In July 2018, Beechwood Riding School's Jakki Garnham - owner and instructor - will be celebrating 47 years of training horses and teaching people of all ages to ride.  Jakki will have reached the grand old age of 66 and (with double hip replacement under her belt) will be joining 8 other rides to take on the BHS Viking Challenge Ride in Iceland.

The Challenge will be riding and herding Icelandic horses for 131 miles (about 7 hours in the saddle each day) across fertile lava meadows, through rivers, passing Iceland's most active volcano Hekla (once called the Entrance to Hell!), crossing lava deserts up into the Icelandic Highlands of snowy peaks, leading the horses through narrow clefts to the Valley of the Horse.  Jakki and the other riders will encounter the ancient homes of the Trolls, boiling geysers and thermal lakes, sleeping overnight in remote and basic mountain huts, occasionally bathing in hot springs.

Why is she taking on the Challenge? ... As a memorial to all the wonderful horses and ponies past and present at Beechwood who have inspired many young and older riders and given so much pleasure to hundreds of riders over the years.

All  the money raised will be used by the British Horse Society to prevent abuse and neglect of horses by educating people on horse welfare and so improving the lives of horses less fortunate than those at Beechwood and other caring equestrian centres.