The Centre of Horseback Combat

There is genuinely nowhere else in England quite like the Centre of Horseback Combat. Founded in 2010 by husband and wife Karl and Zana Cousins-Greenwood — who had been touring a jousting and stunt show as the Stampede Stunt Company — it was the first dedicated school for horseback archery in the UK, and remains the largest, having trained more than 2,000 people. The centre relocated to its current home, the historic 2,000-acre Gaddesden Estate near Hemel Hempstead, in 2013.

The centre is affiliated to the World Horseback Archery Federation (competing at the World Championships in South Korea) and is the only UK school affiliated to the International Equestrian Dzhigitovka Federation in Moscow, training Team GB, who compete annually in Russia at the World Dzhigitovka Championships. Courses run from Beginner Horse Archery days through to Advanced weekends, alongside Stunt Riding days, Cossack Trick Riding (Dzhigitovka) lessons, and the centre's own Rider Confidence courses. Four celebrity athletes trained here for the BBC2 series Natural Born Winners. The riding school licence is inspected annually by vets, with tack and equipment audited, and livery is available for those who want their horse kept somewhere genuinely out of the ordinary.