Jackie’s guide to establishing a riding holiday business

Ted and Jackie Howard-Jones saw this opportunity and established a riding business offering day rides and riding holidays from their family farm in Buckinghamshire.

It is estimated that nationally there are 1.3 million regular riders*. Admittedly not all of these people will own their own horse or pony, but it is an industry with opportunity.

We hear more from Jackie with her tips and insight when considering a business of this nature.

What is it you offer at Cholsey Grange Farm?

We started the business by offering horse owners self-guided rides around mapped out trails, across the farm and local area.

As the business has grown we have also started offering weekly guided rides, trails suited to different abilities, we have themed rides where we put on catering when the riders return and more recently we have started offering riding holidays.

For the holidays, we encourage people to stay in our accommodation, or their own lorries with their horses stabled or turned out onto adjacent paddocks. Everything is self-catered and the riding trails are there for them to enjoy. We do also offer people the opportunity to hire out our arena with jumps, and instructors if this is something they are also interested in.

See also: Business start-up guide - Horse riding school

What accommodation do you offer?

We have converted one of the barns into a simple twin room offering self-catering accommodation. The kitchenette is shared, offering the basic amenities to prepare all meals, there is also an adjoining shower and toilet which is shared with other riders. A TV and WIFI are also provided.

It’s worth considering what you want to offer visitors. If it’s five-star luxury accommodation then there will be different requirements, but all I can stay is be clear and upfront about what it is they are getting and they can choose if this is the right kind of holiday for them before they arrive. s

How do you manage the volume of people?

We only have space for 10 horse boxes to park in the yard and we limit our day rides to this. Obviously, a lorry can bring more than one horse and this is fine. We take bookings in advance so we know who we are expecting on each day and can be prepared for this. If we are fully booked we encourage people to consider another day.

Likewise, with the riding holidays, it can be tricky with more than one different party staying at a time. The booking system is well managed to prevent any overlaps to ensure the visitors get the most out of their experience.

Knowing the capacity of your land is important. Too many people at one time can be hard to manage and can spoil the experience for others.

See also: Writing a business plan for an equestrian business

How do you choose and maintain the riding trails?

We now have a choice of 15 circular rides chosen by us that are all different lengths and terrains. These vary from routes around our farm to those that utilise the extensive local bridleway network and quiet country lanes. For those riders concerned about traffic we offer safe off-roading riding.

All the routes are mapped or marked out using visual aids which we ensure remain visible. We have also done a lot of work to maintain our local bridleway network. It’s our responsibility to make sure all the routes are safe and if we know there is an issue, such as rabbit holes or flooding on a certain route, we will make the riders aware of this and either close the route or advise an alternative.

We feel we have a duty to assist in the maintenance of the routes, in conjunction with the landowners, in order to offer the experience we would want.

What are the considerations when it comes to health and safety?

There is always a risk in this line of business and you must ensure all your bases are covered. Ask yourself ‘have you done everything that is physically possible to help prevent anything adverse happening?’

A risk assessment should be undertaken, if there is an emergency there should be protocols in place to deal with this. We ensure that all our guided riders sign a disclaimer before they set off which provides a level of security for us and also the horse and rider.

The BHS produce guidelines to help business owners with health and safety requirements which are worth looking through. They state things like the provision of high vis, that all riders have maps with them, at least one person in the group has a working mobile phone and that have been given our contact details should there be a problem.

See also: Health and safety guidelines for rural businesses

What about insurance?

It’s quite common now that riders will have their own insurance but don’t assume this. Ensure you have a level of insurance in place that will cover yourself and the business, as well as those on your land or property.

What do you charge?

Our self-guided day rides are charged out at £14 per horse and rider per day. This allows them access to our expertise and advice on suitable routes, mounting block, wash off area, toilet, tea and coffee facilities and our maps and directions.

For the weekly guided rides, and themed rides we charge £23 per horse and rider as we offer refreshments on their return.

The riding holidays are priced depending on how long people are staying, how many days of riding, which accommodation option they choose and whether they use any more of the riding facilities.

Below are examples of costs for the different offerings:

• Riders staying in the accommodation provided
  • One-night break with two days riding, £101 per horse and rider
• Riders staying in their own accommodation
  • One-night break with two days riding, £55 per horse and rider

When pricing your offering it’s a fine line between covering your costs and making the return you would like, and keeping customers happy. It’s worth developing a forecast to help set your baseline and also look around to see what others are offering and what people are happy to pay.

How do you take payment?

In the past, we have had a problem with cancellations and so we now ask for a deposit to secure the booking. The deposit is taken by payment online via Stripe and then the remaining amount is paid on arrival.

When people do book, we ask them for information on the party size and the type of vehicle they are bringing so we can ensure there is enough space for parking and can know what to expect.

What are the main costs of establishing and maintaining a riding holiday business?

Depending on what you are offering will depend on the set u and running costs. Below are an example of some of the costs to consider: (please note this list is not exhaustive and a feasibility forecast is recommended prior to making any decisions)

• Planning permission if accommodation is required
• Infrastructure i.e. accommodation, kitchen, showers
• Furnishing of accommodation including replacement costs
• Water and electricity installation and ongoing bills
• WIFI, approximately £400 to set up when using an existing line
• Horse bedding
• Paddock maintenance (Poo picking is done by the horse owners before departure)
• Trail maintenance i.e. labour costs
• Labour for the meet and greets, managing the booking, cleaning etc
• Laundry
• Booking system
• Insurance
• Marketing including website design

See also: Feasibility budgeting for new businesses

What do you do in the way of marketing?

Our target audience is mainly female however, the age range varies considerably. We have a lot of mothers and daughters who come and ride together, but we also have older and younger parties so our marketing strategy aims to appeal to our varied age demographic.

Social media and particularly Facebook has worked very well for us. We have our own page which people are always posting pictures, videos and reviews on, but there are so many other horsey related pages around that are also good to have a presence on.

See also: What is digital marketing?

Social media is time-consuming, I spend about three evenings a week working our platforms, but there is so much you can do with it to make it work for your business. We are constantly learning how to use it.

In addition to this, we have also gone down the traditional route of having banners up at local riding events, leafleting vehicles at local shows and producing email newsletters, all in aid of building brand awareness.

Ours is an evolving business and it’s all based on tapping into our local surroundings and offering something that the market likes. It’s important to do your research to identify if this type of business would have the demand in your area, and that you have the time and facilities to do it well.

* BHS Equestrian statistics http://www.bhs.org.uk/our-charity/press-centre/equestrian-statistics

Farm diversification, diversification ideas, rural business, rural business ideas

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