Shop of the Month : Harley Equestrian

In the first of our new series, Shop of the Month, we visit Harley Equestrian in Woodford Halse, Northants.   If you would like to nominate your local tack shop for Shop of the Month, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at hello@thegaitpost.com and tell us why.

This establishment has long been the reason my credit card bills have been hastily stuffed unopened in the top drawer, but the exciting (and worrying) news is that Harley owners, Martin Ledger and Tracey Habgood, have extended the tack shop to include a Lifestyle area and Café; and it opens this weekend!

Harley Equestrian has long been the favoured one-stop shop for professionals and recreational riders alike both locally and nationally due to their expert knowledge and selection of gear covering all disciplines including racing, hunting, showing, eventing and general pleasure riding.  Brands available include Ariat, Albion, Equipe, Cavallo, Kingsland, Black Country, Amerigo, Dy’on, Pessoa, Charles Owen, Dever, Prestige, John Whitaker, Fairfax, Champion, Uvex, Veredus…and many more, the list is endless!

We were kindly given a sneak preview of the new Lifestyle Area and Café and you should all be very worried for your own bank accounts.  An unused warehouse at the back of the tack shop has been transformed into a wonderful Aladdin’s cave of beautiful things – where to start?!  

Instead of arriving at the front, you now enter the shop from the back into a cleverly designed space of tempting treats. The first thing that caught my eye was the huge fridge stuffed full of freshly home-made meals cooked by local lady, Suzanna Smith under the guise of Eydon Pantry.  These are sure to be a lifesaver in this non-domestic goddess household and it was great to learn that Suzanna will also make to order in your own dishes and drop off at Harley Equestrian for collection.

Next to tempt you is Isle of Wight Garlic with their delicious chutneys, salts and marmalades plus other goodies made by local producers including Cindy Simpson’s homemade treats and Laura Ruck-Keene’s tasty range of  dried nuts, herbs, salad dressings and chutneys  all from her own garden (more about her other talents later.)  Note to self: these are all great stocking fillers. 

Lancombes is the next tempting stop – a beautiful collection of tweeds, furs, hats, polo belts and dog accessories run by Beverley Soskin – I challenge anyone not to be seriously swayed by her gear.

Keep you energy up for The Collective owned by Liz Downton whose eye for great presents will knock even the most tricky relative off your Christmas list in one fair swoop: gorgeous home accessories, cow hides, sheepskins, lighting and wonderful throws. 

Lizzie B’s ‘sassy gifts for savvy shoppers’ are a thoughtful collection of must-have presents that I’m not entirely sure you will want to wrap and giveaway!

I loved trying on the sustainably sourced and artisan produced bags at My Fair Bag Lady, that Sabine Delnatte has sourced from Africa to help boost the local economy.   A girl can never have too many bags! 

There was so much to see at Second Time Around, run by Teresa Thomas, and everywhere you looked, there were more wonderful vintage home accessories to discover.

Cushions, candles and cashmere at Pagoda Rose, run by Nicola Mossman, was the next stop and I was beginning to think there was no end to this emporium of enticement.  A pit stop in the Café was looking very tempting but Martin was still practising with the Panini machine! Everything in the cafe is cooked on the new Total Control 5 door Aga, and Harley are thrilled to be Aga Ambassadors for the local area and Aga accessories are also on sale.  Did you know the average running costs for a family of 4, cooking 3 meals a day, seven days a week, is only £5.75 a week on the new Total Control model.  Look out for cooking demonstrations and supper evenings coming soon.

Dotted about the room are Joseph Schoonhoven’s carefully restored 18th Century long case clocks (Grandfather) and very aptly in the surroundings, the one that caught my eye depicted a wonderful hunting scene. 

Whiffs of delicious scents filled the room and like a hound, we sniffed them out to Sarah Baker Baker’s stand of candles, diffusers and room sprays – hard to single out a favourite but I’d be thrilled with any of them.  It wouldn’t be Harley Equestrian without a tipple, so once the Prosecco was open, it was fun to see Kirsty Lawrence’s bar and table accessories and party wear – your drinks tray will never look so fun!  

Laura Ruck-Keene (a lady of many talents) and Philip Burton’s corner was a treasure trove of wonderful finds.  A fabulous duo, together their talent and passion for sourcing delightful antiques and restoring and hand painting old and grotty furniture into pieces that any home would be lucky to have, was a really pleasing discovery.  

Last but definitely not least, and a single piece of tack had still not crossed my path, was Dotty Hen’s pretty scarves, jewellery and accessories and Fiona Warren’s handmade fur and leather waistcoats and snoods: all made out of Italian skins and suede as well as her lovely upholstered coat hooks, which I have definitely got my eye on.

It was amazing to learn that, all bar a very few, the ladies and gent (you’re a brave man Philip) selling their wares in this wonderful off-the-beaten track destination, all live within a 10 mile radius of the Woodford Halse shop – what an entrepreneurial and stylish county Northants is! And what fun they are going to have overseen by Lifestyle Manager, Marcia Hayward.

No peace for the wicked, well it is Halloween, and it was finally time to nip into the tack side of the shop.  Could I remember what I had come for ?  Could I heck!  Not with all those lovely goodies giddily swirling through my head but I always love smelling the leather at Harley Equestrian, and no visit is complete without a check in with Christine in the Bespoke department, seeing what she is magically stitching or repairing as well as catching up with the team, asking endless rookie questions, which are always answered knowledgeably and the obligatory purchase of the thing I had no intention of buying, but who doesn’t love new gear!

Martin, Tracey and the team have worked their socks off (Pikeur I hope!) and the results are outstanding.  Judging by today’s queue around the block on its first day of trading, both horsey and non horsey folk from far and wide have been to marvel at their hard work, sample the Café’s delicious grub and shop, shop, shop!  Long may it continue… just don’t run out of paninis Martin! 

Harley Equestrian offers a fantastic mail order service so if you aren’t in the area, give them a call on 01327 260818  – no query too small!  You can follow Harley Equestrian on Twitter @HarleyRacing1 and also Like their Facebook page to keep up to date with news and forthcoming events.

We would love to hear about your tack shop, so drop us a line at hello@thegaitpost.com or tweet us @thegaitpost or even send us a message on Facebook – we look forward to hearing from you.