The Rocking Horse Works

Our Team

Over the last 30 years our excellent team of craftsmen and women have worked expertly with the business. Our team are amazingly flexible and adapt quickly to the flow of sales and restorations and without them, many little girls and boys would not have received their horses in time for Christmas.

We have a fairly laid back approach here at The Rocking Horse Works, when it comes to our employees, most of us are lifetime friends or have since become such.

Each member of out team has their own amazing set of expert skills which in turn compliment each other to create an exceptional hand-made product, further adding the the unique character each of our horses possess.

Keep reading to learn a little bit more about of lovely Team

It all began with...

Alison

Alison Painting a Rocking Horse

"I grew up in Lancashire and studied Fine Art at Manchester polytechnic. From as young as I can remember I have always indulged in Art and crafts and have spent most of my life covered in paint! After finishing university and a brief stint or travelling I went on to get a fantastic job with an Antiques Company in Northamptonshire called 38 Antiques. My role here was as a botanical Artist which involved painting fine floral designs on stripped classic old English furniture. After many happy years I decided to branch out, I sold my house, sold my car and wondered in search of new things. We purchased HeatherBell a 72 ft Wooden Narrow boat which became our home and workshop for our very first Rocking Horses. When I'm not painting horses I enjoy life in the outdoors, mainly gardening and hiking and exploring the coast.

Heather

"I am very lucky to have grown up in the world of rocking horses; a rare and today, a somewhat obscure craft. When telling people the nature of my family business, it usually leads to 101 questions: a great talking point for many people. It has always amazed me how many people can relate with their own stories of childhood rocking horses.

I have watched and assisted, where I can, with the many years of the business. I have been lucky enough to grow up alongside many skilled craftsmen and women, enabling me to learn also the secrets and tribulations that go into making a horse from start to finish. I particularly enjoy leather work although in later years, I am finding the carpentry aspect more and more appealing.

Jack

" I first met Alison and the rocking horse works team when I was 14 years old through my father, who was doing some gardening and odd jobs for Alison. I was coming up to my work experience week at school, and with ambitions in art, I headed over to the rocking horse works.

It was an incredibly enjoyable week for me, as I was able to restore antique horses and hear their generational stories as well as watch the team's craftsmen carve new horses during that time.

The experience of studying alongside great woodworkers inspired me to rejoin the team in 2020. After watching someone turn a few large blocks of pine wood into a beautiful horse, I knew this was something I needed to master.

There is something very therapeutic about taking a horse in a state of disrepair and making it rideable for someone again, making it feel fresh and giving it years of life to come. Every horse we work on has a different story, and seeing a customer's face light up when they enter the workshop is a daily delight."