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| Background to the Development of Tal y Foel Riding Centre |
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Tal y Foel Riding Centre developed entirely by accident. Judy and Lewis Hutchings, the owners of Tal y Foel, have lived in the area for 29 and 39 years respectively. They came to Tal y Foel fourteen years ago from Bangor as they wanted to live in a rural and coastal environment as they approached retirement.
At that stage Tal y Foel house had no land but they bought a horse for their daughter which a neighbour accommodated on his land. Shortly after this they purchased 26 acres of land beside the house and fenced off a three-quarter mile long, five metre wide, riding track around its perimeter.
Horse breeding started in 1991. Because of the interest of local children a couple of Welsh ponies were bought and Judy started to organise activities for local children at Tal y Foel. This continued as a voluntary activity until the insurance and liability issues became a concern. At that stage, in 1995, planning permission was obtained as a Riding Establishment and an outdoor arena constructed. Much of the riding was hacking on the local roads.
In 1995 Tal y Foel was accredited by the Wales Tourist Board and obtained British Horse Society and Wales Trekking and Riding Association approvals. Our health and safety policy has been described by the BHS assessor as one of the best that he has ever seen.
The BHS approval enabled us to become registered as a place offering training in work with horses and this led to the development of full and part-time training at Tal y Foel. This also meant that we could offer training leading to qualifications for local riders coming here for instruction, the British Horse Society Progressive Riding Tests.
In 1996 Cae Mawr farm was purchased and a 5 metre wide track fenced off round its perimeter. This gave us about four miles of off road tracks. For most of the year our use of public roads by horses has now been eliminated. In 1996 we started bed and breakfast which we registered with the Wales Tourist Board, This provided an opportunity for riding holidays.
In 1997 we opened our cross-country training course which is available for our own customers having lessons on our own horses and for local horse owners to hire.
Tal y Foel continued to thrive and, in 1998, won the Wales Tourist Board Best Small Tourism Award. It also featured in the BBC2 programme Countryside Hour when broadcaster Dylan Winter came to ride at Tal y Foel.
In 1999 we has a visit from Konnie Huq and featured briefly on Blue Peter. We also established a working partnership with our local College, Coleg Menai, and expanded our training activities.
In 2000 we were Regional Award Winners in the Tourism Training Forum Training Star Competition. We also became one of the new Pony Club Centres and we opened up another mile and a half of track around some other neighbouring land, a smaller outdoor menage and a new access to the beach. Following upgrading our bed and breakfast facilities with three whirlpool baths we were awarded four star farm status by the WTB
In 2001 we built an indoor riding arena with grant aid from the Isle of Anglesey Council and the Wales Tourist Board.
In 2002 we installed a horse walker and purchased a new set of show jumps..
In 2003 we built 12 more stables and a classroom. In 2004 we have also had grant funding to develop a history tour on our tracks, for visitors and local people to enjoy either on horseback or on foot, which was completed in April 2004.
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Our Background 
