Development updates

Houyam swaps horses for houses to make dreams come true for Cheshire house hunters

- 11 Oct 17

Houyam Rothwell (left) with Bovis Homes CEO Greg Fitzgerald and her sales colleague Claire Blatchford

Houyam Rothwell has exchanged show jumping for show homes after taking up a new role with leading house builder Bovis Homes.

She spent two decades in the equine industry as a successful rider and groom for champion horse owners and trainers.

Now Houyam is helping customers purchase their dream property at Bovis Homes' new Hazelmere location in Haslington, Cheshire, in her role as a new homes sales advisor.

"I've always enjoyed meeting new people and building a rapport with them, which is an important part of this role," explained Houyam.

"This job with Bovis Homes was the only one that I really fancied doing after working with horses for as long as I can remember.

"It's always immensely rewarding to show customers around a property that they really love and then guiding them through the process of buying their brand new home."

Horses have been a big part of Houyam's life for as long as she can remember - she could ride from the tender of age four and her grandmother owned UK champion Sunray Supertrooper.

She gained a Distinction in Equine Studies at Reaseheath College Equestrian Centre in Nantwich and has competed regularly in regional show jumping competitions.

After leaving college she gained more valuable experience in the equine industry when working for European champion Rachael Thompson and top rider Corinne Collins - with lots of international travel thrown in.

"I want whoever I'm working for to be successful, so it felt really good when they did well," she said.

Few jobs could have pulled Houyam away from the equine world, but she said the opportunity to work for Bovis Homes was too good to turn down.

"I absolutely love working with horses, but I just came to a point where I thought I needed to get a 'proper' job!" said Houyam.

"I retired my show jumping horse Dancer when I started working for Bovis Homes - I was a little bit concerned that otherwise I might get tempted back into the horsey life.

"This new role with Bovis Homes is a completely new career for me and I want to put all my efforts into it and commit to it 100 per cent.

"Once I've got myself sorted out, maybe I will get a horse for a hobby and just enjoy it!"