Barstobrick Riding Centre and Livery
All of our team are worth their weight in gold.
We make sure each pony has at least 2 days off a week and never does more than 2 hours schooling a day or 3 hours trekking.
Its important to us to keep the ponies feeling great in their mind as well as their bodies so they don't become stale.
We know each of our ponies inside out so we can pair up a suitable pony for each client.
Most of our ponies are used for Riding for the Disabled as well as been professional schooled for the more experienced riders.
All our ponies are trained through correct aids and are responsive to the leg and seat.
Cara is a 14yr old 15.3hh TBxID Mare (Sweet Caroline)
Cara has been with me from the start and I didn't realise how much I loved her until Oct 2019 she nearly had to be put down due to a kick in the stifle which we thought had become infected . Luckily with lots of medication, hosing and intensive care the wound healed perfect and she became completely sound again.
I even had a forever home organised in case she had to retire from ridden work but she's made of tough stuff is our Cara!
She certainly has 9 lives!!
She is used in the RDA but has also won the BEIRC winter league dressage Championship at Intro TWICE!! With 2 different kids trying dressage for the first time. She also scored an amazing 80% in one of her tests!!
She is worth her weight in gold and will take a complete beginner out on a hack or go in the school and work in an outline, she also loves to jump but we don't do that very often with her.
Daisy is a 10yr old 14.2hh coloured cob.
Daisy came to me for backing (she had never been sat on before) and never left!
She has spent her entire ridden life in the riding school and is a master at reading clients and seeing if she can get away with doing little as possible!!
Although known as lazy Daisy she has fantastic paces and has won the BEIRC winter league championship with a client.
She gets used on the RDA every week.
The Gymkhana parties are her favourite, she usually wins all the races!
Gypsy (Rushfield Dolce) is a 14 yr old 13hh Blue Roan Tobiano mare.
I was offered Gypsy on loan originally then ended up buying her.
She was very successful with her previous owner taking part in showing, dressage and show jumping.
She is a fantastic all rounder and has a very sweet nature.
Dancer is a 13.2hh Irish sports pony and is 29 years old!
Dancer came to the yard originally as a livery and when his owner out grew him I was offered him for the riding school.
Dancer mainly does lead rein lessons and beginners.
He can be a grumpy old man but soon puts his ears forwards when you give him a cuddle.
In his younger years he was a successful professional show jumping pony.
Rosie is a 17yr old 15.
2hh Irish sports horse.
She's been with me from the start.
She's a fantastic all rounder and loves to jump but is also used weekly at RDA.
A couple of years ago she started to lose her front teeth, I was very worried about her as you could see she was stressed by it and she aged in her face.
She was put on fast fibre mash and that helped keep the weight on.
Once her gums hardened she is quite capable of eating long grass and hay as long as its on the floor and not in a hay net.
She has a habit of escaping from her field and is quite often found roaming the estate where the long grass is, she knows how to look after herself!
Luckily with regular check ups from our dentist she is kept comfortable and has now adapted to a life without front teeth.
I still have her teeth and use them in lectures.
Gypsy is a 13.3hh 11yr old coloured cob.
She belongs to a family in Stranraer who rescued her as a baby. She was offered to us because she had no one to ride her anymore.
We bought her back in to work and she soon became a favourite with lots of kids and is a very valuable member of the team.
Wee Max is a 11.2hh Welsh Mountain pony now 31yrs old!
He was born on my parent’s farm near Twynholm so he is a local lad.
Anyone that knows Wee Max knows that ponies like him are very rare and if I could clone him I would be very rich
He loves kids and loves life.
At 31 he shows no signs of stiffness and is on no supplements.
We make sure he is stabled every night of the year so he always has somewhere dry to lie down and rest.
He is and always will be a massive part of our family.
He has taught so many little kids how to ride including my own and I'm sure every one of them would take him home if they could.
He is probably the best kids pony in Dumfries and Galloway.
He still loves to jump and the moment I see he no longer enjoys his job will be the day he retires but he shows no sign of that yet
