 A determined woman who battled her way into opening Hohne Stables is set to leave BFG.
Nicky Killon will be departing Germany with her husband, Sgt Ash Killon, REME, who has been posted to Cyprus.
A well-known figure in Hohne for the last seven years, Nicky has been riding full-time since she left school in 1970, and was riding part-time before that. A qualified riding instructor, she started running a stables in Boston Lincolnshire in 1988 as a stables manager.
Nicky, who is a qualified British Horse Society instructor and accredited by the British Training Agency as a Riding and Road Safety examiner, found herself in charge of 70 horses with a wide variety of students.
With her husband Ash, her first experience of Germany was in Osnabrück, where she was not attracted by the riding opportunities but kept her hand in on a friend’s horse in a local German stables. However, a move to JHQ changed all that in 2000 and she joined the JHQ stables operation as an instructor and was offered the job as manager six months later.
“We established the stables as a British Horse Society riding and road safety examination centre and brought in training for the trainers courses; training people to ride safely and passing their skills on.
“This was the first outside the UK and we initially brought experts across to train the trainers. Our trainers were working across Germany, even the German civil police instructors were involved and came to see how we did the training”
Then in 2004 Nicky’s husband was posted to 32 Engineer Regiment in Hohne and found a stables sadly neglected and with many problems.
They were ticking over with only one or two livery horses, they had six or seven club horses but maybe two lessons a week, only two staff and an unusable outdoor school because of snow and ice; it was a very bad winter, temperatures were down to -10 degrees. People were simply unaware the stables existed.
Nicky explained: “I took over six months after we arrived and soon realised the stables could not exist without an indoor school.”
The need to generate more income was obvious and delivering lessons across both winter and summer was seen as part of the answer.
More lessons, more awareness, more activity, more livery to boost the number of horses and income. Nicky set to work: “Maj Neil Carter, then OC 26 Squadron, 32 Engineers, was a great help. So was Maj Bob Dickson, then the SSO Hohne, and Col Tony Singer, Deputy Garrison Commander, once we had shown them a business plan showing the potential impact of the indoor school.
“I applied everywhere for grants, raising money, even sponsored rides were used and bag packing in the NAAFI.” explained Nicky. “The indoor school would cost over €200,000; the stables alone had to raise €20,000.
The special riding surface alone cost €10,000 and needed a harrow to keep it fit for purpose; Sixth Sense paid for that as well as making funds available for the general construction.
The school was finished in early 2007 but despite all the hard work and fund-raising, GLSU declared that they could no longer be used to employ staff for the stables. A policy change meant any staff employed by the stables would have to be directly employed and paid out of funds earned by the stables; the brief to be self-employed and fully self-funding would spell disaster for the welfare and community role of the Hohne Stables.
Even after staff cuts it was soon realised that it was going to be a real battle to stay afloat. With two full-time staff, including Nicky as manager averaging €1,000 a month each and two part-timers clocking up €1,500 between them, it was untenable.
The potential for lessons was there but with only two part-time staff to help the opportunity for lessons was reduced; income was reduced.
“That’s why I gradually got fed up,” said Nicky. “I saw the place as a welfare facility; Hohne rides for AWS children, work experience for schools; we provided pony rides for garrison and military events and horses for parades. We were the only facility open 365 days a week and open to everyone; even physiotherapists sometimes recommended us for rides,” explained Nicky.
“It was so sad to see it happen this way. We battled to try to keep the place open, especially after all the work everyone had put in. But I can understand, if you can’t get qualified staff who can generate sufficient income for themselves, then the stables is simply not valid.
“So we’ve found good homes for the club horses and ponies. Landluemmels in Hassel have taken some, three, and will provide riding lessons in English, the SLO Hugh Pierson was very helpful in arranging that. Another horse has gone to a former instructor Denisa Nicklovich, who works in a university in Holland.”
Spud, a favourite with the children, has been retired as a ‘companion’ to another horse. There are no longer any club ponies, no lessons and only six livery horses remain – two will leave as their owners are posted in the near future.
Looking to the future Nicky said: “I’m looking forward to Cyprus but I had to get rid of my horse, Nellie; it was simply too expensive to get her to Cyprus. She’s a brilliant horse and I’m really pleased to see she is already winning competitions from her new home near Dover; she’s on loan to a friend.
“I’m quite looking forward to two years relaxing in the sun. No doubt I’ll end up at the stables there, there is a big one in Akrotiri. But I am really interested in the island and its history, and am also planning trips to Jordan and Greece.”
Speaking about what she likes most about Germany, Nicky added: “Obviously the people, love the area, for a ‘horsey’ person, there couldn’t be a batter place to be posted; I love Germany.”
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Stable champion 
