Model Lisa reins up for business

At the age of 23 she swapped swimsuits for stirrups and a return home to start the business of her dreams in Staffordshire. Today, 12 years on, the Cannock Chase Trekking Centre is bigger and better than ever and has welcomed its 10,000th visitor.

She is within touching distance of thousands of acres of Cannock Chase and leads riders of all abilities along its ancient trails.

With 34 horses - most of which she has 'broken' herself so they can be ridden - it is a full-time job at her 30-acre home in Brocton, off the A34 between Cannock and Stafford.But her biggest talent and the one she most enjoys practising, is 'natural horsemanship', where she talks to the horses and trains them to perform a variety of tasks.

It is mesmerising to see the graceful creatures walk side by side with her without being held, copying her ballet-like footsteps in dressage manouevres.

They also bow down or rear up onto their hind legs and box their front hooves as she sits on their back.

It is like a scene from a Hollywood film, except that they don't bolt off into the sunset.

Her "softly softly" technique is all about building up trust with the animal and understanding how to make it happy.

"You don't actually whisper but by talking to them and touching their vulnerable areas they get to know you and you can build up a special relationship," she says.

"Nothing that I do is aggressive, they are not scared of me and I love working with the horses and putting the fun back into riding."

Naturally photogenic, Lisa started modelling when she was just 14 and went on to win modelling contracts with top names like Levi jeans, Toyota, Snickers and Goodyear.

Now 35, she is a mother to four-year-old Georgia and admits to spending her days "in a fairy land" surrounded by her beloved horses. But there is much more to it than that, and early mornings mucking out, feeding, grooming and tacking up the horses, before taking out up to three treks a day, can be seriously hard work.

People have flown in from around the world to enjoy all-day pub rides, evening barbecue treks or even just an hour in the saddle.

And Lisa aims to create a friendly, relaxed atmosphere that everyone can enjoy, including one regular customer who is in her 70s.

The business is hoping to expand further and last summer Lisa's partner, firefighter Mark Bennett, started shooting photographs capturing the tourists in action during their treks, which has proved popular. Testament to the centre's appeal is assured by Lisa's friend Maria Marshall, who loved it so much as a customer that she wanted to work there and now helps out.

"It is always really friendly, relaxed and down to earth which is quite unusual but an ideal combination," she says.

All enquiries on events at the trekking centre can by made by telephoning 01785 711177.