A HUSBAND and wife team are celebrating 20 happy years in their “beautiful, idyllic wooded valley.”

Herbie and Pauline Greener made a big decision back in 1998, when they moved their Cragside Riding Stables from Haydon Bridge to Low Fogrigg at Bardon Mill.

The 38-acre site, offering glorious views across the Tyne Valley, enabled the couple to expand the business, and also refurbish a 19th century farmhouse which became their home.

Much has changed in the intervening years, but the couple, who are now the grandparents of two young children, are still at the helm.

“We still have pony days for the youngsters during the school holidays,” said Herbie.

“They learn how to groom a pony, tack it up and pick out the hooves.

“Where better to learn stable management, and also take riding lessons, than this beautiful, idyllic wooded valley?”

There are three new ponies at Cragside, where the Greeners are supported by two British Horse Society qualified instructors.

Lessons for adults are also on offer at the centre, which has a purpose-built riding school with 12 stables, a tack room, office and toilet facilities.

But the couple admitted that while they remained passionate about their work, they were keen to move on to a new chapter of their lives.

Herbie explained: “We’re getting older and we want to retire. We have been looking to sell up for a little while now, and we are hopeful that something positive will happen soon.

“We want to sell it as a going concern. We’ve invested a lot of time and money in the place over they years.

“All the facilities are there, and there is a lot of potential for adding to what is already in place here. We would love to see somebody make a good go of it.”

The Greeners first opened a riding stables just off Langley Road in Haydon Bridge back in 1979.

It soon became a pony trekking centre, with Pauline and Herbie taking children and adults on lessons out in the surrounding countryside.

The move to Bardon Mill enabled them to take it on to the next level, and the couple’s daughter, Sally Carlisle, went on to play a key role in the business.

Sally now lives on a farm in Cumbria with her husband, Richard, and their two children.

“We want to move closer to the family,” said Herbie, a big believer in the merits of horse psychology, who has studied the work of American horse trainer Monty Roberts.

He added: “Sally and I plan to get more involved with horse psychology, which can really help people overcome numerous problems and get the most from their horse.”

Cragside Stables, which currently has 11 horses, remains open for business and continues to welcome both regular and new customers.