Perfect pairings

MEET THE TRAINER

ROBYN CHERRY is yard manager at Tyre Hill Equestrian in Worcestershire. She began working on a racing yard aged 14 and has gone on to run her own yard, and to manage others of all sizes — including 300-horse equestrian centres. She holds the RDA equivalent of a BHSAI, and specialises in rehabilitating horses post-intensive care and post-injury.

SOMETIMES THERE JUST aren’t enough hours in the day to ride more than one horse. Especially at this time of year, when the light fades fast but you still have more than one equine needing exercise. In this situation, being able to take both out at the same time — riding one and leading the other — is invaluable.

If you’ve ever been to a polo match, you’ll notice that the grooms often ride a pony while leading two or more during the warm up before a game. This is because with so many horses to exercise, it simply isn’t possible to have enough riders to ride each horse. Riding and leading is also commonly seen on big yards where there are lots of horses to exercise every day.

“At a big yard I managed, it was rare for