that we have built here. All too often I’ve witnessed what can only be described as discrimination against riders who perhaps are not competing at the higher level who are exposed to a service / commitment that is inferior to that extended to the more professional rider. This is something that will never happen at our yard. At the end of the day, we all have our individual goals and we take pride in the fact that we can offer training and support – at a highly competitive price point – to match everyone’s needs to help them enhance their enjoyment of the sport.”
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.