In six decades of work for the legendary Calcutt & Sons, Ian Compton has overseen some remarkable innovation in saddlery and riding attire
In 1959, I went to work with Joan Calcutt, who had started a second-hand tack business supplying the local riding fraternity. We worked tirelessly seven days a week, expanding the business, which included attending local shows and gymkhanas. At the time of Joan’s death in 1980, we had become one of the largest saddlers and riding outfitters in the country.
The following years were very innovative and productive, and I have been fortunate in employing very talented tradespeople as well as loyal staff, some of whom have been with me for more than 40 years.
Those of my generation will remember that only clipped horses had a jute night rug with an under-blanket, secured by a roller. With the help of a seamstress, we made a heavy canvas New Zealand rug with a gusset over the shoulder and no surcingle – which gave freedom of movement over the shoulder and didn’t slip. They lasted for years, unlike some of the enormous selection of synthetic materials now available.
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.
