An exceptional establishment producing equine stars of the future
Francesca and Charlie Poste are based at Station Yard, Ettington. Set in 3000 acres of Warwickshire countryside with top class facilities they arrived in autumn 2015 with just a handful of horses. Since then they have successfully established themselves as one of the leading point to point, breaking and pre training yards in the country, and in 2023/24 embarked on their first year buying yearlings to consign at the breeze up sales.
Having now trained over 150 winners since they started, the team have built an impressive reputation for buying and producing horses through point to pointing which they hope will translate into the flat market. Notable graduates including dual Graded winner Third Time Lucki, Listed bumper winner Royal Infantry, Graded placed Kinondo Kwetu, Garry Clermont, Courtandbould, Rock House alongside Punchestown Festival winner Hereditary Rule are all horses to have graduated through point to pointing from Station Yard.
With their expert guidance, training and tuition they have also have helped numerous owner/riders achieve their own personal riding ambitions, whether that be riding in a point to point or riding round the famous Grand National course in the Aintree Foxhunters.
The breaking and pre-training side of the business is proud to count many of the country’s leading National Hunt trainers as clients. Station Yard is now recognised as one of the very best places to give your horse the perfect start to their training life. Owing to the thorough grounding they receive in this very relaxed environment, many horses that start their career at Station Yard have gone on to win at the first time of asking, with many graded-performers amongst them.
About Francesca
Francesca grew up around horses; her father Chris Nimmo was a successful point to point trainer, alongside selling over 200 winners on the flat to the United States.
From early childhood she spent many years in the hunting field and playing polo to a high standard. As a teenager she attended the major horse sales to spot and buy potential polo ponies from off the track, which she took great pride in producing to sell on.
From the age of 12 she rode work for her father and more latterly for several local trainers before having her first foray into race riding with Magic Sky who she also trained herself to win 4 races.
Francesca successfully rode winners under rules, over hurdles and fences before embarking on her training career with the objective of producing top class National hunt horses educated for their careers through the English point to point scene.
She is an excellent horsewoman with a fantastic eye for finding talented youngsters at the sales which is pivotal to the success of Station Yard. She is a firm believer in horses being ridden properly at home as she feels it is crucial for their overall development to becoming well rounded individuals.
About Charlie
Charlie rode over 200 winners as a professional jockey including the Welsh National and Classic Chase amongst many other successes.
Over the years Charlie has been associated with a number of top trainers in a variety of different yards both on the flat and in national hunt racing that has helped give him the deep knowledge and experience of the industry he has today.
Throughout the last few years of his career he has been a great support to his wife Francesca with Station Yard before coming on board full time following his retirement from race riding in 2019.
Charlie is a fully qualified BHA jockey coach and spends part of his time putting something back into racing mentoring the next generation of up and coming jockeys. It also makes for great support helping the owner riders and the wider team with their riding.
Regular media work for BBC Radio 5 Live, Racing Post and Sky Sports Racing fills any other spare time.
Charlie is an exceptional horseman with a calm and patient approach, taking great pride in riding all the horses away himself and all aspects of schooling. He feels the youngsters should be given a thorough grounding and taught to be well mannered, ‘nice people first’ before worrying about how much ability they possess.
About The Team
We are very fortunate here at Station Yard to have a fantastic team. Kerry Long has been with us since the day we moved to here in 2015 and is an integral part of the team overseeing some of the younger members and a vital part of breaking the horses in.
As a team we all buy into the same ethos of trying to give the young horses the best start in life alongside maximising the results of the older horses, giving them the individual attention they need.
Our riders come from a range of equestrian disciplines and are not all from a racing background. Particularly with the young horses we see this as a positive as we want them ridden with a good length of leg and ridden into the bridle so they are educated properly before they return to their racing yards.
Our team is so important to us; Station Yard can only prosper and continue to flourish with the fantastic people we have working here. They are responsible for so much of the success we have owing to their tireless efforts, passion for the horses and desire to keep raising the standards in all that we do.
In The News
Breaking, Pre-Training, Point-to-Point, Breeze-Up