Susan Jesson-Ward
Excerpts from the Interview with Eyewitness in Manchester (December 1998)

Your name, place of birth and date of birth
Susan Jesson-Ward, Born in a terraced house in Monsall Street, Monsall, on 14th July 1951. This is a district next to Harpurhey

How long did you live in the Manchester area?
I lived in the Manchester area right up until I moved to the farm in Marsden, West Yorkshire, just 7 miles from Oldham. That was in 1984. However when I was 5 years old I lived in Salford for one year. At age 10 I lived in New Zealand for 6 months and when I was 18, I lived in Australia for one year.

Which district in/around Manchester did you live in?
I was born in Monsall Street. I left there when I was 5 to live in Salford, when we bought an off-licence. When I was 6 we went to live at 113 Wembury Street, Moston, Manchester 10. We went to New Zealand when I was 10, then came back and bought a house at 1019, Rochdale Road, Blackley, Manchester 9. I lived there until I got married in 1973, apart from one year in Australia.

What's your present place of residence?
Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman.

Which school did you go to, and what post-school training did you do?
My first school was Grecian Street school in Salford at 5 years old. After that at 6 I went to Alfred Street School, Harpurhey, now called Harpur Mount School. Because I was in New Zealand at the time everybody was taking their 11 plus exam, and I didn't get the chance to be selected for grammar school. So when I returned to the UK I automatically went to a secondary modern school. This was an all girls school called Shackliffe Green Girls School, Moston Lane, Moston.

School leaving age was 15 then, so at 15 I went to Moston College, Ashley Lane, Moston. Only for 6 weeks though!! I didn't like it at all. At age 21 returned to full time education and went to Rochdale College, then after that to Abraham Moss College in Crumpsall. Later went to Leeds University

What is your job and how did you come to do it?
I have always been involved with horses ever since I was a child - even in Manchester! I used to go to Greenwoods Riding School in Chadderton, and rode horses whenever I could. However after getting married I persuaded my spouse to purchase a horse, a six month old colt. We kept him at various farms/stables around the Middleton area and as he grew older we bought more horses (mares) for him to mate with.

We leased some land off BICC in Crumpsall which they had no use for as it was on the other side of the River Irk and away from their factory. However the land backed directly on to my mother's bungalow so we built lots of stables and it was ideal. Gradually we bred more and more horses and we took them to shows all around the country. We were very successful. We always won the championships.

Then we bought the farm in Marsden in 1983. We started doing Arabian racing (all our horses were Arabian or Anglo-Arabian) We were successful at racing too, and raced at many racecourses including Ascot, Kempton Park, Newbury etc.

By 1986, we had 20 horses and were breeding top class show and race horses. Many people had heard of us and our horses were sold all over the UK. A friend noticed an advertisement in Horse & Hound. The Diwan of the Royal Court of Oman was looking for someone to manage their stud and the friend urged us to apply.

We came to Oman in 1987 to manage the Royal Stud Farm of Sultan Qaboos in Salalah, in the far south of Oman. The Stud grew from 30 breeding horses to its present number of 300 horses. We spent 8 years there. Now I have my own equestrian centre here in Muscat and am a freelance equine consultant for the Royal Stables and various owners.

Name some well-known people in the equestrian field with whom you have worked.
Princess Alia of Jordan. Princess Haya her sister who is now a well known international show jumper.

In your opinion, what makes the Manchester area unique?
The people. I have travelled extensively all over the world - 32 countries in all, and never have I come across people who are so genuinely friendly as Manchester people.

What do you like best about the Manchester area?
I like its cosmopolitan feel, the energy and pulsating life.

Is there anything about the Manchester area that could be improved?
Because I have spent so much time in the Middle East, one comes to expect pristine cleanliness, which is always evident wherever you are here. In Manchester one seems to notice more the litter strewn all over the roads and a general unkemptness.

Which places do you like to go when you're in Manchester?
When in Manchester I always go to my favourite restaurant Cesare's in South King Street. Have been going there for almost 30 years. Love to head up the A62 towards Oldham carrying on into Delph and then wandering over the moors, absolutely beautiful. I go to my favourite country pub the Carriage House on the A62, just 500 metres over the Lancs/Yorks border. It has nice owners from Turkey.

What do you miss about home?
Unfortunately nothing! Except I wish I could import some Manchester people here!

Which Manchester people, past or present, famous or should-be-famous, would you recommend?
I like music, so Mick Hucknall, M People and Oasis. They have all put Manchester on the international map. Oh and of course my daughter Sally (above left and right) who isn't famous at the moment but might well be one day. She races horses for the Sheikhs here, competes in show jumping is starting modelling and is training to be a professional dancer!

Are there any websites you would recommend?
All mine are horse oriented. The best one is "The Haynet" where you can find anything about horses.

How do you like life in Oman as compared to the UK?
I love Oman that is why I am still here! I like it because it offers many opportunities for anyone with ambition. It is a young developing country with no social barriers. And of course - the weather - I love being warm. I don't think I could stand the cold any more. It is a very good lifestyle, although a bit short of culture, but it's improving in that respect.

Describe some of your exploits - you mentioned the KGB!

Goodness how much time do you have!!?? Okay. My work sent me to London as an official delegate for Oman at the World Arabian Horse Organisation conference. It's held every 2 years in a different country each time. Sultan Qaboos decreed he wanted a complete record of all horses in Oman. So I travelled to every corner of Oman searching for horses and researched, compiled and produced a Registration Book of these horses. I also produced a Stud Book for Pure Arabian Horses of Oman for acceptance by the World Arabian Horse Organisation.

At one time I was inspecting the privately owned horses of the Minister of Oil and he asked me where could he find good, fast beautiful Arabian horses, to which I replied: Russia. This was in 1991 and the Russians had been breeding Arabians for non-commercial purposes since the advent of communism. Hence they had horses who were not only fast but conformationally correct and beautiful.

The next day the Oil Minister called me and was very excited, telling me he had the Russian Ambassador in his office and they were sorting out some deal. A trip to Russia was arranged and 5 horses were brought back for the Oil Minister.

Later in 1992 the Royal Stables decided they also wanted horses from Russia. A total of 7 trips over the next 2 years brought back 50 of the best young Russian mares. The horse dealers in Russia were also Mafia - in fact a Channel 4 TV documentary on the Russian Mafia showed my friend Botchkarioff as one of the leaders! Botchkarioff's cousin was KGB. She was the translator for all the business relating to the purchase of the horses.