DURING the lockdowns that have been part of UK life since April 2020, m9ost people have taken up exercise regimes or, famously, baking.

But for a pair of horse lovers from Overton and Hanmer used their time to reconnect their love for the rural environment and the equine world and decided to start a podcast finding others across the country.

Kate Churton and Claire Rosselli want to provide something for many people that felt lonely and isolated in rural areas so started the show 'From the Horsebox' – presented as its name – they travel the countryside chatting to inspiring people about wildlife, farming and field sports.

"Having the bare minimum of computer experience we produced our first audio file which went out on an email and we launched "From the Horsebox" in April," said Claire.

"Since then we've had more than 700 downloads, reaching position three in the Hobbies category (UK) in Apple Podcasts rankings for the first 30 days.

“Learning how to podcast has connected a love of horses with an appreciation of peoples' talents and individuality and it has given us a creative experience which has got us through a long winter.”

"Our aim was to communicate with people in the rural areas.

“We wanted to ask about our guests' love of the countryside and often learned of their hidden talents like our farrier who sang, played the banjo and ran back to back marathons!"

Episodes published so far have also included behind the scenes of the 1997 Grand National bomb scare and 'tails' from Tipperary from a young Irish bachelor.

To listen to the show, head to https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/from-the-horsebox/id1559782292