Riding School Expands with Growth Hub Help
Liz White took over the ownership of the established Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre in Wall Hill Road, Corley Moor, Coventry, in 1991.
The business has 70 horses and ponies along with small animals and is approved by The British Horse Society, The Association of British Riding Schools, The Riding for the Disabled Association, The Pony Club and The British Equestrian Federation.
Hundreds of people aged from 3 to 76 attend lessons every week along with students who train in career courses from schools throughout the area and the stables also host birthday parties, summer camps, fun days in the school holidays and adult camps.
Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre has always trained staff and has a continual professional development for all staff, this expertise is passed on to its clients and enables all riding and stable management tuition to be of an excellent standard.
Liz heard about the CWLEP Growth Hub through word of mouth and spoke to account manager Jaymie Thakordas, who put her in touch with Anne-Marie Tranter at Coventry and Warwickshire Skills 4 Growth.
She was able to secure funding from the Skills 4 Growth programme, which is funded by the European Social Fund and managed by Coventry City Council, because it supports SMEs in Coventry and Warwickshire in advanced manufacturing, engineering or service sector industries to improve skills among their workforce by gaining accredited qualifications
Four members of staff at Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre – Emily Beaty, Krystina Ford, Owen Price and Toni Chambers – have completed their UK Coaching Certificate at Level 2.
Liz said: “Riding can be important for physical health and well-being, it is a great form of exercise, burning over 400 calories every hour.
“It is excellent for posture, fitness, core strength, balance and dexterity because in every minute of riding there are over 2,000 physical adjustments to make.
“Horses are used in therapy for improvement in mental health and well-being, and we work with schools whose pupils are disengaged because the horses inspire learning such as Maths and English by calculating how much feed you need to look after a horse each week.
“It is important for any rural business to look at other ways of growing their business and by continually improving the training of our staff, we will be able to offer more courses to new audiences.
“The support of the CWLEP and Skills 4 Growth programme has been invaluable because it is vital we keep staff up to date and trained to the highest possible standards.”
Jaymie Thakordas, of the CWLEP Growth Hub, said helping Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre to access funding was only one element of the business support available from the organisation.
She said: “We are here to offer support, advice and mentoring for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to grow.
“The Skills 4 Growth initiative has improved the skills of the team at Moor Farm to assist them to deliver high-quality riding lessons to different sections of the community.
“Over the last five decades the business has grown considerably and has diversified into different markets and Liz and her team are continuing to expand to ensure its future success.”
The Growth Hub
The CWLEP Growth Hub was established by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership to provide a one-stop shop to help make businesses aware of the advice and support available to them.
The Growth Hub pro-actively helps businesses grow by providing access to private sector professionals with commercial experience in a whole host of fields including marketing, finance, IT, training and logistics.
The Growth Hub has experts in various fields to help companies access grants and funding to diversify or expand by providing introductions to a range of services and support from other organisations across the region.
The Growth Hub offers help with:
Access to finance
Business Innovation
Business Support
International Trade Advisers
Skills4Growth
Inward Investment
Planning
Supply chain opportunities
Partners involved include the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, UKTI, Local Authorities across the sub-region, Coventry University and the University of Warwick.
For further information, email or telephone 0300 060 3747.
Caption: From the left, Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre’s Toni Chambers, Emily Beaty on board Vondel, Liz White, Jaymie Thakordas (CWLEP Growth Hub), Owen Price and Krystina Ford with horse SamLiz White took over the ownership of the established Moor Farm Stables Equestrian Centre in Wall Hill Road, Corley Moor, Coventry, in 1991.
The business has 70 horses and ponies along with small animals and is approved by The British Horse Society, The Association of British Riding Schools, The Riding for the Disabled Association, The Pony Club and The British Equestrian Federation.
Hundreds of people aged from three to 76 attend lessons every week along with students who train in career courses from schools throughout the area and the stables also host birthday parties, summer camps, fun days in the school holidays and adult camps.
