Press release -
Equestrian Excellence
A family-run equestrian business on the south shores of Loch Lomond has achieved a four-star rating from VisitScotland.
Duncryne Equitation and Trekking Centre, which offers year-round tuition in the riding and care of horses and ponies, becomes one of only two four-star activity centres in West Dunbartonshire.
Situated just outside the village of Gartochern, the centre had previously been part of the Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme and re-applied when Mari Claire Dance took over from her mother, Janette Doyle, just over two years ago. The QA Scheme is a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors.
The first of her family to take an interest in horses, Mari-Claire began riding at the age of four and it quickly became her passion. The family moved from Glasgow to Duncryne Farm, where they could keep their own horses, in 1992.
Expanding into an equitation and trekking centre in 1994, the business offers a variety of activities, including trekking, riding and jumping lessons, pony-care days and non-residential pony camps. Although Duncryne provides lessons for adults, a big focus is allowing children of all levels and backgrounds to learn about ponies.
Mari Claire hopes to expand the business and build an outdoor arena which would allow for a pony club and summer events for all to enjoy.
Mari Claire Dance, owner, said: “It feels fantastic to receive this award. Having taken over from my mother it’s great to see the high standards have been maintained. Duncryne, is about allowing anyone who is interested in horses and ponies to learn how to ride and care for them. We are always looking to improve and expand our facilities so receiving this recognition from VisitScotland is a big boost.”
David Adams McGilp, Regional Director at VisitScotland said: “I would like to congratulate Duncryne Equitation and Trekking Centre on its four-star Quality Assurance Award. It is a superb achievement. Duncryne is an activity centre which allows people of all ages to embrace their love of horses and ponies and I wish them every success in the future.
“Our Quality Assurance Scheme helps businesses to reach their full potential and truly shine. The scheme is about more than just the ‘stars’ on the door - it’s about the entire visitor experience, about investing in your business and making it as economically sustainable as possible.”
VisitScotland star awards are indicators of quality and provide reassurance to visitors. The national tourism organisation offers support to businesses to ensure they meet and exceed the high standards expected by visitors.
For more information on Duncryne Equitorial and Trekking Centre, go to www.duncryneequitationandtrekkingcentre.co.uk/
For more information on VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme, go to www.visitscotland.org
Topics
- Tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
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- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
