Bobbie
Pine Lodge founder Bobbie Bullman was an absolute force of nature and we are proud to be continuing her legacy and running Pine Lodge exactly as she would have wanted it.
Bobbie Bullman was truly unique. If you met her once you never forgot her. Everyone was captivated by her incredible energy, warmth and passion – and her devotion to animals.
Born in Marylebone Hospital in Westminster in 1936, Bobbie started working with horses at an early age. She got her first break in show business at 15, appearing on horseback on stage with Jon Pertwee in ‘Ranch House in the Rockies on Ice’ at the Empress Hall in Earls Court, before going on to appear in blockbuster movies, Beau Brummell with Elizabeth Taylor and Around the World in 80 Days with David Niven.
But Bobbie soon discovered that working with animals was not enough, she wanted to help them too.
In 1952 she used some of the money she earned from acting to buy her first pony, Mickey. He was one of many ponies that were brought over from Ireland for meat and Bobbie rescued him from slaughter. In saving Mickey, Bobbie realised that helping animals was her true calling in life and she turned her back on show business in order to save more ponies. Bobbie set up her own riding school at the back of Pine Lodge House in Woodford Green when she was just 16 years old, with ponies that she had rescued. She charged her friends five shillings to ride and used the money to help the animals.
After almost a decade running the stables at Woodford Green, developers moved into the area and Bobbie decided to move out. In 1961 she relocated to Springfield Farm in High Beech, taking the name Pine Lodge with her. She lived in a caravan at the yard for the first nine years and continued to save homeless and abandoned animals, working closely with Battersea Dogs Home to rescue and re-home over 600 dogs. Bobbie took in the waifs and strays that no-one else wanted and helped them to find loving homes. She kept quite a few of them too! She was also committed to the local community. A keen huntswoman, she hosted gymkhanas and pony club events, set up an annual dog show and also found time to become District Commissioner for the Essex Hunt South branch of the Pony Club for seven years until 1984.
Being relatively close to London, the stables were popular with pop stars of the day, including David Essex, Rod Stewart and Kenney Jones of the Small Faces who recalls Bobbie fondly in his autobiography:
“At Pine Lodge, the rest of the band were mucking around, having a laugh, pretending to be cowboys shooting each other, all that. For me it was different. The moment I sat in that saddle I felt at home. A weird sensation, given that I‘d never ridden before. After that first visit, I went back the next day and the next. I became good friends with the lady who owned the stables – Bobbie – and over the years she taught me a hell of a lot about riding.”
Kenney bought his first pony from Bobbie. She taught him how to show jump and helped him compete at prestigious events including the International Showjumping competition at Olympia. Her expert knowledge and love of horses brought her many enduring, lifelong friendships like this. It also led her to the love of her life.
Bobbie met dashing local show jumper John Bullman at the stables in 1960 and they married in Loughton in 1967. Mickey the pony was present at the wedding along with two of her dogs: Tramp and Rhona. Speaking to the local paper at the time, Bobbie explained that animals were her life and she’d finally found a man who would have her and her animals. John joined Bobbie in her caravan for the first three years of their marriage, along with nine rescue dogs, including a Great Dane and two budgies, one of whom – Pepe – she had trained to speak and recite their phone number: “Loughton 4586.”
During the mid-nineteen-eighties, the development of the M25 brought major changes to Bobbie’s beloved Epping Forest and the Bullmans decided to move Pine Lodge once again and relocate to Exmoor. Bobbie had relatives in nearby North Devon; she adored the natural landscapes of the South West and wanted more freedom for the horses and riders. They bought Higher Chilcott Farm from Percy Fulford in 1986 and moved here in 1987 when Bobbie was 50, with 12 horses, two cows, chickens and 12 dogs, which were soon joined by pigs, goats, ducks and more dogs and horses. Percy stayed on to show them the ropes and encouraged John into a life of sheep farming. Bobbie settled into local life and made many great friends on Exmoor including much loved farm hand Alan Bawden. She also stayed in constant contact with all of her friends in Essex, most of whom came to stay and ride during the 33 happy years that Bobbie spent running Pine Lodge on Exmoor. She continued to rescue animals here, including a herd of wild Exmoor ponies and her precious Arab gelding Quilty. She also encouraged local wildlife. Growing very fond of a wild fox that visited her daily, she fed him jam sandwiches – and occasionally – John’s dinner.
Despite turning her back on show business, Bobbie radiated movie star glamour, with her long flaming red hair, fingernails and lipstick. There was never a dull moment and a real sense of ‘the show must go on’ at Pine Lodge as Bobbie strived to give everyone a first-class experience. Whether they came for a ride or a riding holiday, they always came back.
Regardless of the occasional hardships that Bobbie faced in her own life, she always put others first. Helping in any way that she could. She never forgot a face, a name – or a phone number! She made time for her friends and was generous to a fault. Generations of children learned to ride with Bobbie and generations of horses were born and raised at her stables. Lifelong friendships were forged here. Like Bobbie, this place is completely unique; and it is wonderful that her efforts live on here at Pine Lodge with her animals, in the place that she adored.
