Stables

To care for our horses and carriages, T Cribb & Sons employ three coachmen - Peter Gibson, Philip Sharp and Lee Cross, groom - Lee Hands, stable groom - Nicky Shaw and professional coach restorer - Dave Childs.

Head Coachman and Stable Manager

Peter Gibson, our Head Coachman and Stable Manager, started riding and driving horses at the age of 9 years old in 1979 as at that time his mother worked for the horse job master, David Goodey, and Peter spent all of his spare time in his yard.

David Goodey had a vast collection of over 200 horse-drawn vehicles and 160 horses. All of these were used for promotional and film work, as well as weddings and funerals. Alongside this he was also running a very popular and successful riding school.

After leaving school Peter was employed by David Goodey for five years, working on films, weddings, funerals and any other type of work and promotions associated with horses and carriages.

This gave Peter the opportunity to work on many film sets, such as:

James Bond Octopussy in the show jumping scene

Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close

Jack the Ripper starring Michael Caine and Lewis Collins

Robin Hood [where Peter doubled for Will Scarlet (Christian Slater)] starring Uma Thurman and Patrick Bergen

Sherlock Holmes (doubling for Jeremy Brett)

The BBC production of ‘Allo ‘Allo

Plus numerous other productions.

In 1990, Peter joined T Cribb & Sons with his main role being to drive horse-drawn hearses at funerals. He has overall responsibility for ensuring the stables are run professionally and that all our horse-drawn funerals are of the highest standard.

Peter also shows the horses at County Shows in which we have had many successes.

Stabling Facilities

Our facilities include 14 stables, a ménage, a horse walker and large paddocks for grazing.

All of our horses have their own stable. The stables were recently renovated and are of a very high standard.

It is very important to keep our horses fit and in excellent condition so we ensure they are exercised daily in our ménage or in our horse walker.

Although the feathers are a characteristic feature of the breed they can cause a horse ailment known as greasy heal which causes the horse’s heels to crack and form open sores. In order to prevent this and for the horses’ welfare our grooms regularly clip the feathers.

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Regular visits from our local vet are an essential part of maintaining our horses’ health.

Bridle and Tack

All of our bridle and tack is made to our own specifications. One piece of harness, which is very special to us, is a replica of an original harness used by T Cribb & Sons at the beginning of the 20th century. The original was destroyed before the Second World War but with the help of old photographs and Stan Harris’s memory we have had a replica set made.

Transportation

Four purpose built lorries convey the horses, hearses, carriages and all necessary equipment to their destinations