THIRTY years in business and going stronger than ever - Brookleigh Riding Centre has been under the direction and ownership of Carol Thompson for an impressive 30 years and still counting.

Carol has had, quite literally, many hundreds of riders through her school, including myself at the tender age of 16. It seems an age since I was there and, other than a change of location, very little has changed, including Carol herself. There may be a few grey hairs since my day, but she is still the same bubbly, cheerful, 'does anything for anyone' lady of Eppleby.

This beautiful village near Darlington boasts a pub, blacksmith, village store/post office and village hall, and of course Carol. The riding centre used to be behind the pub until 1999, when she made the brave move to Sandwath House at Forcett, two miles from her home in Eppleby, to rent the large stable yard from Nick Johnson. The centre today boasts a grand total of 34 horses, eight belong to Carol and the rest are liveries. A far cry from earlier days when Carol had only one horse called Rosie, relying on teaching people who had brought their own horses for lessons.

Carol was born in December 1941 into a large family of six brothers and sisters in Holt, Norfolk. Thinking that she had perhaps hailed from a distinctly 'horsey' family, I was quickly told that "the only horses in our family were my grandparents. You see my grandfather had a taxi service, and cars weren't invented then!" she giggled.

So just where did this life-long love of horses actually come from?

When Carol was just ten years old she had befriended a local farmer's daughter who had a pony. The daughter was sent off to boarding school, leaving the said pony without a rider during term time. Carol was quick to ask if she could take over this duty, even though she hadn't sat astride before. "I would walk the pony from the field in hand and I had to pass this cemetery which he found pretty scary. I was determined not to let go of him and the best way of doing that was to simply climb aboard," explained Carol.

After that there was no turning back. "I remember getting my first pair of britches from the thrift shop," she said. "They used to belong to the land army girls from the war and cost me thrupence, I felt the bee's knees in them".

So, having become addicted to horses, Carol moved into hunt service with the North Norfolk Harriers as a 15-year-old trainee groom, which is where the hunting bug bit. After three years there, and with experience now under her belt, she moved on to yards in Cambridge, Rutland and then finally Northamptonshire, where she worked in the Grafton country for the well-known Grant-Renwick family, taking care of their children in the hunting field.

One day in 1960 a tall, dark and handsome figure walked into the yard to school one of the more difficult horses. This charming man went by the name of Eric Thompson, he swept off her feet and two years later they walked down the aisle together.

Eric had just ended his term in army service as chief instructor for the Household Cavalry and was fast becoming a very well-known event rider who also rode as a stunt/display trick artist. Between them they had much equine experience and knowledge and they decided to move to Banbury, where they rented a livery yard next to a girls' boarding school to start a business of their own. Here, Eric won his first major three-day event at Tidworth and later joined up with Richard Sumner, who was the Master of Foxhounds for the Haythrop hunt, to buy and sell horses. Combined with Carol's teaching, their business was off.

The chance of an even better yard came up, which meant that they would have to relocate to Nash in Buckinghamshire, where they settled for eight years. Eric successfully completed Badminton and Burghley three-day events, which resulted in more horses coming their way to train.

In 1968 their daughter Emma was born, so life for Carol became even more hectic with juggling her teaching with a young family.

The landlord then announced that he wanted the property back, so they decided to move to Eric's roots - Yorkshire.

The chance to buy their first property quickly came to fruition in 1974. "It is funny looking back," said Carol, "we hadn't even signed for the property before we moved there. The owner, Bob Smith, said that it wasn't a problem and we can do it when we got there!

"In those days a man's word and handshake were as firm as a signature," she laughed.

"Eppleby was perfect for us as it was close to the major North-South road, the A1, and, with all the travelling we were doing going to events, this was a major factor in our decision," Carol explained.

In 1977 Carol and Eric had a second child, this time a son called Jamie. She had joined the Zetland hunt for "pleasure" on the precious days that she had free from teaching and motherhood, and some 27 years later she is still riding to hounds.

Sadly, Eric and Carol ran into personal problems which eventually led to a divorce, although for two years Eric continued to live at Eppleby helping with the business. The slightly strange living arrangements became just too much for Carol, and Eric finally left her to run the business herself.

"Times were very hard as I had to buy out Eric's half of the business. To make ends meet I started a clothing store and did house parties selling jeans, as teaching was just not quite enough," she said.

"It took a while for me to turn the riding centre around as Eric was the one with 'the name', but eventually the riding school became so popular and it was too busy for me to continue my other jobs," Carol said proudly.

"I did a lot of teaching with the Riding for the Disabled, pony clubs and hundreds of adults and children, and although it was tough I now have a thriving business with many horses, and I did it myself," she added.

Eric moved down to Northamptonshire, where he lives near his daughter from his first marriage. Sadly, he suffers seriously from Parkinson's disease. "He was a charming man and would be the first to help anyone. That was his nature," said Carol.

It seems that all that rubbed off on her too, as Carol is exactly the same. This unique, hard-working, determined lady is a gem, whose kindness knows no bounds.

Carol, with the help of her head groom of eight years, Helen, runs the new yard beautifully.

Helen said: "I admire Carol so much as she has kept going through thick and thin over the years. She was very brave to move the stables, but it has proved to be a great decision. Her bubbly, cheerful and hard-working personality makes it easy for me to work for her. I will be here for a long time yet"!

Things got even better for Carol as she met her current partner Philip Wally through the riding centre. He was one of her protgs and they have both settled in her new home, which she had built on the grounds of the old centre, proving that, like a phoenix, she has risen anew out of the ashes of her old life.

Now settled in her new yard, Carol has created a fabulous centre and many hundreds of people have passed through her doors learning about horses. "My aim is to teach people to enjoy everything about horses, not just how to ride one," she said. This she does brilliantly and I feel that just about half of Yorkshire owes her so much - me included

Published: 26/11/2004