Hello, I'm Jo,

and I am face behind The Trough New Forest.

Jo-Butler-The-Trough-New-Forest

I have a love of entertaining and a good party, along with a need for quality in everything from the menu to service...

Real thought and attention to detail goes into everything we do at The Trough.

From its initial inception as a Horse Box Bar with a catering option, The Trough New Forest has grown & grown to what we offer today – proud moment.

I am lucky to have some amazing people joining me to make up the fabulous Team Trough. We love what we do, it shows, and hope you will too!

Get in touch to let us know how we can make your event Trough-Tastic!

TTFN,
Jo & Team Trough
Oh! The Equine bit -Meet William, 16hh of gorgeous Piebald cob! He appears generally more than me on the insta feed!
Jo&William-TheTrough-NewForest

The Trough: Then and now

The idea for The Trough had been brewing for a while. A project on the go always makes me feel happy (kitchen extension is next on the list…), so when I popped into the local country store to grab some dog food, and saw an advert for an old Rice Trailer Horse Box, my attention was taken.

The "brown" horse box under a lean-to

It was located on a smallholding in Parley, adjacent to Bournemouth Airport. The small holding looking like a bygone throwback with its surroundings all consumed by the runways. Under a lean-to was the Horse Box, Brown apparently in colour, with straw and hessian matting inside  - perfection!

When I set to work painting the horse box, an application of sugar soap revealed the brown was actually years of ingrained dirt, and was in fact green!

Yuk!
Turns out.. it's actually green!

Amazing what a touch of
elbow grease can achieve

IMG_2095

Perhaps one of my fav purchases from Screwfix - a paint sprayer!

Transformed by a couple of coats of the glorious blue paint, and with the amazing attention to detail from Henry the Builder, ta dahhhhhh one finished fully functioning Horse Box Bar!

Who doesn’t love a mirror disco tile - horse box essentials 101. Delight all round!

The Trough Horsebox Bar - New Forest
The Trough Horsebox Bar - New Forest
DSC_6777
DSC_7186
DSC_7204

As impressed as we were by the transformation?

Get in touch today to plan your perfect party!