Hay There, Kelly!

Kicking off 2023, for January’s ‘Hay There’ is our ever busy, multitasking, and brilliant Hospitality Manager, Kelly. Although mainly behind the scenes Kelly is the brains behind the big events you recognise us for such as Horses, Hounds and Heroes and Neddy Noel, although there are many more strings to her bow. We are beyond pleased she is part of our team and can’t wait to introduce her to you.

Name – Kelly Chudleigh-Smith

Job Title – Hospitality Manager

Years of service – 3 years but will be 4 in March

Favourite horse – Either Bear or Trojan, if I could fit them in the back of my car and take them home, I would.

Best joke – What do you call a naked pig? Streaky bacon.

Fun Fact –
I started my career with The Horse Trust working part time in the Tea Room; I’d owned my own café before so thought the role would be perfect. Later I became the Tea Room Manager and would go on to take over managing Sefton’s Barn as well. When COVID struck I put my groom’s hat on and worked on the yard. Eventually I took up a desk in the office and my role grew again, taking on the control of merchandise and finally to what it is I do today as Hospitality Manager.

A typical day –
Is there such thing as a typical day?!
From the clients first enquiry to waving them down the drive, I take care of their every need.
We host everything from weddings to children’s parties to corporate events and business meetings; every event has different requirements and will be specifically tailored to the client’s needs.
The Chiltern Hills are the perfect backdrop for our gorgeous Tythe Barn and Training Centre classroom that we have for hire.
But it’s not just events, another part of my role is to manage merchandising which includes all the stock that goes on our website and that we sell from our Tea Room.
Sometimes I’ll even get back in the Tea Room and help out when it gets busy. So, in short there’s no typical day. It’s always go, go, go and there is never a dull moment.

Dream job if not doing this –
It would have to be in an orangutan sanctuary. I can just imagine working with the vulnerable youngsters, who have had an appalling start to their lives, and help them learn the essential skills they need to survive in the wild – that would be so fulfilling!