Equestrian Inspirations: Marian Tennyson
Marian always had a passion for horses and won a 148 championship at the RDS at 15, more recently, she has started a riding school called Smile Equestrian and another venture, Hobby Horse NI
**A podcast accompanies this article!**
This country has been blessed with a huge amount of equestrian talent, not only in the form of the equines themselves, but also the people who handle and ride them. Horse&Field would like to feature some of these people, across all the disciplines, and give recognition to their achievements. If you know of someone who should be featured, please email: horseandfield@gmail.com
In the 12th Straight from the Horse's Mouth podcast on Horse and Field, I spoke to Marian Tennyson from Co Armagh.
Marian's name has been familiar to me for many years as a competitor, mainly across the jumping disciplines. More recently, I have been made aware that Marian has recently fulfilled a lifelong ambition and opened an equestrian centre called Smile Equestrian.
I had a great chat with Marian and discovered lots about her equine background, her new ventures and plans for the future.
I also learned that in light of Dublin Horse Show last week, that Marian won a 148 show jumping championship at Dublin when she was 15.
I hope you enjoy our chat.
So Marian, are you from a horsey background? Do or did your parents ride or have horses?
Yes. My daddy was very big into horses basically all his life. He used to bunk off school and go out to the horses when he was a child.
He would have been driving, loved a horse and cart, loved driving and was a bit of a wheeler-dealer as well.
Very good.
So yes, he was always into the horses, so loved going to all the horse fairs and buying and selling the odd pony.
Me and my younger sister Louise are the only two out of the six… Well, Paul, my older brother, would have been into the horses a bit as well, but not just as much as my younger sister and I.
Very good. And so at what age were you when you started to ride?
Well, I think I was 12… 11 or 12… and I must have went on and on and on to my mummy and daddy for weeks.
And I remember this, it was a Friday night, and I cried and cried and cried, ran upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom and cried that much I fell asleep.
Aww.
They had to take the hinges off the bathroom door to get me out.
And the next morning, my daddy was like, right, come on. We'll go and see a pony. And he took me out to away out past Drumcree Church, [to see] a girl, Regina Hamill.
Regina's now married to Keith Prescott. I'm not sure if you know Keith. I think he does horse transport.
I recognise that name, yes.
Yeah, well, Regina was the first person that put me on a pony… a pony called ‘Barney’.
At that time, he just looked huge to me. Daddy just did like a wolf-whistle and this pony came running up this lane. And he was like, ‘there's your pony’.
And Regina put me on this pony and I went a couple of Saturdays. And then one Saturday, overnight, Barney was gone.
And unbeknownst to me, he had arranged for Regina to take me with her to Banbridge Horse Sales.
Right.
And I can remember looking at all these beautiful ponies and we were walking around the stables and she opened the stable door and she says, what do you think of that wee pony?
And I was like, oh, she's gorgeous.
And this wee pony, a wee skinny pony, was standing in the corner of the stable and she said to me, she's yours.
And I just cried and hugged this pony and that was my first pony, ‘Melody’ and I think the catalogue is still at home. I think she was 200 guineas and her name in the book was ‘Turkish Glory’ and that was my first pony. She was young, she was only four and I was only beginning and the two of us just taught each other basically.
Oh, brilliant.
Yeah. So I did a few months with Regina at her house. And then I think it must have been Regina introduced us to Iveagh Pony Club. And I became a member of Iveagh.
Yes.
And absolutely loved it. Me and Melody went to Iveagh every week to the rallies and the wee competitions.
And then, of course, we got a wee bit more experience, I suppose. I went down the SJAI (Show Jumping Association of Ireland) route.
Okay.
So me and ‘Melody’ and then we got a 14.2hh pony, ‘Jack Spratt’. He was bought from Banbridge.
What height was ‘Melody’?
Sorry, ‘Melody’ was only 13.2hh.
Okay.
So he was 14.2hh. We bought him from Banbridge sales as well. And so I had the two ponies out on the SJAI circuit. And yeah, we won a few things.
Me and ‘Jack Spratt’ qualified for Dublin Horse Show. Don't ask me what year that was now, because I can't remember.
Excellent.
Yeah, we qualified in Claremorris. So we did all those qualifiers all over the south of Ireland.
Wow.
And qualified at Claremorris. I don't even know, Bree, what year that was. And off we went to Dublin Horse Show.
Oh, my goodness. Fantastic.
And sorry, I should have said that, those few years, we were going to Mossvale all the time on a Friday night and all their wee Christmas shows.
And it was just fantastic. And I can remember that morning, I was so disappointed… The whole week in Simmonscourt, the videographer was there videoing all the classes.
And that morning I was jumping, the videographer was nowhere to be found.
Oh no!
There was never no video evidence. But I remember going in to do my round and came out and my brother was like, you've done the wrong course.
I was like, no, I did not. I cut inside the water jump and they thought I took the wrong jump. And that's how we won - we won the 148 BC at Dublin Horse Show that year.
Oh my goodness, that's fantastic!
Yeah it was, I'll never forget it and all the people that knew us from Mossvale, you know your whole fan club was all standing around the fence. Mickey and all threw me in the water jump!
It was just some experience, it was out of this world. I loved it… That's my claim to fame!
Oh that's incredible, what an experience!
Yeah, he was some pony now and actually, the girl that owned him came into the warm-up ring that morning and she was like, that can't be my pony, because he was just, he was really hot-headed, but me and him obviously just clicked and yeah we won that class that year.
What age would you have been then?
Well, I must have been only 15, I think, because I had to be out of him. That was my last year at that level, I think.
Right, yes.
I'm too old now to remember all these dates and years, but yeah.
And I can remember as well, of course, I think it was Swedish people wanting to buy him after he won that and I would not sell him.
I was like, no, no, no, I'm taking him home.
Very good.
I know. I did, I took him home.
And we qualified the following year. But, of course, between the qualifier and the horse show itself, I fell off a young horse and broke my ankle in three places.
So I had to lie up in South Tyrone Hospital. And I was like, you're going to have to get me healed quickly, because I have a horse show to get to.
Oh, no.
I can remember them putting a wee machine on my foot to exercise, you know, the ankle.
Yeah.
While I was lying up in the hospital trying to get it healed. I did get it healed, but just not enough. But went on to Dublin Horse Show, but we didn't do as well that year.
No, I'm sure.
But oh my goodness, I loved it.
Oh, that's amazing. And to qualify two years in a row, that's pretty impressive against the tough competition that you would have been up against.
Well, do you know who I was competing against that year? And for anybody listening to this that knows the ponies I'm referring to, because I cannot remember their names.
It was Clem McMahon and he was on two 14.2hh skewbald ponies. They were identical. And we beat him that year!
Oh my goodness. And he's an amazing rider!
Yeah. And I would love to know what you call those two ponies, but I cannot remember.
Well, there's a question out to any listeners… If you remember the names of Clem McMahon's two 14.2hh ponies, please email horseandfield@gmail.com. Thank you!
Yeah, it'd be great to find out the names of those ponies, because I just do not remember. I know what they look like, but don't remember their names.
So there you go!
That's amazing. And again, that just highlights the level of competition that you were up against, if Clem McMahon was riding against you.
I know.
Fantastic. So who would you say taught you to ride then? Was it really Regina or was it when you went to Iveagh?
Well, I went off to Iveagh and I don't know who the instructors were then. I'm too old now to remember that as well - the memory doesn't be the same when you get older!
But yeah, Mickey McCann… a few lessons with Mickey… a lot of lessons with Mickey. Just Pony Club, probably.
And then, when I went out onto the SJAI circuit, I was just training them at home myself, probably.
I honestly don't remember, did I have… I didn't have regular lessons. I just done my own wee thing at home with the pony.
And then sure, I left school - didn't stay on at school, because all I wanted to do was ride horses. Horses, horses, horses!
Yes.
So I left school and... was going to start a wee livery yard, but the yard that I got, and then I was only 16, there was a horse stolen at it before.
So then, of course, people didn't trust the place and they wouldn't leave their horses there.
Oh, dear.
Yeah, that didn't work out. So that was that. And I ended up going to work in Dunnes Stores in Portadown for a few years. And then that led me into a full-time job in Costcutter, where I worked in the office and the post office for 25 years, but always had horses, you know, growing up.
And more people used to come into the shop to me and ask me, ‘Marian, where would I get my child riding lessons?’
And there was me cringing in my seat going, oh, I would love to teach your child.
Yes.
So I was sending them off to, well, the Moy or Lodge Equine.
Yes.
Anywhere I could find… what do you call the other one? Old Orchard.
Yes.
All these riding schools and inside I was raging, because I wanted to be the person to teach those kids, but I just could not find the facilities, you know, that were your own.
Yes.
Lo and behold, I went to Loughgall Country Park for a hack with a couple of girls one day and this girl happened to say to me, I know a guy has bought a place in Richhill and he's not horsey at all and he's looking for somebody to take it on and my ears pricked and I was like ‘right can you get me a name?’. She's like ‘oh I can't remember his name’.
Well I must have tortured her for a couple of days after that, until she got back to me…
Yes.
And so she got to me with the name and address of the place and I think I went maybe three or four times and there was never anybody there. Well then daddy was sick in and around this all as well and we were you know, to and fro from the hospital.
And we were at my sister Louise's one day. And I said to her, could you bring me to that place again? Because it was hard to find at the start.
Yes.
And she was like, yes, I know where it is. And I said, well, I'm bringing a pen and paper this time and, if there's nobody there, I'm going to leave my number.
And so we did and an hour later, I got a phone call.
The guy says, I'm here now, if you want to come up. And we went up.
He showed us all around and the stable block's absolutely beautiful. It really is.
And I was like, oh, I'm never going to afford this place. But, I had a chat with him then and couldn't believe it when he said it’s yours if you want, whatever you want to do with it.
And I said, well, I'm going to open a riding school. And he's like, that's great.
And then arranged to meet, to give me the keys and the rest, oh my goodness, it's just crazy. Love it.
Oh, I'm sure.
Absolutely love it.
You're living your dream now?
Living the dream.
Oh, that's brilliant.
If you love the job you do, you'll never work it in your life.
Yeah, absolutely. You know, that seems to be a common theme with people who love horses, that if they're working with their horses, it doesn't feel like they're working at all.
No.
So it's just amazing.
It really is. I have to pinch myself most days. I just love it.
And then how did things transpire then, once you found the facilities? Where did you find the ponies? How did you come up with the name? What was your plan when you started?
Well, whenever he said we can have the place, then we arranged for him to hand over the keys, sign contracts or leases, whatever you want to call it.
And I took a wee video of me getting the keys.
Yes.
And I put the wee video in the family group chat. And everybody, like my whole family, know I'm just horsey mad, addicted.
And I was like, right, we need to come up with a name for the equestrian centre now, for the riding school.
And it was my older brother, Paul, started sending different wee messages and then the next one, he's like, ‘no, you have to call it Smile after daddy’, because daddy was always jolly and smiling and loving the craic and just a jolly person.
And I was like, brilliant, I like that. That sounds good. And then he sent me what it stands for:
So Many Individuals Love Equestrian.
And I just thought that was absolutely fantastic. And it's like, that's definitely what we're calling it.
Plus the fact you want all your children coming out of the arena smiling.
Absolutely.
I just think it's so fitting because, well, most of the time, they do come out smiling.
Oh, brilliant. And can I just ask, for anybody who doesn't know you, what was your dad's name?
William Lappin. Willie. Some people called him Billy, but everybody, horsey should know him. Like everybody in the country from one end to the other knows that man or did know him.
And where was he from?
Daddy was from Woodside Hill in Portadown.
Right… It's just so that people can make the connection you know, because there may be people listening that would have known him and to call your equestrian centre ‘Smile’ as a tribute to him, that is just so lovely!
Yeah, it's just so fitting I think. It's great and he would just just love it, he just unfortunately didn't get his chance to see any of it, but he's with us every day.
I would think so and so, what do you do at Smile Equestrian?
So we have lessons every day from adults to four-year-olds and we do group lessons and private lessons.
We're also a Pony Club-linked centre. So that means if you want to join Pony Club and don't have your own pony, you can come to Smile and take part in all Pony Club activities.
Excellent.
But you use the riding school ponies, so you don't need to own your own pony. And it's just going. We have nearly 40 members now in the Smile Pony Club.
Brilliant.
Yeah. The seniors ride on a Monday evening and the juniors ride on a Friday evening. So from four to 10 or 11-year-olds on a Friday and then 12 and over on a Monday.
And yeah, it's just great. They're all great, great kids.
Oh, that's excellent that you're offering that service to people, because not everybody can either afford or have the facilities to have their own pony. So that's really brilliant.
Yeah, as you say, there’s a lot of kids just would love to own their own pony, but they don't have the place. As you said, the facilities or they don't have, you know, they are a costly hobby.
Yeah, very much so!
And some people might think lessons are expensive, but if you're owning your own animal, you would know what expense is.
Yes, that's very true. So how many ponies and horses do you have at the moment?
Oh, my goodness, 22.
Wow! That's a lot of mucking out!
It is. And well, I don't do much of that now. That's down to my older sister. She works for me full time now.
And actually, she used to be the one who was allergic to horses. I could never have gone near her house. She wouldn't let me in until I went home and got showered!
And see now, she absolutely loves it. And she's a fantastic worker. She's just brilliant.
Yeah, she does all the mucking out and all the tacking up and the grooming - she's very good now.
Oh, that's excellent to have a helping hand like that and somebody who's reliable as well. That's so important when those jobs need done every day.
Yeah. And then we have, I can't do this interview without mentioning Caoimhe… So Caoimhe Litter is her name.
Caoimhe started coming to lessons with me about a year and a half ago on a Saturday morning. And then she actually lives beside where we live now.
So then her granny was bringing her up and then I used to say, look, I'll pick her up, because I'm passing her house to go to the yard anyway. We'll save you the journey.
Yes.
And now Caoimhe is, oh my goodness, that child is fantastic.
Caoimhe is just me on a stick!
Oh, really?
Loves, loves, loves horses.
And she would live in the stables, if I would live with her.
And she is a great girl. The kids love her.
And what age is she?
Caoimhe is only 15 and the kids absolutely love her. She's there every day after school. She's there. She's like part of me!
I will be picking her up in the morning again and we'll go up to the yard and do whatever.
And well, we're actually closed this week for a wee holiday. But yeah, she's a great girl and she has learned so much just by following me and watching me.
And I could give her the keys and say, ‘Caoimhe, I'm away to Spain for a week, can you look after the place?’ And she will!
A great, great girl.
Oh, that's brilliant. Especially for a teenager, that's really good.
Very, very dedicated to the horses. So she is a Pony Clubber as well.
And she's been out doing a wee area, a show jumping area event this year.
Very good.
Yeah, she's a lovely girl now. She's doing great. She just got her certificate yesterday for her YELA Bronze Award.
Excellent.
And now she's going to be working towards her Silver Award.
And what all is included in those awards?
So the YELA is Young Equestrian Leaders Awards and there are three levels, bronze, silver and gold.
And that scheme is for young people between 13 and 25, who want to volunteer within the equestrian industry.
So that can be working with young people, organising events, scoring, fundraising, building confidence, pole picking, that kind of thing.
Yeah.
So the bronze award, you have to do 20 hours over eight weeks and then you get signed off and send that off to Pony Club headquarters and they will send you a certificate.
And then, as I said, Caoimhe's going to move on to her Silver Award, where she'll have to do 40 hours over 16 weeks.
Right.
And then you're into the Gold Award, which is 60 hours over 32 weeks. But yes, it's a great wee incentive for the Pony Clubbers of that age group that want to come and help out, as well and learn loads.
That's great and very encouraging, to get young people out and helping and it gets them experience of the horsey world too.
This is it and any of the Pony Club, the senior Pony Clubbers, they can do those awards.
Ah, very good.
A lot of different badges, you know, they're working towards and certificates.
That's super. It's always something extra to add to their CV at that stage in their lives, you know.
Absolutely, yeah, yeah.
Ah, brilliant. And then, from a riding lessons point of view, did you do your BHS qualifications or which route did you take?
Yes, I have done my BHS stage one and my stage two and I think this September starts the coaching BHS stage two coaching, so I'll be doing that this year.
Very good.
Yeah, that's all good.
So you'll be doing a bit of learning yourself then?
Yes, we're learning every day!
I was going to say, with horses it never stops, sure it doesn't?
Nope, every day is a learning day.
And with regard to your facilities then, what all do you have at your yard at Richhill?
So, we have a 20m by 40m sand arena and then we have a full course of jumps on a grass arena and a full, well there's 16, cross-country jumps in another field or grass arena.
Oh, brilliant.
So there's plenty of options, you know, plenty to choose from. It's great.
And do you hire that out then or do you just use it for lessons?
No, we hire out the show jumping arena and the cross-country arena. We are working towards a dressage arena on grass.
It’ll maybe not happen now this summer because, well, we haven't had much of a summer.
Very true.
But yeah, that's in the pipeline.
Excellent.
Yeah, working towards trying to get a clubhouse for the Pony Clubbers. But again, it's all time and money.
Yeah, but I'm sure they would be very keen for that.
Yeah, just a wee club room, where the kids can go in and drop their hat and their bag and do their wee badges.
The Pony Club does theory one week and the ride the following week.
Yes.
We can't have 10 or 12 kids in the arena at one time. They just wouldn't be learning enough, so we swap it around every week.
Yes.
So a wee clubhouse would be nice. At the moment, they're just using the kitchen, which is fine. It's working all right for them, but I would like a club room, where I can put up loads of Pony Club posters and have a big table, with books and all their learning theory laid out… It's all in the pipeline.
Yeah and I'm sure that would be a bit more comfortable for everybody… Well, you've got your facilities now, so it's only a matter of time before you'll get the club room, I'm sure!
Hopefully, hopefully Bree!
And what about yourself and your own riding - are you riding at the minute? Have you got your own horse for competing on or anything at the minute? Or what are your own plans?
Well, I have a five-year-old at the minute, but not getting her out as much as I'd like to. But I would love to start doing a bit of Eventing Ireland.
Brilliant.
And then I have a horse, Prince. Well, he's nine now… But actually, Caoimhe is riding him now. She's doing really well on him.
Very good.
Them two have a bond going.
Lovely.
Yeah, Caoimhe loves him and he's going really well for her. So at least he's getting out and he's getting used, because I don't have time for two horses, you know.
No, it's very hard to split yourself, isn't it? And especially when you have so many other responsibilities and things to do. It's very, very difficult.
There's a lot of looking after, you know, 22 animals.
Yeah. And then, if you're teaching every day as well, that's going to take up a huge amount of time…
Yes.
And what are you aiming to do into the future then, both in terms of your own horses and through Smile Equestrian?
Well, through the Smile Equestrian, I would love to grow the Pony Club a bit more, and get the kids out and about to shows.
You know, there's a big difference in riding at home and going to the likes of the Meadows or Hagans Croft or somewhere different, you know.
I would love to build on the Pony Club thing and get the kids out more to different events.
I suppose that brings challenges in itself though, because if they're your ponies, then presumably you have to find a means of transporting enough ponies to suit all of the Pony Club members. So that would be a bit difficult, I imagine…?
That is a bit difficult, but where there's a will, there's a way!
Yeah, this is true.
Yeah, I'm quite lucky. Some of my parents do tow and can tow.
And, you know, they're brilliant. They'll offer, ‘if you need me to take a pony, I'll take a pony’.
And again, family and friends are very good. You know, I can call on my sister. You know, ‘I'll need you to tow a pony for me’.
That's not a problem.
Oh, that's great.
That's until maybe 10 or 12 of them want to go somewhere someday and then I will be pulling my hair out going, how am I getting all these ponies here?
Yeah, well, that's what I had in my mind there. I was wondering, how on earth are you going to manage to transport them all? Especially if there's an area competition or something on a wee bit further away from you than the Meadows would be, like that could be quite difficult.
That would be a challenge.
Yeah.
I think we had six… Did we have six? At this year’s areas.
Oh, brilliant.
Yeah, but as you say, it was only at the Meadows, it was only up the road, so we were able to do two runs.
Ah, well, very good - but obviously you got them there. And how did they do when they were there?
We had a second - one girl came second in the 70cm class. She did fantastic. That was the only place that day… The rest was maybe their first time and, you know yourself, the nerves just get the better of all of us at times - I'd be nervous myself.
Oh I know, I know that feeling all too well!
Yeah, but you know, they went, they got round the course, albeit a bit nervous… Did really, really well for their first time leaving Smile…
That's excellent and for the wee girl that got the second placing, that's excellent!
Yeah, fantastic. And I mean, I only owned the horse about three weeks, I think, when we went.
Oh, wow. So it's not even an animal that she had lots of experience in riding?
No.
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah. Now she's totally in love with her.
I would think so! That's brilliant.
Yeah. And then, sure we're only home from the regionals in Scotland there on Monday.
Yes.
The same wee horse, another child took her to the Area Eventing at Lusk’s… Was that two or three weeks ago? Can't remember the date now. And she came fourth.
Yes.
So qualified for the regional championships in Scotland.
Wow!
And yeah. So we made the trip, we done the regionals and she came fourth in Scotland.
That's amazing.
Absolutely fantastic. So proud, so proud of her. I'm proud of them all. They're all great.
Oh, I'm sure she was buzzing. That's fantastic.
I think she got her photos through there.
Oh, brilliant, the photographs are always lovely to have.
Yeah, you know, I just love when the children are enjoying it and the kids, the whole reason is to have fun and they're coming out of there smiling.
That's the most important thing. They're happy and they're smiling.
Oh, that's great. And I believe you also have another equestrian-based business, Hobby Horse NI?
Hobby Horse NI, yes.
Can you tell us a bit about it and what that's all about?
So, I ran a couple of wee dressage leagues at Smile over the last year. I think the first one was in the winter time, actually.
And whenever some of the kids were finished, they'd go away to the car and they got out their hobby horse.
I could see these kids trotting up and down the yard on the hobby horse and then, when the arena was free, it was like, ‘Marian, can we go into the arena and jump some jumps?’.
[I’d say] yeah, go ahead and they're going over the jumps in the arena. And I'm thinking, I wonder who else is doing that around the country?
And it is a big, big thing in Sweden… Or is it Lithuania or somewhere like that, they're really competitive.
Right.
And it's just it's just taken off in England, I think, and Scotland this year.
I thought I'm going to give that a go, because I think the children would love it. And they do.
We went to Armagh Show… was our first venture and it was fantastic.
The amount of kids that came in and did the hobby horse show jumping was just brilliant.
So you have a course of show jumps set up and the kids just run round with their hobby horse and jump over the wee fences?
Oh, no, no, no. It's proper competition, the same way as show jumping.
I just mean, that's the basic idea… They're show jumping without a pony?
Yes.
Against the clock and everything?
Yes. So my partner Liam, he made me a course of jumps and they're fantastic. Liam made all the wee jumps and off we went on Armagh Show and did a proper, as you said, 40, 50, 60 centimetres.
And some of those kids, you would be shocked at how high they can jump on a hobby horse. They were fantastic!
Oh, super.
And yeah, we had parents coming up saying, can't believe you're doing this now here, because we were going to book our children a flight to Sweden or wherever it is… I think it's Sweden.
Yeah, they were going to fly their kids over. Some of these kids wanted to go over there to do it, because nobody was doing it here.
Oh my goodness!
Yeah, unbelievable.
And some of these kids put hobby horses, like you want to see the bridle and the ear… you know the fly veils…
Oh really?
Really fancy and their manes and they have stables for them. They're absolutely fantastic!
Oh brilliant! There's a whole lot less mucking out with a hobby horse, right enough!
There is and no blacksmith required… And no vet’s bills…
Yeah, I know that! Actually, maybe that's what I should do… Maybe that's how I would get a clear round!!
Oh, that's brilliant, Marian. And what are your plans for that then? What are you hoping to do? Do you hire it out for birthday parties…?
Yeah, we did a birthday party last week in Downpatrick.
Oh, brilliant.
It was really good. Yeah, the kids… Again, this parent had said to me, ‘Marian, she wants nothing else for her birthday, only for you to come and bring the hobby horse jumps’. This child had her own hobby horse.
And we were at Downpatrick Racecourse for their fun day. Another great day.
Excellent.
Kids just kept coming and coming and loved every minute of it. We actually had, I think there was 10 kids came from, oh, what do you call that riding school…?
They were lovely, very well-mannered kids. I'm not going to be able to remember the name of it. That's left me. I can't remember the name of it.
But there were like 10 kids from that wee riding school that came along and they absolutely loved it.
Super.
Yeah, so down the line, we'd like to be doing the birthday parties and maybe bringing it into the schools for PE, you know.
Yeah.
That kind of thing. And just social events.
You know, I myself was at my yearly boot camp, as we call it, with the horses down at Dirraw Farm.
Yes.
So, I go there every year with the horse for a weekend of craic with the girls.
And we had brought the hobby horses.
Oh, brilliant.
You can imagine the craic. It was so much fun. We were doing dressage because there's an actual dressage test for hobby horse dressage.
Oh, cool.
Yeah, that's probably the only bit of dressage I'd be good at, Bree.
Me too. I'm kind of thinking, hmm, I should give that a go.
Yeah.
Oh, super. Because you kind of don't think about adults maybe doing it, but that would be great craic.
Honestly, it was so much fun. There's actually a TikTok of it flying about somewhere.
And Marian, who has been the greatest help to you so far in your career, both in terms of your family and externally?
Well, it has to be my partner, Liam, because without him, Smile Equestrian wouldn’t keep going.
I mean, he's the man that does all the collecting of hay and haylage and if a horse needs to go to the vet… Liam does that and just supports me emotionally in every way, really. He's great.
Oh, that's brilliant. It's so lovely to have that sort of support.
He's fantastic, I couldn't do it without him really. And I know I don't tell him half enough.
Oh, that's great. And then, Marian, what are your ambitions in life, both in horses and beyond?
Oh, my goodness. I’d just like to grow Smile Equestrian. It's going so well at the minute. I would just like to grow it more and the Pony Club end of things.
I loved every minute of Iveagh. My two children went through Iveagh Pony Club as well and loved it.
Just really to keep going, keep doing what I'm doing, only do it better.
Well, that's great. And where do you see yourself in five or in 10 years time?
In five years time, I would like to be taking a back seat and maybe Caoimhe will take over.
Brilliant.
Well, I would love to get out onto this Eventing Ireland circuit. I've said that now.
I would love to be doing that a bit more. Yeah, just doing what I'm doing, really.
Very good. And actually, what about your own children then? Do they have an interest in horses and ponies?
They still do, just not as much at the moment. My son lives in New York now.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, my daughter is currently studying veterinary in the Royal Veterinary College of London.
Oh, my goodness. Oh fantastic!
Yeah, she's doing really well. Absolutely loves it.
Yeah, she would love to ride over there. Actually, she wasn't there a week, when she rang me, [saying] ‘Mummy, you have to send my boots and hat over. There's a horsey place. I have to get the train. It's 20 minutes away.’
And then it turned out, it just worked out too expensive. You know, being a university student, she couldn't afford to go every week.
Yeah, I can imagine London prices would be a wee bit steep for a student.
Yeah, but when she's home, she would come up and ride .
Corey was home last week and he was straight up to the yard, [asking] ‘can I ride Prince?’ And away he went down the cross-country arena.
Excellent.
And had a wee jump around. So, yeah, they definitely still has the interest. It's more [about] time.
And it was Anna Rose, my daughter, that really pushed me to open the riding school, because she knows I've talked about it for so long.
Very good.
[She said]: You know, you have to do this, mummy. This is what you've always wanted.
And I suppose as well, timing. You know, when they were younger, you couldn't be doing it. And I'm sure there are people that do, but just different circumstances didn't suit a few years back. But now that they're up and away, it's working out all right.
Yeah, you're taking the opportunity, which is fantastic. And all those kids are going to benefit… I mean, I imagine from what you've said that the atmosphere at Smile must be really encouraging. And that's exactly what kids need whenever they're just learning, especially when they're not from a horsey background.
Absolutely. Yeah, they're so pleasant and happy. They're like sponges. They just take it all in. They love it. They love the learning.
Brilliant. That's super.
And it's not all about riding the ponies. Some of them just love coming in and grooming them, cleaning their feet out, all them wee things.
Some of them just love that. Some of them nearly like that better than having to ride the horse. And it's great, I have kids with ADHD, autism, all different kids that come and ride and they're all fantastic.
Brilliant. Well, it's great that you can accommodate all the different interests and levels. That's brilliant. So Marian, if people want to find out more about Smile Equestrian or maybe enquire about lessons and things or even about Hobby Horse NI, how would they get in contact with you?
Well, Smile Equestrian is on Facebook. You can find me there or you can find Hobby Horse NI website. It's hobbyhorseni.co.uk.
Brilliant.
Yeah, the Smile Equestrian Facebook page is probably the easiest. I do have a sign on the Armagh Road. If anybody's passing it, the number's on it.
Excellent. Well, that's super. Thank you very much for joining me this evening. That was all really, really interesting. And I'm so pleased to hear that you're doing so well so far. And, you know, it's only to the benefit of all those children that you're helping to learn about horses.
Yeah, thank you, Bree. It's been great.
Well, I wish you continued success.
Thank you so much.
And I'll be looking out for your name in Eventing Ireland results, Marian, over the next year or two now, when you get out with that five-year-old.
Hopefully.
Well, that's brilliant. It's so good to have something to aim towards.
Thank you, Bree. Yeah, we'll have to get cracking with that one.
Well, all the very best and thanks again.
Thank you, Bree.
It's so lovely to hear of people pursuing and then achieving their dreams and it sounds like Smile Equestrian is the fulfilment of Marian's dream.
Hobby Horse NI is also a novel concept and, while I am a firm fan of the real horse or pony... It's great to have a fun sideline like this for pony-mad kids.
I wish Marian continued success with her ventures and I'll be scouring the eventing results for her name in the future.
Stay tuned for the next Straight from the Horse's Mouth podcast on Horse and Field.
Thanks for listening.
If you haven’t listened yet, click on the link below:
Straight from the Horse's Mouth: Marian Tennyson
Hello and welcome to the 12th Straight from the Horse's Mouth podcast on Horse and Field!