25/07/2026
Why did I create the Pioneer Air ride numnahs ? When my suppliers Nuumed shut last year the easy option would have been to stop selling numnahs. My life was very busy as I was a full time carer for my elderly father, had very little time to run my business, and keep up with orders. I made very little profit on the numnahs as the quality of wool I use is very expensive. It would have been the logical, and easy thing to just stop, and I decided to do just that.
After a couple of weeks I changed my mind, as I could see just how few quality equestrian manufactures were left in the country, and I really think we need to believe in the UK and back business here.
A chance meeting at the AGM with Carol Legg gave me the perfect person to make them. The wool was simple to source as I would only ever use the company who had always made my wool. I use the very best this company has available, it has many tufts of wool per square inch, and a woven backing. This wool will wash well and maintain its cushioning over very many years. I had for 10 years made a spacer and wool numnah, the first in the world, and knew how well it worked, but had only ever made it in black, so then had to work out how to add colour.
A chance conversation with my wool supplier made me understand how quilt in numnahs actually stopped the wool breathing and this is why the spacer worked so much better. This lightbulb moment made me ditch quilt, so then had to search the perfect solution for the top coloured layer.
Most spacer and technical materials are made in China, so it took a lot of searching to find materials made in Britain. I eventually found a company who took the trouble to drive the length of the country to visit me and amazingly had the solution for the colour. They had an air mesh, developed for use in medical hoists, so very strong, hard wearing, smooth and soft. Perfect. Then came the 6 months of recreating my pattern, thanks to all the people who lent me their Pioneer numnahs, tweaking the pattern to work better in spacer, to give a true high wither numnah that stays up in the arch. Each numnah then had to go off for testing, and the next tweaked accordingly. It took a lot of peoples help and 6 months of hard work at a difficult time in my life, but we did it and I am so proud to be able to supply my customers with a top quality product, and importantly, I am supporting British farmers in buying their wool, British manufacturers, in buying the woven wool, spacer, and air mesh. and British makers in Stich and Turn who make them for me in Somerset. When you buy my numnahs you help to support all these British businesses.
I also want to add that I am so pleased that Racesafe have managed to save Nuumed and will be selling their most popular designs. I wish them luck
