A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US:
Off Piste Riding is a team affair. We aim to provide a personal service
and care which is as special and individual as our horses.
Please see below a little bit of information about us, so you can get
a flavour of what each of us bring to the mix and how our passion for
what we do will help ensure you have a great stay.
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David Linford
Dave grew up in Somerset – one way you can tell
this is by his ‘creamy’ Somerset accent. Dave has farmed and
ridden all his life.
To say Dave is passionate about Exmoor and rural issues
would be an understatement. Dave is a ‘larger than life’ character.
He approaches everything with ‘100% gusto’. He has good, traditional
views about horse husbandry. One of his favourite expressions is “it
costs as much to keep a bad horse as a good horse, so why keep a bad one?”
Dave knows Exmoor and its terrain like the back of his
hand and will take you to places most people have never explored before
least of all on horse back. He will tell you the names and a bit of history
about the areas you visit and try to show you, (if he can find some in
the gorse and bracken) our indigenous Red Deer which is the largest wild
mammal in the UK. These deer are beautiful, majestic creatures and Dave
is very knowledgeable about where they gaze, breed and inhabit.
As you return home in the horse lorry it is likely
Dave will point out other interesting places. He will also ensure once
the horses have been tended that you are comfortably settled in one of
his favourite spots, (the decking or bar stools in the kitchen) to have
a drink and re-tell the stories of the day. One thing he will do his up
most to ensure is that your stay with us is happy and memorable.
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Ellen Linford
I have been passionate about the countryside and the
‘art form’ since I was a little girl growing up in rural Northamptonshire.
Part of the art form to me is horses. I love to be with them, ride them
and explore our beautiful countryside on them. I have spent 36 years building
a rapport with them, studying them, enjoying them, falling off them, and
doing all the typical things associated with loving and looking after
horses.
I have juggled this with a career and enjoying other
art forms such as cooking, wine, interior design and art. I hope if you
visit us that you can witness these combined passions being used to make
your stay really special. I will prepare and serve your meals and share
some of the recipes from my Mother’s great home cooking repertoire.
I have also attended cookery schools such as Raymond Blanc’s in Oxon
and the the Ashburton Cookery School in Devon.
I met Dave when I moved to Somerset/Devon 6 years ago
and we became friends due to our horse connection. Our common denominator
is our love of riding, horses and in particular the countryside. I have
learnt so much from Dave about horses, riding across tough terrain and
just generally how to enjoy living in such a beautiful part of the world.
Dave and I became a couple two years ago and married in June 05. One of
the highlights of our wedding day was to have a special ‘guest appearance’.
This guest was my ‘much loved’ horse – George. George was
led from his field at 11.30pm at night with the disco roaring, people
dancing and the ‘bucking bronco’ competition in full force to
have his picture taken with me.
This picture is very dear to me as it reminds me of
how lucky I am to have had parents who encouraged me in my passion and
to have married a man who lives it. George brought Dave and I together.
George was our inspiration for Off Piste Riding. I raise my wine glass
to George.
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Jemimah Pearson
We have recently been fortunate enough to recruit the
services of Jemimah Pearson to help us at Longham Farm with the horses.
Jemimah started in mid May and very quickly smartened and tidied up the
running of the yard. She immediately had a thankless task ahead of her
as within 24hrs of her starting we began major structural alterations
in one of the yards causing all the chaos that this work tends to cause.
She coped with this extremely well providing good advice and innovative
ideas as to how the yard could be improved and indeed helped physically.
She has already got to know all the horses and turns them out to an extremely
high standard.
Jemimah has a unique chemistry with horses for someone so young. Within
a week of her being with us she had bonded with all the horses.
Jemimah attended Bicton College in Devon where she gained a Diploma in
Horse Management (Merit).
This ability along side Jemimah's bubbly personality and sense of humour
has made her a resounding success not only with the horses but also with
our guests. We hope that Jemimah, Ben (her own horse) and Frankie (her
little dog) are going to remain a long term fixture at Longham.
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