Gnosall, Staffordshire

The Forge

The last Sunday in August I moved to Staffordshire to stay with Jonathan Nunn and his family.  It was a rather hectic week as his apprentice is off with a bad knee and his son, who is just about to start at college, is only pulling and clinching, plus the fact that the week was reduced down to three working days because on Thursday we were going down to the Isle of Wight for a contest.  Despite early starts and working until as late as 10:30 some days, I very much admire how calm Jonathan manages to stay.  He didn't even lose his temper with the difficult horses, something that I was really struggling with after about 7pm!

Still going strong at 10 PM.

Westley House Livery

I do want to mention Westley House briefly.  They have been a client of Jonathan's for over 20 years now, the owner having met Jonathan when he was an apprentice.  At the time the owner was a mounted police officer, so he explained a bit about the history of that branch of the force to me and showed me around their farm- a tour he says he inflicts on all the foreign visitors.  The family has lived on the land for 500 years, so he says "hopefully we'll be considered locals soon."  He and his wife have diversified into horses as their farm is too small to support a family (now they only grow hay for themselves).  They do a lot of work with handicapped riders and recovery work with mental disorders as well.  Additionally they teach about gardening and run nature programs on their land, which has been turned into conservation land.  He was a fascinating man and I wish that I had had more time and presence of mind to ask more questions.