Last year when I launched The Wild Horse Club, Lily Robinson was one of my first ambassadors. She spends her time between Wales and West London; she is an actor, writer and when we last spoke, she was about to try her hand at horse breeding.
Lily is quirky, funny, and a brilliant horsewoman. She lives near Hay-On-Wye, which is magical, and it is particularly famous for its yearly book festival in May.
I spent some time last summer photographing Lily, and the last time I was there, she had two horses, her 12-year-old eventer, Halo, whose she has had since a foal and Millie, who she has owned for 22 years.
She was about to start breeding eventers for sale, and she had had her eye on the first few foals she was about to buy.
I was dying to get Lily in to do a studio shoot, and we eventually got round to it last Saturday, where we also had time for a proper catch-up. I loved hearing what she had been up to and found out that she now accumulated seven horses. In her mini interview below, I ask all about them,
Hope you enjoy,
Caroline xx
Wow, 7 Horses! How did that all come about?
I have a problem, I think? It's called obsessive horse collecting, I should stop soon, but Halo will have a foal in the spring! That will be my last one for a while. Over the pandemic, I realized that life is too short not to live it in a way that makes you happy. Horses make me happy; yes, it's more work, more time, more money, but I'm peaceful and fulfilled when I'm with them; the stables are somewhere I go to unwind and forget about all the stress in day to day life.
I mainly have babies chilling in the field, waiting to grow up; I also have my broodmare Halo and my retired girl Millie, who I worship. We have been together for 21 years. We really know each other in a way that I find touching; she's extremely smart and will come and find me when she's finished her dinner, I don't bother tying her up anymore. It breaks my heart when I see old horses for sale, they should be cherished and looked after, they have so much to offer. I have a one riding horse, who I hope to do dressage with, she's 6 so is still green and we're just getting to know each other. Then last but not least I have a funny little New Forest pony that I bought with hay bails. She's such a character, I got her as a fun project but I think I'll end up hanging onto her as she's so cool.
Are you going to get more? Or breed them to sell?
Eventually, I would love to accumulate a little group of broodmares and have a small stud but I'm a ways from that. I'll break in the babies that I have and hopefully sell them eventually. Or maybe keep them all...
Any other projects you are working on?
I am working on a screenplay, so I really enjoy the balance the office and having a breath of fresh air out in nature with my animals.
You can find Lily @lilyindiaro
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