‘The legacy of friendship was overwhelming’: riding school owners celebrate 50 years at the helm

Owners of a riding school that has taught thousands of people to ride since it opened in the 1940s celebrated a “legacy of friendship” with a party to mark 50 years at the helm.

Gerry Dunne and Sue Curtis, who both learnt to ride at Grovely Riding Centre, near Salisbury as children, took on the riding school in 1975 when they were in their 20s. The school was started by Nobby Clarke in 1948 with two ponies, at a yard that was later developed to become Wilton Fire Station. It moved to its current spot with five ponies and has grown from there.

“I learnt to ride here when I was four. I remember having lead-rein lessons walking around a barn, we weren’t allowed to trot, we had to walk for four lessons!” said Gerry.

She carried on riding through her teenage years and worked at Grovely before she qualified as a teacher. Gerry taught English and sociology for a short time before the opportunity that would shaped her life arose.

“Mick Clarke, who had founded the riding school with her father, Nobby, decided she wanted to sell and offered it to me,” said Gerry, who was 22 at the time.

“I was still in student mentality – I had an overdraft and probably an Afghan coat. A chap who had been a livery here said he wanted to lend me the money interest-free. I’d had an accident riding his horse and he said he owed me a favour.

“I met with him on a train and he said, ‘Come into first class and have a G&T’. I probably didn’t even know what a G&T was at that time! He wrote the cheque out there and then.”

“Then Sue came into business with me. She was still teaching in London and had a very good head-of-department job. It just went from there and has grown and grown.”

Sue, who also learnt to ride in the 50s, played lacrosse for Britain, touring the US before her teaching career and joining Gerry in running Grovely.

They have built up the riding school over the years, improving facilities and mentoring their instructors and staff, many of whom have been with them for decades – as have many of their clients. Head girl Sam Stockley joined Grovely 36 years ago, and chief instructor Cam Christie learnt to ride at Grovely when he was seven, and has been teaching here since 1999.

Grovely had more than 100 horses at one stage, including Gerry’s son Dan’s showjumpers, and they are down to “just” 70-odd.

“It has changed. At 22, I thought I knew everything! Over the years I have had the best staff working for me and still do to this day. It’s a different world, and you have to move with that. We are incredibly busy, which is fantastic for us,” said Gerry, adding that although the world has changed, their ethos has remained constant.

“As Sue and I were both in education, it’s always been about education. Either through British Horse Society exams, modern apprenticeships, kids coming for days, it has always been about not just coming for a ride, but learning about the welfare of horses. That probably comes from our teaching background.”

Gerry said that more than 350 people came to the anniversary party (21 July) from all over the world.

“People who had worked here as 16-, 17-year-olds came back. A girl came from New Zealand, people came from Spain, from all over, it was fantastic. The legacy of friendship was overwhelming,” she said.

“I can’t tell you how many people said that Grovely had changed their lives. That was quite overwhelming. There have been lots of highlights, [my son] Dan riding at [Horse of the Year Show] HOYS, his success showjumping. But really, it’s not just about us, but what Grovely stands for for a lot of people. To be doing this, somewhere I grew up learning to ride, is incredible really.

“The staff are seriously irreplaceable. Their loyalty, their dedication… they’ve been fantastic, all of them over the years. Grovely is built on their shoulders really, as well as Sue’s and my own.”

She added: “And I know what a G&T is now!”

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