Lisa Matthews, the lady behind our Al Sahra Equestrian Centre was recently interviewed by Connector Magazine. Find out more about our Al Sahra Desert Resort Equestrian Centre offering horse riding in Dubai, livery, riding lessons and culture tours is located just off the Dubai-Al Ain Road and set amongst acres of rolling sand dunes: http://qoo.ly/c26c

1. 24 | MAY Connector www.mydubaiconnection.com
What brought you to Dubai?
My husband and I were living in London
when we decided to immigrate to New Zealand.
It was home for me, and he’d fallen in love with
the place and wanted to move there. But just
as we were leaving, he was given a three month
contract in Dubai, and that was five years
ago! After working in the corporate world in
London I enjoyed sunning myself on the beach
for the three months and then his contract was
extended and finally made permanent. So we
decided to stay, NZ won’t go away!
How did you get into this job?
It was very strange! When my husband’s
contract was extended I remember sitting
on the beach thinking ‘I can’t do this for
another three months’, so after a 15 year
break from riding, I leased myself a horse.
The man who owned the stable was looking
for someone to set it up as a business, and
after leasing the horse for a month, I found
myself developing a sleepy stable into a
viable business venture, and that’s when I
got back into horses.
SPECIAL feature
A coffee with…
Lydia Maskall
chats to Lisa
Matthews,
General Manager
at Al Sahra
Equestrian Centre
Lisa was on her way back to New Zealand
when a job opportunity for her husband
side-tracked her to Dubai. Five years later
she now runs a very successful working yard.
Reframe Photography
Reframe Photography

2. www.mydubaiconnection.com Connector MAY | 25
Best things about your job?
Well of course the horses are my favourite
part of the job. But I also love seeing people
who arrive as complete beginners and watching
them progress and develop their riding
enough to be able to ride out in our stunning
desert surroundings. Dubai has all the glitz
and glamour, but it’s very satisfying watching
people experience the more traditional side of
life out here. And it goes without saying, being
supported by my amazing team!
Worst things about your job?
Definitely the weather, particularly in the
summer! Sometimes waking up early every
day is hard, I start work at 6am every morning.
Trying to look really confident around the
camels, after three years I still don’t have the
trust in them that I do with horses!
Stand out moment in Dubai?
The birth of my son!
Advice to anyone thinking of entering
your profession?
I have a lot of people who want to come and
work here. What they need to know is that
it’s really hard work. Anyone going into the
profession thinking they’re just going to be
grooming and being around horses couldn’t be
more wrong! It can also be heart-wrenching if
an animal gets sick, and you have to deal with
that side of it as well. You have to know the
signs and be able to tell whether an animal is
feeling unwell.
Describe your typical day at work?
I wake up at 5am and bundle my two British
bulldogs into the car and then head to work
where they have their morning walk. My day
starts with either teaching or riding out in the
desert depending on the season. I normally
ride and/or teach up until 11am. I’ll then do
the lunch feed for the horses, answer emails,
marketing and sales, organise events, host
one of our Arabian Culture tours, employee
management, buy and collect horses – it
doesn’t stop! Most days I leave at around
4.30pm, although on Fridays I work from
dawn ‘til dusk. To be honest on any given day,
anything unexpected can happen which does
make the job interesting.
What’s the most unexpected thing
that’s happened?
I was out riding recently and it was very
early in the morning. There was this amazing
sunrise and I was just telling the clients I was
with that we were about to enter an area where
the camels roam. They were excited about the
opportunity and to make it even more exciting
as we came over a dune there was a camel
that had literally just given birth. We slowly
moved away to give her some privacy and then
watched as the baby took its first steps. It was
amazing and none of us had a camera! I always
make a point of taking a camera with me now,
something always happens!
What is your moto?
A smile costs nothing and is understood in
every language!
Reframe Photography