EQUESTRIAN
Robert Booth: A wealth of
experience with horses
There isn’t much about horses that
Robert Booth doesn’t already know, as
his popular column in Island Life will
testify.
Whether it’s breeding or breaking-in
horses, preparing them for a difficult
equestrian discipline, or teaching
students the finer points of riding them,
Robert’s wealth of knowledge usually
ensures a smooth passage. He writes
with the same authority that he runs his
yard, so we went behind the scenes at the
family farm near Porchfield to discover
how his passion for horses evolved.
Born in Portsmouth, where he also
went to Grammar School, he recalls: “I
started riding when I was about six, and
it just grew from there. After I left school
I worked at a riding school on Hayling
Island, and did my first British Horse
Society Assistant instructor’s course
there. After that I had various jobs with
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horses, including going to Omagh in
Northern Ireland for a couple of years,
working in a private showjumping yard.”
During his time in Ireland, Robert
trained the horse and taught the
daughter of the family he worked for,
who went on to win the prestigious
Golden Saddle competition in Dublin.
He continued: “When I came back to
England I went to Catherston Stud in
the New Forest to work for a leading
dressage rider, and also passed the
Intermediate Instructor’s exam. Although
I left Catherston, I did return there to do
my full BHS Instructor’s exam. I then
worked at a yard in Reading, basically
as a riding school instructor, but we also
took in horses. My wife Lyn and I always
wanted to set up on our own, but running
a yard for someone else provided good
experience along the way.”
Lyn’s parents lived on the Island, and
when Robert decided the time was right
to start looking for stables of his own
it soon became obvious to him that
property prices were more affordable
here than on the mainland. So they
made the move here in 1985, setting up
at Great Pan Farm. He said: “We didn’t
have a lot of land, but we managed to
make do, and it couldn’t have been too
bad be as we were there for nearly 20
years. I was teaching youngsters to ride,
and we also took in horses for breaking
and schooling.”
The family moved to Little Rodgebrook
Farm nearly 10 years ago, and during
that time have built and developed
excellent facilities that include a stable
yard, with stabling for 15 horses,
and a large outdoor manége on the
11-and-a-half acre site. Robert and Lyn’s
daughter Emma trained in saddlery for
two years at Enfield, and now has her