We offer a wide range of livery packages for staff and students to allow owners to have a wider choice of what their horses do whilst at Reaseheath.
Owners are encouraged to get involved with competitions and to become a member of the Reaseheath Riding Club.
We are very fortunate to have a range of horses join us at Reaseheath which gives our equestrian students the experience of riding different types of horses, this enables them to develop their confidence and practical skillset before going into industry.
Livery costs are payable termly in advance via our online shop.
We are looking for a wide range of horses to help prepare our students for successful employment in the equine industry.
We ask for ideally:
- Minimum 14.2hh
- Minimum 6 years old
- Balanced in walk, trot and canter
- Jump a minimum of 70cm
We have a range of livery packages, from full working livery to DIY stable management livery, starting from £30 per week. Request a callback to discuss your individual requirements further with a member of staff.
Horses do need to be taken home during major holiday periods (Christmas, Easter, Summer) but holiday cover may be available at an additional cost, however, this is not guaranteed.
Horse and owner benefits
By keeping your horse with us you can benefit from:
- 5* care by well qualified and experienced staff
- Staff on-site 24/7
- BHS approved livery yard with highly commended status in all areas
- Regular visits from industry professionals such as farriers, vets, leading equine dentist, Ivan Stockdale, Baileys Nutritional Consultant, Caroline Dickens, saddle fitters, equine therapists and much more
- Special discounted rates for Reaseheath liveries at Rookery Equine Spa & Therapy (please enquire with Reasheath staff for discount codes)
- Access to facilities on-site
- Excellent access to travel networks and an abundance of equestrian facilities and events
- Your horse will be exercised regularly in a variety of work and kept fit – all under the supervision of qualified staff
- Highly competitive rates
- Access to a range of affiliated and unaffiliated competitions, clinics, lecture demos and events ran regularly on-site
- Discounts to Reaseheath events and unaffiliated competitions
- One free lesson per term with a BHS qualified Reaseheath instructor
- One free mechanical horse lesson per term with a BHS qualified Reaseheath instructor
- Discounted lessons with BHS qualified Reaseheath instructors
- Livery owner events with industry speakers, activities and updates
- Regular newsletter updates and updates on your horse
Student ride assessment criteria
All students who ride at Reaseheath undertake a rigorous assessment process and must be within the sliding scale weight boundaries, based on current industry research, shown below. This is monitored regularly throughout the year.
In response to the developments in Equitation Science and the importance of promoting personal health and wellbeing the Equestrian Centre has established a new scale of weight limit for riding.
Current research has proven that horses should only be carrying 10-20% of their own body weight when being ridden, this includes the clothing and tack used. With the maximum being 20%, as there is a substantial effect on the horses gait and behaviour in response to rider’s weight. When deciding what weight horses should carry other considerations have to include the age of the horse, the horses condition, level and duration of work, saddle fit, rider ability and balance.
We have therefore taken all of these factors into consideration when evaluating what weight is appropriate for the horses at Reaseheath to carry in order to ensure our horses welfare. It is also important that we are promoting personal health and wellbeing in all our staff and learners – ‘riders are athletes’ and working in the equine industry is demanding, we want to support our students to be prepared for this in every way we can.
The weight limit for the Equestrian Centre has therefore been determined based on:
- Healthy height v weight parameters
- The height of the riders and the size of pony/horse they are most likely to ride
- Max weight capacity for horse body weight (plus tack)
- Workload of the horses
- Age range of horses
- Rider ability
The weight limits are:
| Height | Weight (st) | Height (cm) | Weight (Kg) |
| Up to 4’10” | 9 | 147cm | 57 |
| 4’11 – 5’2” | 10 | 150 – 157cm | 64 |
| 5’3 – 5’6” | 11 | 160 – 168cm | 70 |
| 5’7” – 5’9” | 12 | 170 – 175cm | 76 |
| 5’10 upwards | 13 | 178cm upwards | 82.5 |
The maximum weight limit for the equestrian center is 13 stone (82.5kg).
Students undertake a half day ride assessment before undertaking any riding at Reaeheath. Firstly, a questionnaire is completed to gather information about past experiences and any relevant qualifications (BHS, PC etc.). They then undertake a mechanical horse assessment with a BHS qualified instructor and receive feedback. Should they pass this element, showing basic safety and competency, they progress on to a live horse assessment which is undertaken for around 45 minutes and two horses are ridden. This entails walk, trot and canter (with and without stirrups), light seat, riding over poles and basic school movements. The rider must show safety, awareness, basic competency and balance and must be independent of the reins. We are looking for rider to be around BHS stage 1 standard as a minimum. Please see marking criteria below. Riders are then streamed in to assessed or progressive riders, or are given an action plan and the option to be reassessed at the start of their programme.
Assessed riders ride twice a week on level 2 and in their first year of level 3 and up to 4 times a week in their second year of level 3. Level 2 is mainly flat work and level 3 is a mixture of flat work, pole work, jumping, x country and riding in the open.
All riding and stable management activities are undertaken under the supervision of a qualified instructor and students are carefully allocated to horses based on a number of factors including height, weight, experience, ability, confidence and areas for development etc.
Meet the staff
Click the staff names below to expand the profiles.
Kate Butler, Yard Manager
As Yard Manager I work with our team ensuring the day to day management of all the Reaseheath horses on site. My role is varied, from coaching riding and stable management sessions, undertaking routine yard tasks and working closely with visiting industry professionals and horse owners. I have been riding since I was 7 years old, achieving my BHSAI at 17 and have, to date, achieved my BHS Stable Managers Certificate and Intermediate Teaching Qualification as well as being a BHS Accredited Professional Coach. Before life became so busy, I competed regularly in show jumping and working hunter classes.
I have worked within the equine industry since leaving school at 16 on busy training yards, and have managed both the Equine yard at Reaseheath and a busy riding centre in North Wales. For a short period, I worked on a private hunting yard where I was fortunate enough to hunt with the family’s horses as well as rehabilitating horses after injury with their equine spa. Over the last few years I have been busy starting and training youngsters – I think 28 horses to date!
Alexandra Jefferies, Head Groom
I have been involved with horses all of my life – my first pony was a Shetland that I was luckily given by my grandparents at just 2 years of age. During my childhood I competed across the disciplines, including showing, gymkhana games, moving onto show jumping, before catching the eventing bug! After leaving school with my GCSEs, I attended Reaseheath College studying a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horse Management and progressed into the industry and have worked in many different areas, including eventing, show jumping, racing and stud yards.
My current horse Poppy is 14.2hh and 10 years old and I have had her since she was 3. We have competed in hunter trials, eventing, show jumping, hunting, dressage, showing and she also used to be the lead horse for the racehorses first time over the hurdles on the racing yard. Our most recent achievement was qualifying for and competing at Stars Champion of Champions at Aintree Equestrian Centre in working hunter and show hunter showing classes, where we got placed in the top 10 out of over 60 horses in each class.
I love all aspects of my role at Reaseheath, especially caring for the horses and seeing them thrive. I’m passionate about training students to develop their horse management skills and developing welfare.
Amy Millett, Yard Technician
Tyler Simpson, Instructor
As Head Groom at Reaseheath Equestrian Centre, my day to day responsibilities include assisting Kate in managing the day to day health of the horses and supporting student learning, including coaching student riding lessons.
I have been lucky enough to have been involved with horses for 20 years, and currently have 4 horses at home to produce and compete, mainly within British Eventing but I also complete in some dressage on the side. I am currently competing at Pre-Novice and aiming for some Novice classes this year and an International 2*. I have strong links to the Pony Club, being a member of the Cheshire Hunt South Branch, regularly taking part in mounted and unmounted sessions and have worked in many sectors of the industry from riding schools, race yards and event yards under the tutelage of trainers including William Fox-Pitt and Paul Sims. I currently also run my own yard at home which I have done for the past 4 years. I’m a firm believer in working hard to achieve your goals!
Gallery
