‘They could lose their beloved horses’: riding school and equine rescue at risk as council leases its grazing to alpacas

Staff at a riding school and equine rescue in Hampshire that has been running for half a century fear the business may be at risk, and horses moved on, as the council is giving their summer grazing land to alpacas.

Russells Equestrian Centre in Southampton recently celebrated 50 years in business; for 10 of those, it has leased summer grazing from Eastleigh Borough Council. This space fulfils the conditions of its council-issued riding school licence regarding necessary space for the number of horses it has.

But in December, the council told Russells it would no longer be allowed to use the 7.5-acre Lower Russell Fields site at Itchen Valley Country Park, to allow the “grazing and walking” of alpacas.

Amanda Winstone, a committee member of the Epona Trust, the rescue side of the operation, told H&H the news came as a major blow.

“It’s a riding school and the Epona Trust allows them to rescue horses; they rehabilitate them and then some are used in the riding school and some for equine-assisted therapy,” she said. “They do a lot of work with children who are struggling in school or have additional needs; the children come on leaps and bounds and it’s amazing what they do.

“The issue now is that the riding school licence depends on having a certain acreage of grazing, which includes that field. It’s the same council that issues the licence and owns the field, and the concern is without the land, Russells will have to rehome a number of the horses, then I think the business wouldn’t be viable.”

Amanda said the venue has previously lost grazing to housing, and there is no more suitable land nearby.

“It would mean they wouldn’t be able to take on more rescues either,” she said. “Carol Boulton established Russells 50 years ago, and with her daughter Verity Tidmarsh has a hugely positive impact on our community. They could lose their whole business, but the impact is worse than that and could also mean losing their beloved horses.”

Amanda said the community is rallying round, and a Change.org petition calling for the council to reconsider has attracted nearly 900 signatures.

A spokesperson for Eastleigh Borough Council told H&H: “The council has entered into a new licence agreement to allow the grazing and walking of around 30 alpacas on the 7.5-acre Lower Russell Fields site at Itchen Valley Country Park. This will provide grazing and the opportunity for children and adults to walk alpacas at the park. As well as having biodiversity and health and well-being benefits, it will generate income towards the upkeep of the park. There are no plans to build shops on the site.

“The previous seasonal grazing licence for Russells Equestrian has been issued for many years on a month-to-month basis between May and October, with no commitment in the legal agreement to continue this year on year. We wrote to Russells Equestrian in December giving them five months’ notice that we would not be renewing the licence this coming May, and the council is continuing to work with Russells Equestrian to look for alternative grazing.”

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