Arkle Moor Riding Centre

17/11/2024

A rare opportunity to get out on ‘The Legend’ 😀… a cheeky hour for exercise in the late afternoon yesterday 😍

01/11/2024

😍🐎

Stroller the Olympic Wonder Pony

Stroller could jump as high as the world’s finest despite being much smaller…in many cases eight inches shorter than his closest rivals.

In the 60’s and 70’s, if you were a show jumping enthusiast in either England or North America, there was one equine name that got everybody’s attention. In the days before major league sports took over the cable stations and hockey, baseball, and hockey were shown 24 hours a day, the sport of show jumping, especially, in Great Britain had a following that was second to none. These were the decades when top show jumpers wrote books and “annuals” to the delight of their adoring public, company sponsored show jumpers had their company names as prefixes to horse names, and fans wrote for hairs from horse stars’ tails and manes.

However, out of this stadium full of the tall, long legged equine show jumpers, there emerged an oddball, albeit, an incredibly talented oddball. A pony named Stroller who was 14.1 h.h.; a Connemara / Thoroughbred mix that had been blessed by the gods of genetics and the wizards of wonder with confidence and scope. He could jump as high as the world’s finest despite being much smaller…in many cases eight inches shorter than his closest rivals.

Stroller was born in 1950 and was initially bought in a job lot from Ireland by a dealer and sold to a Ted Cripps for his daughter until he realized that he might just have a gem on his hands. He sold the pony to Ralph Coakes, a farmer near New Milton, who knew a thing or two about horses and the sport of show jumping. In buying the small pony, Ralph Coakes had just hitched his wagon and his daughter Marion’s even bigger wagon to a star that would explode into a supernova for the next 15 years.

Marion had two brothers, John and Douglas, who were members of the British Show Jumping Team but it was she who had the natural riding talent and ability to bring out the best in her pony. Eventually it seemed that graduating to a horse would be the natural thing to do but Marion knew that Stroller had more to give. They challenged the big horses and the big courses and won over and over again. There was nothing that this pair couldn’t tackle and jump whether it was a parallel, a spread, water, a bank or a ditch!

In 1964, this dynamic duo won the Hickstead Derby Trial, a grueling course founded in 1960 by show jumping great Douglas Bunn that tests the best of the best over a course of natural obstacles, a totally different event from the usual colourful stadium jumps. Stroller and Coakes placing second to Seamus Hayes and Goodbye on Derby Day in the actual event. A year later at the age of just 18, Coakes and Stroller won the Ladies World Championship at Hickstead. That same year they won the Queen Elizabeth Cup at the Royal International and won it again six years later.

Three years later Stroller was to show what he was really made of when he fought back from a stumble down the big Hickstead bank and achieved the only clear round out of 44 horse and rider teams. Stroller placed second in the Derby in 1968 and third in 1970.

In the 1970 Hamburg, Germany Derby, Coakes recalls: “When we sailed over the last fence, having completed the only clear round of the day, the crowd of 25,000 went crazy. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. We had completed the 50th clear round ever achieved on the course — and it was the first by a woman rider.” Amazingly, Stroller was 20 years old at the time!

Stroller also helped Great Britain win three Nations’ Cups, the World team Championships and the President’s Cup.

27/10/2024

Up the Big Hill from Booze with the Old Rogue this morning 😀🐎 fab day for it 💪

26/10/2024

Explore the Yorkshire Dales on horseback!

Our diary is open for 2025! And dates are already filling up fast! 😀😱

We offer guided trail riding on our own horses*, equine b and b for your own horse🐎, and you can stop onsite, and sleep under the stars in our cozy, well equipped bell tents🏕️

So what are you waiting for! Get out your diary and start planning your adventures for next year! 😀🐎🐎

(*Horse hire is available for experienced riders only, we have no suitable horses for beginners or total novices. We have a lower age limit of 16 and strict weight limit of 13 stone. We are not a pony trekking centre and only cater for small groups. We are a fully licensed and insured riding establishment)

19/10/2024

A bit of a Harkerside Circular route today with Jay and Morgan and Val and Wally 😀

Some incredible views today in all directions … good to get out before the storms hit us tomorrow!! 🫣🫣

15/10/2024

May Dates now reserved!

11/10/2024

Explore the Yorkshire Dales on horseback!

2 Rider Package. (Solo riders are also most welcome!)

Book a 2 night self catering stay for two in 2025! 🏕️Sleep under the stars in our cozy and well equipped Bell Tents 🏕️
🐎Take a guided tour of the fabulous Yorkshire Dales on one of our fantastic horses🐎 (No fighting over Wally! 😂)

First set of dates available are:
Wed 21st May - Fri 23rd May
Fri 20th June - Sun 22nd June
Fri 4th July - Sun 6th July

Proposed itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival from 1pm onwards. You will be shown to your Bell Tent and given time to settle in and maybe have some lunch. You will then be introduced to the horses and have a short Arena Assessment Ride, before heading out for an hours ride on one of our many trails to familiarise yourself with the horses and the beautiful area.

Day 2: Up and at them💪 we will head out on a full days riding (including a break for refreshments)

Day 3: Finish your short break with a full mornings riding before packing up and heading home in the afternoon

So what are you waiting for! Get out your diary and start planning your adventures for next year! 😀🐎🐎

Price for the above package is £340 per person (based on 2 riders sharing one Bell tent)

(*IMPORTANT INFORMATION… Horse hire is available for experienced riders only, we have no suitable horses for beginners or total novices. We have a lower age limit of 16 and strict weight limit of 13 stone. We are not a pony trekking centre, your group will be your own and we only cater for small groups! We are a fully licensed and insured riding establishment)

11/10/2024

Explore the Yorkshire Dales on horseback!

Our diary is open for 2025! And dates are already filling up fast! 😀😱

We offer guided trail riding on our own horses*, equine b and b for your own horse🐎, and you can stop onsite, and sleep under the stars in our cozy, well equipped bell tents🏕️

So what are you waiting for! Get out your diary and start planning your adventures for next year! 😀🐎🐎

EYES PEELED THIS AFTERNOON FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SOME RIDER ONLY PACKAGES!

(*Horse hire is available for experienced riders only, we have no suitable horses for beginners or total novices. We have a lower age limit of 16 and strict weight limit of 13 stone. We are not a pony trekking centre and only cater for small groups. We are a fully licensed and insured riding establishment)

10/10/2024

Fabulous skies in Arkengarthdale tonight 😍

09/10/2024

When you need to es**rt a very special horse to the brides amazing wedding 😀… say no more!😀😍🐎


❤️ 😍

07/10/2024

Hector enjoying the views this evening 😀

29/09/2024

Route planning on foot today with the gang … as we investigate routes for more full days of trail riding with our lovely little team of horses 😀

27/09/2024

NEVER dismiss age and experience! Always be willing to learn from the experience of amazing and wise horsemen and women!

Here are two amazing ladies, over 70, with decades of experience, showing everyone that you don’t get old and give up riding you get old when you stop!


😍

27/09/2024

John Whitaker's achievements with Milton are widely recognized; however, it was with Ryan's Son that he truly embarked on his jumping career. Ryan's Son, standing at approximately 16 hands high and possessing a robust build, does not conform to the standards of a contemporary sport horse. His dam was an Irish Draught, while his sire was the thoroughbred stallion Ozymandias.

When John Whitaker began competing with Ryan's Son, the pair had only accumulated £0.50 in BSJA winnings. This amount would soon grow as they secured numerous victories throughout their remarkable ten-year partnership. Notable accomplishments include winning a silver medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, a silver at the European Championships, and a bronze at the World Championships.

Additionally, John and Ryan's Son triumphed in the King George V Cup and the Hickstead Derby. Tragically, during the Hickstead Derby, Ryan's Son suffered a fall in the ring, which ultimately led to his collapse and subsequent death. This unfortunate conclusion marked the end of a showjumping legend, yet Ryan's Son left an indelible legacy in the world of showjumping and significantly contributed to John Whitaker's illustrious career.

Great riders need great horses and this is certainly the case with Ryan`s Son who helped catapult John Whitaker into the big time, Ryan`s Son had a mere 50p on his BSJA card when he was given to John by Malcolm Barr, who would later become his father in-Law

24/09/2024

The Pflexx knee exerciser stabilises the knee while activating the muscles around the knee to reduce pain and aid in recovery of all types of knee injury and Arthritis. Check it out at www.pflexx.com

23/09/2024

This weekend we welcomed the last of our equine b & b guests for 2024! Whilst we still continue with guided trail riding throughout autumn and winter, our holiday season has now finished for this year.

We’ve had a fabulous summer meeting fantastic guests and their beautiful horses! Here is just a few snaps of some of our visitors this year enjoying their time here, exploring the Yorkshire Dales on horseback 😀

Thank you to everyone who has supported us and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2025! 😀👍🐎🐎 We know some of you are already booked in 😀🤗🤗!!

21/09/2024

Explore the Yorkshire Dales with your horse!

Our diary is open for 2025! And dates are already filling up fast! 😀😱

We offer equine b and b for your horse🐎, onsite accommodation camping in our cozy bell tents🏕️, guided trail riding and guided horse hire*

So what are you waiting for! Get out your diary and start planning your adventures for next year! 😀🐎🐎

(*Horse hire is available for experienced riders only, we have no suitable horses for beginners or total novices. We have a lower age limit of 16 and a weight limit of 13 stone. We are a fully licensed and insured riding establishment)

20/09/2024

Fun day out today exploring… route planning doesn’t always go to plan … but the horses were absolute super stars, Val’s company was fabulous as always.. and we didn’t get wet! 😂👍🤗