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

Connector MAY | 25www.mydubaiconnection.com

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