THERE are four dimensions to Gransha Equestrian which was established in 1985 by Adrienne Stuart – the riding school, liveries, shows and competitions plus breeding, breaking and training – and while it’s quiet on all fronts there at present, Adrienne has plenty of jobs to keep her busy.

“My mother taught me an old saying ‘When you’re not fishing, you should be mending your nets’ so we’re doing lots of cleaning, repairing and planning,” said Adrienne, mother herself of two of Ireland’s leading dressage riders, Kirsty and Courtney, who both work at the Bangor, Co Down establishment.

“The riding school is closed and all the ponies are out at grass, while we turned all bar three of the livery horses and ponies out last week. Our own horses that are in training are still stabled and being worked daily. Why busy then? Well, for the first time in Gransha history I have had time to spot spray the weeds! I have furloughed my staff but we still have to keep an eye on 40+ horses spread over 10 fields.”

Adrienne gave us some insight into the riding school element of the business. “Around 70% of our clients are children while the other 30% are mostly adults who rode as children and are now returning to it for exercise and relaxation.

“Riding schools are the bottom rung of the equestrian ladder. Many people start their love for horses in their local riding school but, unfortunately, it is becoming harder than ever to maintain the business. The cost of buying riding school horses has gone up around 400% in the past decade but the price of a riding lesson is the same now as it was 15 years ago. It’s easy to say put the price up but then the average family can’t afford it.

“When we open the riding school again after Covid-19, we are planning to streamline lessons more. We will have the beginner and novice classes on our current horses and ponies but we plan to start an Academy where the more experienced riders, and those who hope to take their riding ability beyond riding school level, will receive expert coaching on non-riding school horses and ponies. Their lessons will include theory so they will be able to take the BHS Challenge Awards.”

Adrienne herself became involved in equestrianism at her local riding school. “I was not a particularly easy child. I didn’t like doing what my two brothers and two sisters did but, when I became friends with a classmate in school who had her own ponies, my behaviour changed. I just wanted to spend all my time with the ponies.

Gransha Equestrian's Adrienne Stuart with Courtney Stuart on Fanfarron 8, Allison Mathews from Pegus and Kirsty Stuart

“That was when I was 10 years old. My very non-horsey family lived in a lovely house in the centre of Bangor where Mum was a full-time mother and Dad played golf every weekend – so no sign of dirty boots and horsehair around our back door! After pleading with my parents for a considerable time, I was allowed to book into Breezemount, the local riding school.

“I used to cycle the three miles across Bangor and out into the country every Saturday morning and spend my day there riding and helping out. My parents were delighted with my enthusiasm and thought that these hours spent weekly would satisfy me, but no such luck. When I threatened to leave home with my dog if they didn’t buy me a pony, my father conceded and bought the first of many ponies from Lewis Lowry at Millbridge in Comber.

“Teddy was a little monster. When I look back now I realise that he was a typical riding school pony – he went really well while he was following the one in front but, taken away from that environment, he was very badly behaved. I think his thran streak was matched by my own and we had many battles of which I won some and he won some; he taught me a lot about riding and pony ownership.

“When I grew out of Teddy, Dad bought me a lovely dun 14.2hh Connemara pony, Innisharkin, who was my dream partner. We joined North Down Pony Club and were on the teams for eventing and show jumping. By then my two sisters, Alison and Angela, had also caught the bug and poor Dad had to give up his golf to ferry us to shows throughout the summer season.

“That was when I started competing in working hunter classes. I won my first red rosette on Inisharkin at Balmoral Show in 1971 and was fifth in Dublin that year. I realised then that I wanted to spend my life working with horses. I left school the day of my last exam and loaded up my horse onto Jack Carnduff’s transporter and went to work in Wales in a show jumping and Arab Stud yard.”

Austria calling

Following her 18-month spell there, Stuart spent three years in Austria, riding for Walter Perkhauser. “He was a top show jumper who taught me how to produce nice horses, compete on them and then sell them – all very valuable lessons! I had several good wins on horses Walter bought from Willie Sinton and Margie Lowry when I brought him on a buying trip to Ireland in 1977.”

On her return home, Adrienne worked for Billy and Leonard Cave, riding young horses, ran a successful riding school at Longhurst, on the Upper Malone Road, and then headed down to Co Meath. “I was very lucky to get a job in an equine clinic owned by veterinary surgeon Robin Cutler. That was a great learning opportunity which I made the most of, soaking up as much information as I possibly could.

“In 1977, a little abandoned riding school in Bangor became available to rent. I jumped at the chance and, with a loan of £1,200 from Dad, I spruced it all up, bought my first load of ponies and tack and opened for business. Ballymacormick was a great success but, after a few years, new housing developments began to squeeze me out and we had to close.

“In 1985, I bought the smallholding on Kerrs Road that is now Gransha Equestrian Centre. It was a tumbledown farm then with 30 acres. I applied to the bank for a loan explaining to them that I had plans to have 10 riding school ponies and hopefully 12 or maybe 15 liveries.

Daily challenges

“The early years were incredibly difficult – I had no staff but some very good helpers. Every day was a challenge, but I was determined not to give in, my thran streak kept me going. When I bought the farm, I had two really nice young horses but, in order to pay to get the electric on and install lights into the indoor arena in 1987, I had to sell them.

“I continued to compete in the show ring, riding some really nice horses for Betty Martin. We had some great wins with Midas, a chesnut middleweight, and a second in Dublin with a striking lightweight mare, Bonny. Tom Jones, owner of the Irish Sport Horse stallion Carrick Diamond Lad, sent me lovely young Irish horses that he was breeding and I produced, showed and sold those.

“At Dublin Show in 2004 I made the decision to quit competing as Kirsty, who was then 10, was riding in the pony showing ring on one side of the road while I was in the working hunter ring in Simmonscourt. I thoroughly enjoyed buying and producing ponies for both Kirsty and Courtney to compete.

“Eight years ago I went to see a nice bay gelding with two little white socks behind and a little bit of white on his face but came home with a five-year-old skewbald gelding.

“I didn’t sit on Franklyn (Helens Gypsy) before I bought him but quizzed the owner all about the horse and he promised me he would suit a middle-aged pleasure rider. I trusted the man and he was true to his word.

“Franklyn reignited my enthusiasm for showing and in his first year, 2012, was second in the small hunters at Balmoral and fifth at the RDS. The following season, he was second in the small hunters at Saintfield show and had a super win in a class of 22 coloureds that day.

“Pressure of work, keeping up with the girls’ dressage and granny duty demands didn’t leave many weekends for Franklyn but I reckoned if I paid my entry fee for Dublin in 2016 I would apply myself to the task of getting the horse and myself a bit fitter.

“I worked on the principle of keeping it simple so, when the judge got on and pressed the buttons, she would get the correct response. I spent the three weeks leading up to Dublin getting up a bit earlier each morning to make sure we had our daily work out and to my absolute surprise and delight our efforts paid off.

“The judge, when she pulled us from ninth to first to take the championship sash, commented that it was Franklyn’s ride along with his good conformation and clean limbs that moved him up so much. This was a fantastic day for me in my later life and so unexpected! Before then, I suppose my best results on a horse of my own came on Wait And See, a beautiful bay gelding by Clover Hill who won nearly every working hunter class he was entered in between 1993 and 1995 and many championships.

“I wasn’t as competitive as my daughters are. I loved working with nice young horses, making sure they were well broken, trained and produced correctly from the start. If they performed better than the previous week, that was winning in my eyes, but I had to keep selling them to keep money coming in.”

Another source of income is the livery aspect of the business. “We have between 35 to 42 livery horses and ponies at Gransha. The majority are stabled on a DIY basis whereby we feed them in the morning and the owners come up later in the day and ride and do all the associated chores.

“We also accommodate working liveries. These horses or ponies work in the riding school, we look after them and the owners come up and ride when they can. This type of livery suits families with little riders who find it difficult to attend every day. We also offer full livery and training and usually have a handful of these in for schooling or where the owners are very busy and only have limited time.

“We have a range of ‘happy hackers’ made up of retired ladies who simply enjoy their horses in a non-competitive way and have a great social life based on their horsey connections. Then there are the younger children who Kirsty coaches – they are a great group of 10 to 13-year-olds who benefit from the consistent help and support of the Gransha staff.

“The slightly older kids are a competitive bunch of keen event riders, show riders and working hunter riders who make full use of our facilities. Most have come through the North Down Pony Club who use Gransha as a training base.

In the lead-up to bigger events we can offer these riders and their ponies specific help in all areas and there have been plenty of success stories within the yard, nationally and internationally,” said Adrienne.