For this month’s blog we thought it would be fun to take you behind the scenes here at Thorpe Farm Rehab & Fitness. That way, when you bring your horse here for treatment or a spin on the gallops, you know a little more about who we are and what we do, and why we’re very good at it!
Thorpe Farm is tucked in the village of Great Smeaton which is located between Northallerton and Darlington in North Yorkshire. The yard is run by Amy and Tommy Fife, a husband-and-wife duo, whose daughter Hollie was born in June 2022. That means they are busy working parents juggling work, horses and parenting, something many of our customers know all about too.
Both Amy and Tommy have decades of experience working with horses in a professional setting, with Tommy having grown up working for his mother, the successful racehorse trainer Marjorie Fife. Amy is a keen event and show jumping rider with years of experience running professional yards and working with sports horses. Both Amy and Tommy share the ethos that a solid foundation of fitness gives horses and ponies a chance to do their jobs well whilst staying free from injuries as much as possible.
Rehab and fitness for every horse
Of course, working with racehorses and sports horses for years means that the team at Thorpe Farm know that accidents and injuries can happen, even with the most perfectly fit and prepared horses. Amy and Tommy wanted to make sure every rider could access proper rehab facilities for their horses, not just professionals. That’s why Thorpe Farm offers a range of fitness and rehab tools, from the water treadmill, salt chamber and TheraPlate to the gallops and cross-country field, at affordable rates and with easy booking systems. Our services are now popular with everyone from young riders who have their sights set on making it to the very top, to dressage riders looking for cross-training and eventers getting their horses fit ready for competitions. We also have riding club members come to school their horses, happy hackers on the hunt for good ground and hunters doing combined gallops and water treadmill sessions to improve their cardiovascular fitness in the autumn.
Holiday and rehab livery
As well as fitness and rehab for ‘walk in’ customers, at Thorpe Farm we also offer short-term livery places on a rolling basis. These are ideal for customers who are heading off on holiday and don’t want their horse to lose fitness while they are away. Other customers find themselves with an injured horse that needs daily rehab and, perhaps due to work commitments or limitations at their yard, need to send them here for rebab livery. Either way, Amy and Tommy put together a bespoke package for every resident and share daily updates with their owner so that they can see how their horse is getting on. There are also a few full and part-time regular livery spaces here though these tend to get snapped up quickly when they become available!
The daily chores at Thorpe Farm
As you can imagine, Amy and Tommy are kept very busy, between yard work, riding, maintenance and admin. With so many different horses coming on site every week, biosecurity is an important part of the daily routine. We use Equine BioGenie to mist the communal areas and stables, ensuring they are free from pathogens. The water treadmill gets cleaned between uses, and the TheraPlate and salt chamber are kept in tiptop condition too. The gallops are harrowed every day to ensure perfect footing, and we top and roll the cross-country field on a regular basis too. As if that wasn’t enough, the team spend plenty of time liaising with customers about bookings, payments and livery and updating owners. When they have a spare moment, Amy loves to compete and was recently at the British Riding Clubs eventing championships with her horses Boo and Tony. Tommy is a huge racing fan, and when he has a rare moment to spare, he’ll be watching the racing on the television or at the track!