Deep in rural County Durham is a little slice of the American West, where people can learn to ride like a cowboy or cowgirl. Gavin Havery reports

ONE of my earliest memories from childhood is dressing up as a cowboy.

My granddad, who babysat regularly, always watched John Wayne films and I was forever walking around dressed as Zorro or The Lone Ranger.

But requests to learn horse riding fell on deaf ears and my dad told me ‘that’s for girls’ and I should join him at the rugby club.

I had wanted to learn to ride fast across dusty plains like the guys on telly, not enter gymkhanas or do dressage, but dutifully learned how to play scrum half instead.

A recent visit to East Hedleyhope, east of Durham, near Tow Law, reawakened my interest in riding like a cowboy after over 30 years.

Here Alison and Clive Johnson run what is thought to be the only Western riding schools in the north of England.

My four-year-old daughter and I learned the ropes in their arena area of their home at Low Hedleyhope Hall, which is being transformed from a quintessential English farm house into a little part of the Old West.

Sitting on Sweetie and Dee-Dee, Alison and Clive, who both worked in IT and corporate events before turning their back on the rat race to follow their dream, gave us the basic commands and taught how to walk and trot around.

It is very different and so much and more relaxed than English riding, and, Alison says, far kinder to the horses.

Once trainee cowpokes have learned the skills and completed an obstacle course, the couple have developed a mountain trail to take visitors on in the surrounding countryside.

This month, they are launching their Western weekends where groups can come and stay from Friday to Sunday, sleeping in wooden lodges with log burning stoves and eat around a campfire.

With stables for the horses, daytimes are devoted to riding and cowboy skills, like lassoing and horseshoe-throwing, while evenings are for country music and barbecues.

City Slickers springs to mind.

Alison, 42, from Crook, says: “People will get a lot of fun out of it and a lot of learning, to whatever level of knowledge they want or need.

“We have a very friendly atmosphere and everyone is welcome here.

“It is not just about riding, it is a social thing. Cooking around the campfire is just a nice environment. People can bring their own horses or come along and use ours, we do not mind. You do not need a horse to get involved. It is nice for people to see what it is all about. It is very good fun.”

The business was launched in 2009 as a way of retraining problem animals using non-violent ‘horse whispering’ techniques and has since grown to include an academy for riders with Western instruction and regular clinics for the horse riding community.

The couple have recently returned from a trip to Texas where they met Buck Brannaman, the inspiration behind The Horse Whisperer film of 1998, and visited several horsemanship set ups to improve the authenticity of the service they are offering.

While Alison focuses on the technical side of the horse training business, Clive, 54, from Newcastle, has been the driving force behind the Americanisation of their operation.

With wooden signs pointing towards the hotel, saloon and jail, they have created what they describe as ‘The Bubble’, allowing visitors to escape from 21st century North-East life and enjoy a completely different experience.

Clive says: “This is the facility like it in the North-East, there is nothing even similar north of Nottingham. The mountain trail has been designed specifically and we think it is the only one like it in Britain.

“It is for people who want to learn about getting more out of their horse and learn about the cowboy side of it.

“We have all watched the films and want to be a bit like them.

“I think it is better come dressed up to get into the spirit of it. It is more fun and adds to the feel of it. I enjoy it. There is a little bit of cowboy in everyone.”

• Western riding lessons are £45 an hour or horse provided, £35 an hour if you bring your own. Western weekends, starting May 15-17, cost £150. To find out more log on to: www.alisonjohnsonhorsemanship.co.uk/ or 01388-731-177.