Crown Riding Stables

I remember Mr Cootes and Melody well. My sister and I also used to spend all our spare time there, I mainly looked after Topsy and Smokey and once made the mistake of getting I between them and had a chunk taken out of my arm! Mr Cootes just tied Smokey up tighter and made me go back in and carry on grooming. Probably a good thing as it could easily have put me off. I also remember the horses used to be grazed in a field behind our house and one day, several of them including Melody, Dawn and Seaspray got into our garden and I had my foot trodden on by Melody when I helped round them up.
Happy days.

We had a happy holiday in "Little Spain" in 1964. Mum & Dad took my sister & I to the Crown stables several times and we had wonderful rides on the beach. I remember Ann riding Seaspray taking us . I have a picture of them jumping a groin. I rode Paddy , he loved the gallop & so did I. Hard to find anywhere now to get a beach ride like that. Yes happy days.

My mum used to work at the stables and go riding with her sister. They were from the Perry family. There was a very beautiful girl who owned one of the horses and was one of the first girls to own a car. Sadly the horse kicked her in the head and she was mentally damaged. Mum said it was so sad as she was a very kind girl. Mums mother had 5 brothers who went to war and didn't return. Mum didnt have such good memories of Selsey. I wonder if anyone out there remembers her? Her family members were, Lilian Perry, from Selsey bill, kids Ann, Sally and Christopher. I have some nice old photos. Mum married Syd Martin, who had a brother Stanley and sister Iris. I think their mum Irene had a wool shop. A kind of Bungalow style shop. They emigrated to Australia. Syd was always playing in bands at the local halls and looked a bit like a Teddy Boy. His sister Iris Married Laurie Homer, who lived in the Flint stone house. Gresh was dads best mate. When my dad Syd comes back I take him to Selsey to reminesce.

I remember going to the shop near the windmill to get some milk when we arrived on holiday. The windmill had a shop in it where you could buy buckets and spades etc. We stayed in the railway carriages set up on west beach, ours was called west haven

I went to the Crown stables in the early 1960's, rode Topsy (chestnut) and Trigger(skewbald) and have photos of both and have a memory of Mr Cootes going to catch a beautiful palomino horse that had somehow escaped and was trotting down the road, Mr Cootes completely unfazed just said "don't worry he will stop when he gets tired".

I also rode trigger in fact I learnt to ride on him and helped in the stables 50 and early60 s Toby lee was the boss ! Would love to hear from anyone who was around the stables during this time ?