A recent holiday in Cornwall gave my husband, Nick, and I the chance to catch up with Sarah-Jane Brown who had been a “Ridgeway Rider” sponsored rider . We first met Sarah Jane when Nick was asked to photograph her and her young mare Sarnita, competing in their first Pre-Novice event at the Bath & West Showground and, as regular readers of the magazine will know, in the intervening two years their progress up through the eventing grades has been swift. This includes 7th place at their first three day event at Weston Park and long listing to represent Great Britain at this year’s European CIC** Championships in Sweden.

Our paths have crossed regularly since then so it’s was with pleasure that we accepted Sarah Jane and her mother Susanne’s kind invitation for a meal and the chance for me to ride out in the wonderful Cornish countryside during our stay.


The Brown household, which also includes two rescue greyhounds and a lurcher, is to be found along one of those incredibly narrow Cornish country lanes, with grass growing up through the middle and the dread of meeting something coming in the opposite direction, but the warmth of the welcome and the views of Carn Brea more than made the trip worth while. As well as enjoying Susanne’s wonderful cooking it was a pleasure to listen to how Sarah-Jane fits her horses in around a full time job as a Health & Safety Officer and share both their enthusiasm for eventing. We were also introduced to their friends Bridget and John, who breed Connemara ponies and were entertained with tales of their latest arrival’s antics.

A couple of days later we met up again at the farm where Sarah-Jane keeps her two horses, as well as Sarnita she also has a six year-old, Ballyraggett, who competes at Pre Novice level and is by the stallion Diamond Clover so is half brother to Sharon Hunt’s British team ride, Tanker’s Town. “Rags” was my ride for the evening and, thanks to Sarah Jane’s hard work, he turned out to be a polite young gentleman with three very nice paces.
We left the stable yard and, after a short stretch of road, turned off onto a steep lane which took us the direct route to the top of Carn Brea, a hill top site 738 feet above sea level, with it’s breathtaking views across Redruth, Cambourne and Pool, along the north coast line and west to St Ives. Although it was a slightly cloudy evening we could still see the sun low in the sky out over the sea, highlighting St Agnes Beacon and coves of Chapel Porth and Porthtowan. We began a more gentle descent along the front of the high ridge, although a short stretch at the beginning of the track was quite steep and stony which did make me a little nervous for the legs of these two valuable horses! From then on we could relax, enjoy the views again, and where the track began to flatten out quite a long distance had been covered with wood chippings so we could let the horses stretch their legs and have a good canter.

The ride home took us past many of the relics of Camborne’s mining past with it’s ruined engine houses and spoil heaps, a stark contrast to Cornwall’s pretty fishing villages but no less beautiful and a reminder of where prosperity came from before tourism.
All too soon we were back to the stables, “Rags” had been a wonderful ride unfortunately, for me, he is for sale as Sarah-Jane needs to concentrate her limited time and finances on Sarnita, but I shall always look back on the experience with great pleasure.
So if you are planning a holiday in Cornwall this summer, make sure you pack your riding gear as, although I was lucky enough to ride out with a friend, it’s not difficult to find one of the many stables which offer accompanied hacks and beach rides.