Trekking firm must address care and staff issues
A NORTH pony trekking operator whose provisional riding establishment licence runs out on 15th September will have to satisfy the local authority that her 30 horses are being looked after properly before it is renewed.
Concerns have been raised about a lack of qualified staff at Highlands Unbridled, run by Jan and Graham O’Neill, who are in the process of switching their operating base from Keeper’s Cottage, Strathsteven, Brora, to Northwilds, Fendom in Tain.
There is also concern about inadequate fencing and ragwort at the Fendom base where 10 horses are kept.
The remainder of the firm’s stable is spread throughout grazings in Brora. These grazings were recently inspected by a vet and deemed to be inadequate.
Mrs O’Neill addressed councillors at a meeting of Highland Licensing Committee in Inverness on Tuesday.
She said the business had been working well from Brora but she had been forced to relocate because her landlord, Sutherland Estates, wanted to sell the property and she and Mr O’Neill were not in a position to purchase it.
She said work including fencing and ragwort pulling had been undertaken at Fendom in a bid to bring the site up to scratch. The couple had also secured another 13 acres of grazing in the Tain area and as a result hoped to be able to keep more horses there.
Mrs O’Neill disputed the vet’s conclusions about the inadequacy of the Brora grazings and also maintained that her staffing levels were sufficient. She said the firm employed three staff and had five volunteers.
However, she admitted that the firm had had a "real problem keeping staff" and claimed this was due to harassment by neighbours at Brora who "quiz everyone they see on site".
Mrs O’Neill said she needed the licence to be renewed in order to bring in a revenue stream to carry out the remaining works that needed to be done.
She said: "We have spent over £1,000 on fencing and cannot afford to spend any more on anything until we know that we are going to get a licence and that we have a future."
But Cromarty Firth councillor Maxine Smith maintained that Mrs O’Neill was putting the "cart before the horse".
She said: "When you start a business you put everything in place first before you start operating. This is the other way around. It’s putting the cart before the horse and that is not the right way to do things.
"I realise the applicant is in a difficult situation but that is not our problem. We have to look at the welfare of the horses and I have huge concerns about this."
Councillor Richard Greene, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, said: "I agree with Councillor Smith about the cart before the horse and my concern is whether or not the staff are suitably qualified."
Nairn Councillor Liz MacDonald, told the meeting: "The importance of having qualified staff really needs to be brought home."
Members unanimously agreed that in order for the licence to be renewed on 15th September, Mrs O’Neil would have to prove that improvement works stipulated at Fendom had been carried out and that she had enough suitably qualified and experience staff to run the business.
It was further agreed to consult a vet over how many horses could be kept on the extra grazing secured in the Tain area.
