Farm of the Week: Teacher who has set up goat pilates and mini farmer classes

Fortunately, Steve recovered but the move they subsequently made after Steve had said there was a farm available to rent at Silkstone Common, which would mean that all of the livestock would be close at hand, proved a no-brainer as the couple then wouldn’t have to commute back and forth so much.

Recently, Kelly has finally seized the opportunity to undertake what she now sees as her ideal role, combining her love of animals and enhancing people’s wellbeing.

“My thing is wellbeing, getting children, and also adults, outdoors and active. My background is physical education, activity, wellbeing and children. I’m a teacher and I’m currently a special educational needs teacher at Penistone Grammar School two days a week having been a full-time teacher in the past. I also run a number of fitness classes.

“When we first came here eleven years ago this place was just a barn. We did it up from nothing, moved in and I shifted from teaching in North Yorkshire to South Yorkshire. Adam now has his own business here as a chartered surveyor and it’s going really well.

Kelly and Adam have their own flock of 20 pedigree Charollais breeding ewes on the farm that runs to 75 acres with most of the land down to arable and Steve renting the lion’s share of it, but it is goats that have become Kelly’s passion and it is her wellbeing experiences that she is now offering with the goats and other animals that are now her new business.

“I’m a Bridgend girl from South Wales, hardly what you would call a farming girl originally, but within a couple of weeks of meeting Adam I was on farm lambing and over the years I’ve become more and more involved. This year I’m ahead of Adam as No 1 lamber on the farm as we lamb the flock in January and we are now near the end of this year’s lambing.

“But it is the goats I love most of all. They are the most fun animals. I keep telling Adam that if he’d got me goats a long time ago I would have been a much better farmer. They are genuinely just so lovely. I will go out and they will run towards me.

“When I started thinking about doing things with wellbeing it was then it came to me that one of the most amazing things I do is go out and spend time with them. I always feel better when I’m with them and still later, having been with them. I thought it would be nice to share that with others.

“I love working with children but now I’m also doing adult experience sessions. Last weekend I had a group of six adults come to the farm. They did a bit of feeding and grooming of our pigmy goats and then took them for a walk. I run family sessions with similar activities, but more children based with the adults supporting them.

“Being outdoors and spending time with an animal that gives back love and affection is just good fun. You get to know the goats by taking them for a walk. People love it. The smiles on the kids’ faces and the adults’ proves how worthwhile it is.

Kelly has already added other animals to her wellbeing experience team with baby rabbits and will soon be taking on alpacas, but it is currently the goats that are proving a real draw and Kelly said her Goat Olympics is a winner.

“Goats love climbing on top of things and we have made what could be described as a little bespoke assault course in their paddock.

“We run activities where visitors are split into teams and each team have buckets because the goats will follow a red bucket. You race each other and the goats will follow this little Olympic course and you have to get your goat to follow through the course.

“Whether the goat wants to play ball is another thing, so it can prove hilarious and nobody, animal or human, gets hurt.

“I’m also going to be running palates classes with the goats. That should be interesting, as well as unique. Everything is about building that relationship with the animal and when you do there is a bond, but you cannot make any animal do what it doesn’t want to regardless of whatever bond you have. I’ve one goat that doesn’t want to be walked. End of story. He just doesn’t like it, so I don’t make him, he just follows on behind everybody else.

“My experience and love of farming and animals is very different to Adam’s. When Adam is in the lambing shed he’s hoping that the mum’s going to produce milk and will be a really good mum and I know that’s the right thing but I’m also hoping I can feed the lamb and build a relationship. I see all our goats and lambs as my buddies.

Kelly said she is extending her on-farm wellbeing offering by teaming up with a teaching colleague who runs phonics sessions.

“We are starting our Mini Farmer Sessions soon. My friend has this character she uses called Robot Reg. I thought how cool it would be to have Farmer Reg. I’ve recently cleared out a farm building that we are going to use for preschool children offering phonic sessions all around animals.

“It means the sessions will involve handling, feeding and talking about animals. My friend will do the phonic teaching and I will do the animals and the farm side.

Kelly and Adam now own a small acreage and their farmhouse. Their sheep, goats and soon to come alpacas are on around 10 acres of grassland with the rest of the farmland down to arable cropping to feed Steve’s livestock.

The couple have a reputation for Charollais which they sell at Skipton livestock market or direct from home, but it is Kelly’s wellbeing experiences that are now her driving force.

“We have two children. James (9) and Hope (7). I’d always wanted to do something with PE, activity and wellbeing, but it was too risky for Adam and I to both be setting something up at the same time, so I waited. This is now my time, my chance.

“When we first took this on we didn’t know which direction to go in. We are now streamlining to animal experiences. Maybe we will also rear some calves in future? At the moment it’s one wellbeing step at a time.