The Centre of Horseback Combat

10/09/2026

We’ve had rain at last!

So our next Woodlands Reset evening is September 12th 6pm - 8pm

We have spaces available and the weather looks to be perfect

The times have gone back a bit and we can’t bring the animals out in the dark so arrival is 6pm now not 7.

If you’d like to sit around the fire with us -

Meet our Foxes, hand reared Red Deer and other animals -

Share artisan breads and cheeses -

Have hot drinks around the fire - the kettle is always on the fire -

Toast giant marshmallows -

Relax, enjoy ancient woodlands which are not open to the public normally -

Then get in touch

Inbox on here or email
[email protected]

This is an experience for adults to come and have your time chatting, meeting people, being off your phone and taking in nature

This is an ancient tradition that we are losing

So reset yourself and come and join in

We are on the Gaddesden estate, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

£49 per person to meet these special animals personally and enjoy time with us around the fire eating good food

Payment is by bank transfer or PayPal to secure your spot
Come alone or bring friends

09/09/2026

🌳🌳 WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE NEXT WOODLAND EVENING RESET DATE OF Saturday September 12th - 6pm - 8pm🌳🌳

With special animal encounters

Experience true nature, history, and connection, seconds from the rush of the modern world.

Escape to a private, 2000 acre historic country estate normally closed to the public.

For just two hours, you will immerse yourself in an exclusive sanctuary where time stands still. Walk paths once trodden by Romans, breathe the air of ancient forests, and find peace and quiet in woodlands with friends and like minded people

Your Evening Journey Includes a very unique experience:

🦌WILD CONNECTIONS:🦌

Meet our hand reared Red Deer with an option of a calm walk around the woods with him.

🐺PACK BONDING: Share the warmth of a forest campfire and special time with our magnificent Wolf Dogs🐺

A mesmerizing close encounter with our Hand-raised Silver Fox.

We have invited other animals to join you also - it’s a surprise

NOURISH & REFLECT: Gather by the fire to toast giant marshmallows and enjoy fresh artisan breads and cheese to toast and reflect in the quiet of nature.

Enjoy hot and cold drinks from the kettle over the fire

An exclusive wellness experience designed for adults seeking genuine reconnection and tranquility with woodland and animals

Dates & Logistics:

TIME: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

LOCATION: Gaddesden Place Stables, Hemel Hempstead HP2

STRICTLY LIMITED PLACES. INTIMATE GROUPS OF 10 MAXIMUM.

INTRODUCTORY PRICE OF £45 PER PERSON

or CONTACT US FOR EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE GROUP BOOKINGS or Team Building

Must be pre-booked. Strictly Adults only as this is about you, your time to relax, talk and listen

BOOK YOUR ESCAPE NOW:

Message us on here

Or email [email protected]

What to Wear & Expect:

This is an immersive nature experience; sturdy, enclosed footwear and comfortable outdoor clothing are essential.
The terrain is varied and may be uneven.
Dress for the weather
Warm blankets will be on offer
Further details and meeting instructions will be sent upon confirmation.

08/09/2026

We have been teaching trick riding at our centre under a license and correct insurance for around 17 years now - around 2009
Before then teaching was for our riders in the shows etc and not in a school format

We are proud of our students and trainees and here is Emily Timms who came to us as a quiet young girl, very unassuming, not looking for fame, fortune and glamour but came to train week in, week out, paid for her lessons, was absolutely dedicated to learning and progressing

Emily was never bothered about social media and showing off 🙃 she just came and learnt and progressed further than most due to her quiet dedication and will to get it right

A testament to committing to lessons and turning up and Emily was able to vault over a jump and vault well over that jump.

The horse is Smokie one of our orginal show horses here who is still with us and fit and well and is a brilliant little stunt horse

Emily has now left and gone off into farming but we just wanted to share some of her achievements in lessons

We are the only school with coaching qualifications from the IEDF to teach Cossack Trick Riding following their rules and regulations

We also coached and competed as team GB to compete in Russia at The World Dzhigitovka Championships since 2016.

We are passionate about safe, clean trick riding and licensed, insured safe facilities and trained safe horses to learn on

05/09/2026

Freelance groom/ assistant needed for tomorrows course of Rider Confidence, Sunday 6th September

Must be over 18 yrs

8.30am until 5.30pm
With lunch break 45-1hr

Experienced horse person, groom who can help get multiple horses ready to a time frame

Bringing in, washing, grooming, tacking up, leading on the course, helping clients mount and dismount etc

You must be reliable, able to get here with ease and a confident person happy in public situations plus fit enough to be in a yard horse environment for the day

Drop us a inbox or email

[email protected]

04/09/2026

https://youtube.com/watch?v=olmV7Lj0UVA&is=4fdDU8itEcz-LRZE

A new music video we worked out out today by Paris Paloma staring Teake! Of course….

Rearing riding double Zana Cousins Greenwood

Cantering double Erin Cunningham

Location - Somewhere near Guildford!

This was filmed in the middle of the drought and heatwaves so a difficult shoot as my first considerations are always horse welfare with the hard ground and hot days

Teake has been struggling a bit with the hard ground and I said to production we may not be able to canter or rear on the shoot - as that was what they wanted, of course - it looks cool right!

So after assessing the ground on the day it was sandy soil and we decided to offer some cantering limited and we would limit the rears but offer the rears to them.

This is stuff maybe people don’t think about - how do you keep your horses happy and safe and content to continue to work but keep production happy and meet the creative brief

When we work I always speak to production- which is why I don’t actually like working with agents unless they are brilliant communicators

On this job I could speak to the director beforehand on the phone and we had a great conversation to discuss what her vision was, what we could provide and how I look after my horse

She’s throughly understood, listened and was happy to adapt the action if required

These are good jobs to be on

I’m a talker, an explainer but I’m also very creative, an artist also so want to work to create that brief

On the way home our tyre blew on the M25 and we spent 3 hrs on a lay-by waiting for recovery - we even managed to get the M25 closed to unload horses onto it and load them back up
Good horses 🥰

Have a watch - it’s quite dark and gothic so don’t watch if you don’t like blood

"The Fatal Flaw" is out now: https://parispaloma.ffm.to/thefatalfl...

03/09/2026

So proud of our horses and when we look back through all the years of shows, training etc they do a lot of cool stuff

All comes down to trust, relationship, time and effort

Horses are fundamentally amazing when we take the time to help them out, explain and have a few conversations

Have a watch

02/09/2026

Freelance groom/ assistant needed for this weekends courses of Horseback Archery and Rider Confidence

Must be over 18 yrs

8.30am until 5.30pm
With lunch break 45-1hr

Experienced horse person, groom who can help get multiple horses ready to a time frame

Bringing in, washing, grooming, tacking up, leading on the course, helping clients mount and dismount etc

Saturday and or Sunday

Need help both days

You must be reliable, able to get here with ease and a confident person happy in public situations plus fit enough to be in a yard horse environment for the day

Drop us a inbox or email

[email protected]

01/09/2026

Just going through our albums for the centre over the years and found these!

We have an image from the first BHAA Horseback Archery championships in 2010 with Franklin Henson riding his horse at our centre in Sussex as we were then

Then we hosted the first ever IHAA Grand Prix with Poland, Sweden and the UK with Wojtek Osiecki riding Caranval, Michal Sanczenko riding Oscar and Ana Soloska riding Niagara

From Sweden I particularly remember Emil Eriksson visiting

We had Dan Sawyer and Claire Sawyer riding our horses Todo and Niagara also

We hosted all BHAA events for the first few years here

We also did the first ever gradings at our centre back in around 2012 I believe

Phew…….

And we still teach Horseback Archery here after teaching around 6400 students over 17 years I think now.

Wojtek Osiecki Ana Sok Emil Wennstig Eriksson @

31/08/2026

Today’s blog: Who have we trained here

Next is Kat Pickering

Kat came to us at 21 yrs old fresh out of uni and wanted to learn stunt and trick riding

With a background in horses she was a confident rider but had never learnt any of the stuff we teach here

We taught her her first ever tricks, Horseback Archery, rears, showed her laying down horses and showed her how we teach confidence with our Rider Confidence course

Kat was a full time live in trainee having 3 sessions a week plus working as a groom here helping in all areas that we do including film shoots, photo shoots and live shows

She has also gone on to perform with many other teams and set up for herself