HISTORY & LOCATION

During an international career in advertising, Netherwylde’s owner, Howard Guard, filmed a Grand Prix rider performing in the Palace for Horses at Chantilly.  His only previous experience with horses had been filming a racing drama by Dick Francis at Aintree in 1972, and he had forgotten how wonderful horses are.  Chantilly and Dressage left him enchanted.  

With his wife Sheila they embarked on a project that would take almost 7 years to build.  Influenced by the grace of Chantilly, a visit to the Maktoum’s stables in Dubai and the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, the wooden boxes they erected in Hertfordshire are very much more down to earth, but the Yard echoes the same calm, ordered atmosphere and the horses enjoy the same warm water washes in solariums similar to their Grand International contemporaries.

Horse & Hound’s review commented with mirth on the marble worktops and asked if the taps were gold – but to Howard’s delight he found that the horses fell in love with it all.  The Guards then added cameras in every box which the Owners loved.  People asked how Howard had got it right when he had never ridden anything other than Muffin the Mule when he was 7. He would answer with a wry Director’s Smile.  For 21 years now we have had the happiest Horses in Hertfordshire.  

Netherwylde sits in a gentle valley of water meadows between the River Colne and the River Ver and offers an unusually quiet and tranquil setting. We are remarkably accessible to London, five minutes away from M1 Junction 5 and M25 Junction 21A. Hampstead is 20 minutes away and Notting Hill 40 minutes. 

The training and hacking circuits at Netherwylde rise from the Colne valley towards the top of a steep hill, with views towards St Albans Cathedral in the background.