A COUNTRY store which “jumps through hoops to serve its customers” is looking to take a leap forward by entering the New Business category at the 2016 Press Business Awards.

Rabbit Hill Country Store, of Arkendale, near Knaresborough, has “only been open since Easter and already has six staff, ‘proper rural’ folk who know from extensive experience exactly what they’re talking about.

“Now the Rabbit Hill Country Store, open seven days a week, is fast becoming a one-stop shop for farmers, pet owners and gardeners to buy a huge range of products and pick up tips on caring for some of our four-legged friends,” its entry declares.

Run by husband-and-wife team Glenn and Katy Brown, the store sells farm, equine, pet and gardening supplies, including trees, plants, and work clothes. It also offers a weigh-in service and exercise tips for dogs.

The Browns set up the two-storey Rabbit Hill shop with a large outside space after recognising there was no store in the Harrogate/York area selling all things rural, from grass seeds and fertilisers to domestic animal feeds and beddings.

Both from farming backgrounds, and with Mrs Brown also being a former veterinary nurse, they decided they could use their expertise in both farming and animal care to bring everything under one roof.

Mrs Brown graduated from Harper Adams University with a degree in farm animal health, while Mr Brown has nearly 15 years’ horticultural experience and a farming background that includes links to both cattle and sheep.

Their carefully selected team also has Gordon Jackson, a farmer’s son with a national diploma in agriculture, and Rachel Page Murdoch and Ellen Butfoy, both qualified to prescribe and supply some animal medicines, as is Mrs Brown, whose mother, Jackie Bielby, a farmer’s wife, is the sixth member of staff.

Gardeners are able to buy many products at Rabbit Hill and get help on soil testing and fertiliser treatments. Other local businesses are also being supported as many suppliers are local, like Regency Feeds based at Tholthorpe - which supplies dog and wild bird food - and Bedwell Bedding near Thirsk, which produces horse bedding.

The business has used local press, social media, leafleting and word of mouth, exhibited at country shows and offered prize draws and promotions to introduce more people to the store and products.