Conditions of the visit

A morning at Alsio Vandrelli is arranged by letter, for one rider, or for two who already ride together. It is not a tour. It is not a performance. These conditions apply to every appointment at Willowmere Lane, whether the work is a lesson, the school of the jump, or a trail at dusk. They are kept with the ride and with the letter that accepts you. If they cannot be accepted, do not come. By attending, you (and, if you are under eighteen, your parent or guardian) accept them.

Who is received

The estate receives by appointment only, Tuesday through Sunday, at the hour confirmed in the letter of reply. Walk-ins are not received. The house is not a school of first steps and is not a place for spectators. Guests are received as riders. A person who cannot, in the reasonable judgement of the house, ride at the work proposed may be offered other work, another hour, or a courteous decline.

A person under eighteen is received only if a parent or guardian has written, will attend for the whole of the morning, and accepts these conditions and the ride on that young rider’s behalf. We may ask for proof of authority. We may refuse a young rider without further correspondence if the work is not suitable.

If you bring a companion who will not ride, say so in the letter. The rail is not a gallery. A companion is received only if the house agrees, and remains where asked.

The letter

Write to hello@alsiovandrelli.estate or to the house at Willowmere Lane. A few words of your riding, when you wish to come, and whether the house should prepare a horse, are enough to begin. Tell us of any injury, condition, pregnancy, or want of recent practice that a careful yard ought to know. Tell us if you have been advised not to ride. Silence on such a point is not a courtesy.

The estate replies by letter. An appointment exists only when that reply names the hour and accepts you. Until then, dates mentioned in an enquiry are a hope, not a holding.

Fees, if any, are confirmed in the letter of reply. If a deposit is asked, the hour is not held until it is received. A balance, if one is due, is paid as that letter says, and in any case before the horse is brought out, unless the house agrees otherwise in writing.

Arrival

Arrive a little early. Composure is preferred to hurry. If you are late beyond what the yard can absorb, the morning may be shortened or given up, without a return of any fee, because a horse that has been prepared is not a clock that can be wound again. If you cannot come, write or telephone as soon as you know.

Park where you are shown. Do not enter a stall, a paddock, or a feed room unless asked. Dogs are not brought unless the letter has agreed it, and then they remain as instructed, which will usually mean they do not come to the yard at all.

The horse

A horse of the house is chosen for the work, not for display. Names are not advertised. The house may change the horse if the first choice is unsound, unfit, or in our judgement a mismatch. That change is not a breach. There is no warranty that any horse is of a particular character, training, or predictability. A horse is an animal with a mind of its own.

If you prefer your own horse, write that in the letter. The horse must be fit for the work, currently vaccinated as a careful owner vaccinates, well shod or trimmed, and under your control. The house may refuse a horse that, on the morning, appears unsound, unsafe, or a risk to the yard. You remain responsible for your horse, including injury it suffers or causes, save to the extent caused by our negligence. You must have such insurance for that animal as a prudent owner keeps, and you must be able to say so if asked.

The work

The work is classical and unhurried. Height at a fence is earned. Softness is required. You will follow the instruction given in the yard and in the school. You will not take a horse beyond the ground you are given. You will not use a telephone in the saddle. You will wear what the house requires for the work, including an approved riding hat unless, in a particular case, the house has agreed otherwise in writing — and even then the house may still refuse to let you mount. Footwear must have a heel. Jewellery that can catch is removed. Long hair is tied.

The house may stop the work at any moment: because of weather, the horse, your seat, a soundness, or the ordinary judgement of a yard that prefers a living rider and a living animal to a finished figure. Stopping is not a failure of the contract. If in our view you are not safe to continue, you will dismount when asked.

Weather, unsoundness, and cancellation

If you cancel more than forty-eight hours before the hour, any deposit is returned, or held against another morning if you wish. If you cancel later, or do not come, the deposit is kept, and any remaining fee may still be due, unless the house, as a courtesy, says otherwise. If the house cancels because of ice, high wind, a horse gone unsound, illness in the yard, or any cause that makes the morning unwise, you will be offered another hour or the return of what you have paid for that morning. The house is not liable for your travel, lodging, or disappointment.

A trail is taken at dusk when the light and the ground allow. If they do not allow, the morning becomes other work, or is put off, as the house judges.

Photograph, name, and the rail

You may not publish photographs of the house, of those who work here, of other guests, or of the horses, without written leave. You may not use the name Alsio Vandrelli to suggest that the estate endorses you. We do not print the names of those who ride here. Spectators are not invited. Children who are not riding remain with the adult who brought them, away from heels and from the work.

Loss and belongings

Leave valuables out of the yard. The house is not a cloakroom. Subject always to the floor stated below, we are not responsible for loss of or damage to cars, tack, clothing, or other belongings, unless that loss or damage is caused by our negligence.

The floor the law will not let us lift

Nothing in these conditions excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. For all other loss, and to the fullest extent the law of England and Wales allows, the house’s liability in connection with a visit is limited to the fee paid for that morning. Inherent risks of horses and of riding are spoken of in the ride, which is part of these conditions.

These conditions, the ride, the privacy of the house, and the letter of acceptance are the whole of the agreement for the visit. They are governed by the law of England and Wales. You and the house submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts, without prejudice to our right to seek urgent relief elsewhere if a horse or the estate requires it.

The house may amend these conditions for future mornings by printing a new date. A morning already accepted is held on the conditions that spoke when the letter of acceptance was sent, unless we write to you with a change that you then accept, or unless the law requires the change.

Write to Willowmere Lane, or to hello@alsiovandrelli.estate. Arrive a little early.