Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
A canter over to Cockfosters - Trent Park Equestrian Centre
I took Isabelle over to Oakwood this morning to the Trent Park Equestrian Centre for her Easter holiday horse-riding treat. We discovered this last half-term and although bone-achingly cold, she loved her lesson in the rudiments of horsemanship and I think, proud parent that I am, she shows considerable promise.
Seeing a tiny child approach a Thelwellian pony that still towers over them with confidence is a sight to behold and the set up at Trent Park seems very good.
I wasn't really a horsey type as a child, one miserable experience with a sullen goth called Franka rather put me off the whole riding thing and I've grown a little bit afraid of our equine friends ever since. After about my third lesson she took us off into some woods and decided that we ought to learn to ride bareback. Having stripped my miserable steed of its saddle she heaved me up onto its back and then walloped its rump, sending said beast careering off into the undergrowth. I was hanging onto my pony's mane for dear life whilst she screamed out "you look like a sack of potatoes, sit up straight" No fear, not on your life. Olympic dreams shattered.
No such cavalier techniques at Trent Park though, Isabelle is tutored gently, if rather firmly.
Fortified by a breakfast of brioche and gummy bears (Olympians take note) we take the piccadilly line from Finsbury Park up to Oakwood and in less than 20 minutes, arrive in the Hertfordshire countryside.
Isabelle's pony for the lesson is Billy and she takes his rein and sets off with her guide to the indoor training centre. There are about seven other children ranging in height and skill taking the lesson and they trot round in circles as Louise the Instructor bellows out commands from the centre. She grows a deepening shade of puce with each exhortation but the children seem to take it all in their stride.
For a little girl who resolutely refuses to dress herself and still enjoys her evening milk in a baby bottle, her grip of the complex instructions being issued to her is astonishing. "Take the reins in your left hand, trot up to the X, ride in an S formation and hand the reins back to your right". I'd be flustered and panicking at this point, trying to marry that with the complicated procedure of rise and trot but my little horsewoman just gets on with it, giant riding hat occasionally slipping over her eyes. To be honest I didn't think she knew her left from her right or the difference between an S or an X shape but I seem to have been underestimating her talents.
An hours lesson comes to £25, certainly not a cheap hobby or one that we can indulge in more than once every couple of months but I'm told by another mother watching from the stands that once they reach a level of reasonable proficiency, there are quite a few bargains to be had on the riding front. There are plenty of horse owners in the Oakwood area who let children ride their ponies for a much cheaper rate once they know what they're doing.
I'd certainly recommend the centre for beginners though.
Tags for Forum Posts: alexandra park, horse-riding, parks, riding, trent park
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lydia R on
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I don't want to turn this into a "trash Haringey Council" corner -- I'm sorry to say that Haringey does a much better job of that all on its own.
But I would like to renew my campaign for riding facilities. There's Alexandra Park, and there is also the Lea Valley. It's not as if there isn't space in Haringey. Although I would favour AP as it is more central.
Therefore, is there agreement here that it might be worth starting up a petition to the Council about allocating land for riding? We can send out mailings to all the neighbourhood newsgroups and I am certain we would get a pretty positive response from most of them. I know that the Council don't have much of a record of listening but I'm a bit of an optimist, I suppose.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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My whole family would sign that petition. I know a good bicycle route up to Trent Park but taking daughter for a horsey ride that SHE could actually cycle too would be much better.
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Permalink Reply by Louise Nazeraj on
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I and loads of people I know would jump at the chance to sign it. You go!
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There is huge scope for this to become a very real proposition without you having to submit business plans, which I agree is the preserve of the actual owner of the proposed riding school. I'm away now until Tuesday in a land with barely any internet access (Anglesey!) but would love to discuss how we could connect borough wide - perhaps with Stroud Green/Bowes and Bounds/Opinion8 to get support both from the online and offline communities they serve. It would fit perfectly into the re-generation of Alexandra Palace as a people's palace and bring a wonderful sport to a wide audience of both deprived and better off children, providing both a green and aspirational hobby.
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These are my arguments for having at least one riding facility in Haringey. If everyone thinks this is reasonable, we can circulate it and start a petition. If nothing else it will start a general discussion. Btw. I thought of Alexandra Park but it has been suggested to me that there might be railway land or some other open area just as good. Any suggestions?
WHY THERE SHOULD BE RIDING FACILITIES IN HARINGEY
1) GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
Riding is a sport engaging a high number of women and adolescent girls. There has been widespread concern amongst all sorts of health professionals about the non-participation in sports of just these groups.
Unfortunately, cultural prejudices view physical activities dominated by men as "sports" while physical activities which interest women are viewed as "passtimes" or even worse, "messing about with pets". Riding is good aerobic exercise which develops stamina; while dealing with horses generally entails weight-bearing exercise. The process of involvement with horses therefore develops muscles, balance and flexibility, as well as a respect for animals which cannot without skill be ordered about. Riding also has beneficial effects on such physiological processes as blood pressure and stress.
The provision of riding areas should therefore be regarded as having the same priority as the provision of football, rugby and cricket fields, which are routinely and uncontroversially provided for men. Ironically there are more active riders (four million) than rugby players (quarter of a million). Eighty percent of riders are women.
******This is a gender equality and women's health issue.
2) DISABLED ACCESS
Riding is a sport which can offer freedom to disabled people as well as an opportunity to meet the able-bodied on equal terms. Whether the disability is physical or mental, riding boosts both fitness and co-ordination as well as self-esteem.
******This is a disabled access issue.
3) SOCIAL INCLUSION
Riding and the care of horses is a well-documented way of assisting children who have problems of social integration to learn about co-operation and care for others. It has hugely beneficial social effects.
******This is a social inclusion issue.
4) EMPLOYMENT
It has been calculated that for every four horses, one direct local job is created. There are, of course, other indirect jobs which are also created by the existence of riding facilities in an area.
******This is an employment issue.
5) ENVIRONMENTAL
Haringey residents must drive out to places such as Enfield and Potters Bar if they or their children wish to ride. Considering that the potential facilities are right here on our own doorstep, this makes no sense. By not providing proper riding facilities, the Council is forcing one more group of people into their cars and on to our overcrowded roads. The Council should be planning as many local facilities as possible to cut down carbon emissions.
******This is an environmental issue.
6) CONSERVATION
Many parks which welcome riders are sustained by them. Richmond and Bushey Parks for instance, generate much of their maintenance income from riders. This enables vital conservation work to be done. It also means that the parks are "supervised" constantly by the riders who patrol it on their regular rides.
******This is a conservation issue.
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Apparently this needs some clarification. I think the council, in their desire to help the disadvantaged and unfortunate, end up helping them to become losers. Witness their distaste at Lydia's proposal for an Equestrian Park in Alexandra Park - a bit too WINNER for them. The lack of enforcement over basic rules just means that we basically end up shitting all over one another too.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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"Witness their distaste at Lydia's proposal for an Equestrian Park in Alexandra Park".
Evidence please, John.
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Alan,
you were there when I came into the meeting and made the proposal. You saw how what I had to say was constrained by a chairman who insisted upon the strictest possible interpretation of procedure. You also saw how the only answer that was made to me when my stopwatched two minutes was up, was that I should go away and come back with a business plan -- the ultimate "we're-not-going-to-think-about-this" kissoff.
The reaction wasn't actually distaste. What it was, was a total and all-encompassing blank incomprehension.
I would have credited you with more intelligence than the other crew there, but you kept very quiet. Maybe it wasn't your place to say anything but in your inactivity you were contributing just as much as the others to one more lost opportunity for the youth of Haringey.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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But Lydia, rather than beating up that committee's response (or lack of response, as it seems to you) surely "come back with a business plan" isn't at all a bad piece of advice. The HOL member responses you've met with in this thread might suggest a way forward towards that business plan - which someone else or the Council might (help you to) take up. I'm sure Alan and the rest of the committee might then be in a better position to be more positive.
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A business plan requires that I submit surveyor's maps, planning permissions and funding proposals, as well as bringing in employment legislation and a study on workforce viability. It is the sort of thing you do if you want to start a business -- but I don't.
All I wanted the Council to do was to announce that an isolated and underused sports field will be given over for a fixed term lease to anyone who is interested in starting a riding school. Whoever takes that idea up is the one to submit the business plan. It could be a company, an individual, or a consortium of Haringey residents. It is then for the Council to decide how viable that plan is. I would have been happy to discuss with them what the school would actually need in terms of infrastructure and walk through the area to show how it could be used, so they would be prepared for the idea, but they weren't interested.
Considering how the Council tried to turn over the entire Palace to Firoka so that they could make a gambling den out of it, and for next to no rent, and with no proper goal or end product actually down on paper, and with next to no due process or regard for procedure, it is very difficult to understand what made them so coy about my idea, which was just opening for any suggestions and which if translated into reality would do a lot more for Haringey residents and the environment than a casino.
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Count me in, Lydia. I know lots of professional equestrians who can help with advice. PM me and I'll give you my number
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