Rocking Horse Shed

ABOUT US

Based in Sydney Australia; Jamie Hall, known as Rocking Horse Shed is a recent convert to the world of Rocking Horses. He made his first Rocking Horse back in 1985 for his nephew, this was then used by Jamie’s children, then given back to his nephew for his children.

It wasn’t till 1998 that Jamie restored his first Roebuck Rocking Horse which was for his eldest child; then restored his second Rocking Horse back in 2008 for his second child.

This is when he met Len Elliott; the Rocking Horse Man of Mitcham Victoria, who is arguably Australia’s most respected and experienced Rocking Horse restorer.

Jamie was immediately infected by Len’s passion for Rocking Horses, their history and doing things properly with a no cutting corners attitude.

They became friends and Len trained him how to restore Rocking Horses correctly, thus keeping the trade alive.

Jamie’s background of nearly 40 years in the air conditioning industry as a Refrigeration/Air Conditioning Technician by trade, a Diploma qualified Engineer, Diploma qualified Trainer and a former TAFE (Trade School) teacher; combined with his love of history, passion for working with wood and repairing things, immediately found a synergy with working with Rocking Horses.

Jamie and his wife Helen work side by side specialising in the restoration of Roebuck Rocking Horses.

Almost immediately they realised that each horse has its own personality; some horses will just fight you all the way yet some are so gentle and everything goes right. However, once complete, the hard work seems to fade into insignificance when that beautiful Rocking Horse is standing there, looking as majestic as it would have been when it left the Roebuck factory in Leichhardt NSW.

Jamie and Helen see themselves as being in the memories business; not only creating new memories when people purchase a fully restored horse from them, but bringing back happy memories of peoples childhood when they pick up their fully restored and cherished family heirloom.

When a customer arrives to collect their horse and you see the joy on their face and their mind ticking over when their happy childhood memories come flooding back; this is the most satisfying reward any restorer could ever hope for.

“To see a grown man have tears of joy running down his face as he sees his horse the way he remembered it 60 plus years ago when he was 3 years old, or to see a lady almost collapse with the emotions of joy when she sees her beloved childhood horse brought back to how it looked when her parents worked 2 jobs to be able to afford to buy it for her back in the early 1960’s, or to hear a businessman barely able to speak whilst choking back tears because the childhood memories of his “nanna who gave me the horse just before she passed away” overwhelmed him; this is the most rewarding yet humbling experience for any dedicated restorer”.