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Access all areas: Behind the scenes at Hyde Park Stables in London *H&H Plus*

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • Saved from closing for good, these London stables are back in business with two international showjumpers at the helm.

    It’s the most unlikely location for a hack. To my left the street is blocked as a group of protesters denounce Donald Trump’s visit to London. Sirens shrill above the thrum of the capital’s traffic. Behind me is the Ferris wheel of Winter Wonderland, and all the while buggies, joggers and cyclists zip by. This is Rotten Row, a broad, sandy track in the south of Hyde Park — an avenue originally established in the 17th century. Over 300 years on, aboard a trusty piebald cob, Ivan, I trot down this same 1,384 metres of sand, and marvel at the thought of all the horses through history who have trodden this path — and the utter bombproofness of Ivan.

     

    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry