Business as usual for Judith, despite devastating fire

FORTY years ago, a teenage Judith Longden began earning pocket money by taking young children for rides on her pony.

Four decades on, Judith runs a stable of 26 horses — and a donkey called Coconut.

She has taught generations from Saddleworth and beyond to enjoy the pleasures of horse riding . . . and is continuing to do so despite a devasting and catastrophic fire which has destroyed 15 stables, two large hay barns, equipment, tools and feed.

Judith lives in a Norwegian log cabin, built in the grounds of Husteads Farm, Streetbridge Lane, Dobcross, with husband Nick Liversidge, which escaped the inferno.

It’s business as usual, said Judith, thanks to the support of the local community which has rallied round to ensure lessons go on.

Despite the fire it’s life as normal — or as near as possible — for Judith and Nick, who are awakened every morning at 7am by the braying Coconut.

“It’s spooky,” says Judith, “He even knows when the clocks change — we don’t need an alarm clock and I suspect a few folk in Dobcross think the same.”

A donkey alarm is handy with a love of horses, fostered by her late father, Dennis, famous in the 1950s for building Gypsy caravans, as you need to be up and about bright and early.

Dennis was also a renowned horse trader and started to rent Husteads Farm in the 1950s, just around the time The Cross housing development was being completed in Dobcross.

“Children used to come along to ride my horse and I began by charging them 20p,” says Judith, whose business brain soon kicked into gear.

Using a “fat old grey” called Winston, which she used to “borrow”, Judith found she could fit four children on to the horse and make 80p a trip around the outskirts of Saddleworth Golf Course at Mountain Ash.

And so a business — Husteads Riding School — was born. And it has stood the test of time.

Judith said: “We have taught three generations of many families and have people who travel from all over the world to ride here.

“We have regulars from Australia who take a holiday cottage in the Saddleworth hills and always ride with us whenever they are over.

“There are times, this being Saddleworth, when we simply can’t ride because the snow is too deep, and that makes life difficult for everyone, but we just get up when Coconut brays.”