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The Team - who we are and our Horses
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Andrea Simmons
and Carrie

"I have a shop in Penzance ...Number 36 in Causeway Head...It sells all sorts of things from clothes jewellery and gifts, We pride ourselves on finding unusual, colourful and interesting things. I started riding about 5 years ago, just as I turned 50. met Lizzie who was teaching at Lands End riding school then. She convinced me that this was the thing to do. (I am now very capable of looking after her horses during holidays. Method in her madness !) I have had a couple of horses on loan...the first one was a nightmare and tried to kill me on several occasions. One day he bit Lizzie very badly so he had to go. Then I had a lovely Clydesdale called Rocky who was as safe as houses and gave me lots of confidence..However Rocky was getting on in age so he left me for retirement in Goldsithney. Since then I have had lots of lessons at Rosevidney with the lovely Hayley who has improved my riding considerably.

I am now lucky enough to be able to ride several times a week on Bev's horse Carrie. I am riding her on the Kernow Trailbazers ride across Cornwall."

Bev Jenkins
and Archie

"I am a local farmer’s wife who has been a horse fan ever since I can remember. I have ridden the tracks and bridleways of West Penwith for over forty years, and it has been a long held ambition to ride the length of Cornwall, so of course I am delighted to be a Kernow Trailblazer! My pony obsession, or grey pony obsession to be specific, began when I was 7 with a little Welsh Mountain pony, called Silver. Unfortunately after 7 years when my feet could cross under his tummy I had to admit I’d outgrown him and he was replaced by the grey Quentin. A break of a few years followed to fit in college and babies,then along came Topaz, a grey Connemara cross, the bravest, most clever pony I could wish for. She was joined by Tavern, a grey thoughbred/shire cross by Abergwiff, a handsome horse with lots of presence. Carrie somehow slipped through the net, being a bay cob, but she's slotted into the grey group by sheer force of personality. Then along came Archie, a grey Arab with an amazing curly mane whose racing parentage I had my first taste of at Cardinham, where we had our initial endurance ride. To keep my horses in the luxury they aspire to I help my daughter run a card and gift shop in Helston where I’ll be displaying a Shelterbox from June 1st so people can view its contents and maybe give a donation at Thoughts Words and Deeds, Coinagehall Street."

Lizzie Matthews
and Kelster

"When I was a little girl of about 4 or 5 my elder sister’s boyfriend used to take my twin sister and I to feed some horses that lived in a field about a mile and a half from where we lived. My love of horses began. For years I begged my parents to let me have riding lessons, but coming from a non ‘horsey’ family my requests fell on deaf ears. When I was 13 I eventually wore them down and myself and my twin sister went off for our first riding lesson. I was instantly hooked. The local stables agreed that we could become ‘horse slaves’ or ‘weekend helpers’. Weekends we would be up bright and early and cycle the three miles to the stables for the pleasure of mucking out and poo picking. Every six or so weeks we would be entitled to a free ride – glorious. I wanted my own horse but my parents said"no, not until you are old enough to buy one yourself". When I was 25 I bought my first horse. Since then I have qualified as a riding instructor and taught in the UK and South Africa. But there is no money in horses and I needed a proper job to allow me to keep my horses in the manner to which they have become accustomed. I now have a great job managing a project which provides support to families in Cornwall who have been impacted by domestic abuse. I currently have two horses – Jigsaw and Kelster. They are both a joy and live in the field next door to my house – my dream has come true! "

Peta-Jane
and Wasima

"The sea and horses have always formed the backdrop to my life,  but briefly when I was about three, when we lived in Somerset next door to a farm which used a pair of working Shire horses, I used to terrify my non-horsey mother by ‘cuddling’ the only bits I could reach- their great big hairy feet. It is testament to their gentleness that I lived to tell the tale! However, my parents unwittingly made a fantastic choice of godparents for me - my godmother ran a racing stud farm! (My godfather still has horses in training today) and I used to spend idyllic summers with them, mesmerised by the thoroughbred foals as they floated fairy-like across their paddocks. (I still have a weakness for thoroughbreds!) Later, when living in Malta, I belonged to the Army Pony Club where I joined hordes of horse-mad children ‘looking after’ polo-ponies! I had my first pony, a little bay mare called Kitty, when I was 12 - she must have been about at least 20! She taught me everything about jumping, gymkhanas - even how to clear a cross-country course the wrong way round! Work, marriage to my submariner husband, Christopher, (the sea again!) and three boys intervened but I managed to carry on riding other people’s horses. Eventually, I decided, at the age of 58, the time had come for me to buy  my own. And sure enough, my love of a thoroughbred surfaced again! Wasima, ‘Wizzy’ is an Anglo-Arab - and she lives in a field perched high above the sea on a Cornish cliff next door to our home! "

Please Donate to our good causes:

You may give to our charities at www. justgiving.co.uk

The Brooke Hospital: http://www.justgiving.co.uk/KernowTrailblazers

ShelterBox: http://www.justgiving.com/elizabeth-matthews