Our story

Hello and welcome to Jon Jon Equestrian. The idea for an online shop for horse lovers first came about more than 10 years ago when I was totally obsessed by everything to do with horses and I had the great good fortune to share my life with a gentle giant called John. John was my first horse and he was a total gentleman. I met him soon after I’d started riding lessons and became so passionate about everything to do with horses that I found myself a weekend job on a private yard, mucking out, turning out and grooming. I soon started lessons with John and when the yard owner decided she was going to sell him, I bought him.

He was 18 years old, 16’1 hands, a Thoroughbred with a Thoroughbred’s nature, dodgy legs and a tendency to lameness. Totally the wrong horse for a (very) novice rider. I was over-horsed, overwhelmed at times, but utterly and completely head over heels in love. Over the course of the next few years we grew together. As anybody who has gone from sitting on a riding school pony to their own horse will testify, it was like learning to ride all over again. The theory’s the same - but John hadn’t read the manual. We had a few scary moments - killer fridge dumped at the edge of a field, gusts of wind up the rear, walking past a couple of scary donkeys (back legs pirouette that one). I came off more than a few times - out the side door, front door, you name it. I clung on for dear life many times - one stirrup, no stirrups, no reins, a handful of  mane. He had a tendency to want to follow random horses home - to their home, not ours. But despite all of this, I loved him and I truly believe he loved me. He never once threw me off, he never dropped his shoulder, bucked me over his head or purposely  put me on the floor. When I was on the ground - as I often was - he would stand over me with a quizzical look on his face, as if to say ‘what the hell you doing down there?’. He was my friend, my confidante and my boy.

I believe you can divide people into two groups - those addicted to horses and those not. There is no middle ground. Nobody ever got up at stupid o’clock in the middle of winter to go break ice on water buckets with their welly heel and pick frozen poo from a field because they quite like horses. They totally take over your existence and they spend all of your money. John had more clothes than I did; buying rugs was way more exciting than buying clothes for myself. I lived in riding gear and stuff suitable for the yard. And I sought out anything and everything to do with horses.

There was a lack of horse-themed clothing around at the time, I was hard pressed to find even a t-shirt with a picture of a horse on it. I would sit on the edge of the manger in the evening, talking to John about this as he chewed his hay and looked wise. We talked about many things, but we often came back to this. I thought - and he agreed - that there must be a demand for casual clothes that were fun to wear, looked good and related in some way to horses. It couldn’t just be me who wanted to wear my heart on my sleeve surely? And they shouldn’t be too expensive - not everybody has bottomless hay nets after all and riding (and horse owning) is not a cheap way of life. The horse owners I know would spend their last penny to make sure their horses are properly clothed, fed and sheltered, while standing barefoot in the mud because their last pair of boots have bitten the dust.

And that brings us to now. Jon Jon Equestrian is in honour of my gentle giant. He is no longer here and his passing has left a massive hole in my life, but he will always be with me and I will be forever grateful that he came into my life, brought me so much joy and made it all the better for knowing him.

We are starting with fun stuff - the kind of t-shirts my friends and I would like to have worn on the yard, hacking out in summer, or even chilling on the sofa at home for those few hours you get between turning out and bringing in. Our items are casual, designed to be enjoyed and accessible to everybody. We are sticking with leisure rather than riding wear for now, because there are already so many brilliant brands out there producing amazing riding gear. Our range will continue to grow with more designs, more clothing and more gifts - all horse related. If there’s anything you would like to see in the store that’s not currently offered, let us know and we’ll see what we can do. Sign up to our newsletter and we can keep you up to date with our news, any offers or promotions - and you will receive 10% discount on your first order, neigh bother!

Thank you for visiting Jon Jon Equestrian and we hope you will decide to stay and become part of our community. Why Jon Jon Equestrian? He was John generally, Jonathan when he stood on my foot, and Jon Jon when I buried my face into his neck for a big horsey cuddle at the end of the day. Heaven really is hugging your horse while he contentedly chomps on hay from his net, warm in his pjs, belly full from his tea.