Forward Thinking

We spoke to Louise Fitton from Ryders Farm Equestrian Centre, Bolton about life at their busy riding school, diversification and how the Equestrian Employers Association has helped them.

Can you tell us a little bit about Ryders Farm Equestrian Centre?

We are a busy, BHS Approved riding school and livery yard in a unique location, on the main A666 road in Greater Manchester. Currently, we have 32 riding school and 26 livery horses, we are also the base for the Equine Studies course run by Eccles Sixth Form College.

We are a family run business, my Mum, Sarah Fitton BHSI is Yard Manager, and I have come on board full time to manage the marketing and admin side of the business. We have a brilliant team with four full time members and four part time team members.

We are very proud of our business, we were recently awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the SEIB Livery Yard and Riding School of The Year Awards 2020. We receive a lot of praise and testimonials based on the team work and the friendly atmosphere that we have at RFEC. We want to make sure everyone feels welcome, everyone is always met with a smile and encouragement.

What inspired you to join the EEA?

I had heard of the EEA through the Equestrian Employers Conference and I think that lockdown solidified how important teamwork is to us.

Lockdown gave us the ideal opportunity to bring some of the HR things in-house, and the Equestrian Employers Association resources gave us the peace of mind that we are doing everything correctly.

We’ve worked with various HR companies over the years but none who were equestrian specific and so didn’t always understand the unique demands, so to find support that is tailored to the industry is one of a kind.

We want to make sure we are doing everything right and everything we can do for our team of employees as well as our clients.

How have you found the resources so far?

Brilliant! The Contract Creator and the Staff Handbook Creator were the biggest pull for us. It’s reassuring that all the aspects of the job are considered, and current, in the documents.

Moving forwards the landscape of our business model has changed dramatically and the EEA has helped us to progress and ad apt confidently to allow us to put those changes in place and continue to be a more positive environment to work in.

How will this assist you / the business?

The saying, happy staff means happy clients really is true. The resources have allowed us to look at quality and not quantity. We have been able to plan out the working day more effectively and to explore job roles and descriptions to ensure they can deliver that role to the best of their ability, instead of trying to do various/multiple roles amalgamated into one.

We are also preparing to sign up to the EEA ‘Code of Good Employment’ to strengthen our employment practices and recognise the positive principles of our yard and team.

Why is it so important for RFEC to do things ‘correctly’?

Everyone should be running their businesses correctly. The equestrian industry isn’t exempt from the rules of other industries and everyone needs to have standards.

I don’t understand why employers in the equestrian industry shouldn’t have the same standards as every other industry. It’s a hard job, but there is so much we can do to make working with horses a positive experience with a career ladder and perks of the job.

What advice would you give to other businesses who are needing some support tools?

Really consider the return on investment you are making. It’s easy to think of ROI as financial, but there are other aspects to running a successful business. Look at the time and effort you will be saving and intangible benefits from investing in the EEA and the HR resources that are available.

I don’t think you can afford not to do it properly any more, you can’t skimp on things.

From the employer’s perspective, a small investment in the EEA gives you all the tools and resources you need, bespoke to our industry."

Thank you to Louise and the Team from Ryders Farm. If you would like support for your business we are here to help.