Sister Chiara Hatton-Hall
(born: August 15, 1930, died: September 23, 2020)
It was with great sadness that we learnt that Sister Chiara (Cherrie) Hatton-Hall passed away on 23rd September 2020.
Sister Chiara will be remembered by many people at Diamond. Many more will know of her through her passion for riding for disabled and her work with RDA but that was just only one part of a very full and interesting life. Her book ‘The Galloping Nun’, published in 2013 is a fascinating insight into her life.
She was born into the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and was presented at court in 1948. She discovered a love of horses and set up Benenden Riding Establishment with her father, which grew to become one of the largest centres for equestrian training in Britain.
She went on to marry an army officer, Nigel Hatton-Hall in 1955 and in 1960 she set up Moat Riding School with her husband, taking younger pupils, while Benenden concentrated on training adults.
Mike Coleman, who has been connected with Diamond from when it opened, first met Chiara at Benenden:
“I remember her first as Cherie Hatton-Hall at her Benenden Riding Centre in Kent. It is now over 50 years ago. I did a few days training course at Benenden in my early twenties. She was an excellent Instructor, stern, sometimes scary, but always fair and honest. I learnt a lot from her. I met her again a couple of years later when I was taking a BHS Instructor exam, and she was one of the examiners. I recall how she put us nervous candidates at ease, with a lovely smile and kind words, unlike the other two examiners (I don’t remember who they were!).
When she came to Diamond, I had already stood down from the Committee, so I didn’t have so many dealings with her, but the few times she saw me teaching she always had practical and precise advice. She was caring and compassionate to the riders and, of course, always aware of the welfare of the horses and ponies. Her input to the running of the Centre was invaluable. The Diamond Centre is a better place for her involvement.”
In those early years Penny Pegrum was Chiara’s Head Girl at Moat House Benenden and Penny remembers:
“Sister Chiara used to take all the Roman Catholic students and staff off to church on saints days and I was left with an empty yard and work to do…….how I wished I knew in advance!!
She was forthright, kind, demanding and competitive. Sister Chiara was forward thinking and very knowledgeable. Sometimes it was hard to keep up! Unable to be involved in the training of our musical rides she always turned up at the venue to watch and give encouragement and advice along with a tin of cookies for the riders. I think Sister Chiara enabled so many of us coaches and riders to realise we could achieve more and to aim higher”
Chiara rode to elite level herself, competing at Badminton on Bright Prospect, the horse selected for the British team to go to the Stockholm Olympics in 1956, at which women were not allowed to compete.
Chiara’s most famous pupil was the Princess Royal and she also taught Ginny Elliot. Thanks to her discipline and persistence, Chiara rapidly advanced through instructor examinations and in 1961, aged 30, she achieved the ultimate accolade by becoming a Fellow of the British Horse Society (the top BHS award).
Her husband, died young in 1970 and a few years later, aged 42, Chiara found her vocation and joined the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood and became a Franciscan nun, embracing a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
It was while Sister Chiara was living with the sisters at St Anthony’s, Cheam in 1979 that it was suggested that she took up the reins again. Despite a long walk, catching trains and changing buses she first came to the Diamond Centre and initially spent six months to learn about horse riding as a therapy for those with disability.
She soon joined the Executive Committee at Diamond which she later went on to chair and in those early days she was instrumental in moving the Diamond forward. She was totally committed to encouraging our disabled riders and supported our Musical Rides, which took our riders went to events as far afield as Windsor, Epsom, Stoneleigh, Highclere, Cheltenham Racecourse and the Horse of The Year Show. She recognised the ability of our riders and ensured they reached their full potential.
We have several memories from those who knew Sister Chiara during her time at Diamond.
Adrienne Simons, a former volunteer, recalls:
“I met Chiara when she first came to the Diamond Centre many years ago, and I was asked to show her around. I said to her “Do you know anything about horses?” not knowing anything about who she was, and she replied “A little” with a smile!
Courage, kindness and fun permeated Chiara’s life. Kindness to anybody and everybody (although not suffering intelligent ‘fools’ easily). Courage to make the absolute most of life – one of the first women to race across the desert on horseback in a ‘men’s race’, one of the first women to compete over the terrifying jumps at Badminton, courage to make speeches often to large audiences. Also, courage to submit to obedience as a nun, and courage to travel the world on her own.
She went to new places with unknown people to teach riding to those with physical and mental difficulties – providing them with fun and worthwhile experiences and helping the teachers to achieve that. I remember Chiara bringing music into a riding lesson at the Diamond Centre which included a girl with Down’s Syndrome. The little girl had such fun! The nickname ‘Galloping Nun’ (which became the title of her autobiography) was given to her in Hong Kong where she was provided with a car to use upon which there were stickers of a nun on horseback!
One of her very important achievements was creating a structure for riding at the Diamond Centre, and elsewhere, where riders, helpers and teachers had a test to work towards, to improve their ability and to give them all a goal to aspire to. This was where Chiara’s knowledge and experience came into their own.
During her year studying in Rome, Chiara needed a job so worked in a laundry. She told me that she learnt to speak Italian from the people she was working with, so her Italian language could be rather spicy – she really enjoyed herself!
Chiara had an amazing memory for the names of people and events which stood her in very good stead in her very varied life. She also had considerable intelligence, teaching herself to use a computer as a tool a long time before most people. Sometimes it was difficult to keep up with the way her mind raced ahead on all subjects!
The word that Chiara lived by was ‘balance’ which she thought was one of the most important in the English language. It applies to all things in life, and I think that Chiara achieved that by being a person who gave all she could to all those she met helping them to have a balance of the best that they could be within their capabilities, and achieve harmony and that way. I will miss her”.
Chris Clay, who joined Diamond as a volunteer in 1976, has shared her personal memories:
“An early memory of Sister Chiara was during an International Instructors’ Course which Chiara had organised at Diamond. She wanted to explain the importance of balance – not grip – in the art of riding. She told me to pop up on Pikey (who remembers Pikey – little, rather fine coloured pony – who would gallop off at the drop of a hat?) She had me cantering round, the budding instructors were all seated in the arena, and persuaded me to let the reins slip through my fingers until I was just holding the buckle and just to think about the rhythm. He went like a dream – nothing to do with me, all to do with the incredible instruction I was receiving. It was truly inspirational, and a true example of how to give confidence.
We were fortunate at Diamond to receive her expertise. She organised many informative courses with true experts, and demonstrations by World Class equestrians like Jennie Loriston-Clarke who brought Dutch Courage, and many others, including Blyth Tait.
When the RDA was 25 years old Diamond took a demonstration musical ride of 8 riders all over the country, including at The Horse of the Year Show. Chiara and Penny (who had been Chiara’s head girl) devised an intricate ride, with all 8 horses cantering together. After that, each year Diamond was invited to Windsor to perform a different musical ride. Tuesday evening riders still benefit from her input because they are lucky enough to have Penny as their instructor.
I once went on a holiday with her to Wales. We caught the coach from Victoria to Aberystwyth, hired a car, then drove to visit Marie Stokes (who used to run a very prestigious riding school in Tadworth before moving to Wales). Marie was very ill at this stage, but Chiara’s visit was a great tonic, We then drove to Pat Warren’s and stayed for a few days before driving down through Wales and staying at a convent near Swansea and getting the coach home. It was quite an adventure.
Future instructors from all over the World came to Diamond to learn about riding for the disabled and some stayed for about a year, other for a course lasting several weeks. At the end they received an official assessment of their abilities and many went on to further their careers in therapeutic riding. All of this was at Chiara’s instigation and it was always a privilege to be involved in these activities.
A much later and more recent memory is when she began to be a tad unwell in the memory department, and Pat Warren wanted to give her a little holiday away from the Convent, just enjoying Pat and Georgina’s horses up in Wales. Sadly, the powers that be decided it would be inappropriate to allow her to do that, so much to her disappointment it just did not happen. Georgina and I took her out to lunch at a nearby pub in Godalming instead and once she started to talk about horses, she was as lucid and knowledgeable and informative as ever. That was the last time I saw her”.
After a brief time at Diamond she went on to join the National Training Committee at RDA and as the first Chair created much of what we now recognise as the basis of the excellent RDA Coaching support.
Sister Chiara was passionate about riding for disabled and travelled extensively all over the world to promote RDA. She was respected around the world and helped to set up HETI – an international federation of 45 countries which promotes equine assisted activities and therapies. As a result, many international students came to Diamond for training courses from places such as diverse as Korea, Japan and Norway.
Judy Lord, a former member of staff at Diamond has fond memories:
“When I first came to Diamond as Senior Instructor in the early 1990’s, Sister Chiara was a stalwart of the teaching and training team. She always had a passion for excellence, and I remember she was quite a formidable soul for “newbies” like myself! But for those willing to learn and willing to try, she had the skills, knowledge and the patience to help riders and teachers make that extra step that would take them beyond where they thought they could go. That drive resulted in a sense of great achievement for Diamond and many of its riders, instructors, and volunteers.
Even now, almost 30 years later, teaching both mainstream and disabled riders and I can sometimes hear myself teaching with that old push that comes from Sister Chiara. Just last weekend when teaching one of my riders who was struggling with transitions (changes of pace with her horse) I heard myself saying… “don’t think of trying to stop the pace you are in, think, what work needs to be done to go forward to the pace you want to be in”. With a change in the word ‘pace’ to ‘place’, I find an ethos that I think Diamond tries to gift to all its riders and that comes directly from Sister Chiara”
Sister Chiara remained a great friend of Diamond over the years and always took an interest in the work of the centre. She was living at the Convent in Clapham and visited the centre regularly, especially for our Christmas Open Day where she was always asked to say a short prayer to bless our 30 horses.
She was totally committed to her religion and the work of RDA but in her advancing years Sister Chiara did not enjoy the best of health and reluctantly moved to be looked after at Ladywell Convent, Godalming where she passed away peacefully, aged 90 years. She will be admired, respected, and greatly missed by all those that had the pleasure of knowing her.
Sister Chiara with Pam Bull on the day the Diamond Centre was presented with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, in 2009.