The Hour

Zippos Circus returns this month for another summer tour, and The Hour caught up with Tom Roberts, whose equestrian acts go down a storm with audiences.

Tom – who is part of the Roberts family, one of the oldest and most respected families in the circus world - has been working with Zippos Circus for 15 years.

Know around the world as the ‘horse whisperer’, his thrilling displays of equestrian art are legendary in the circus world.

But an impressive performance like the ones audiences see take a long time to put together, as Tom explains: “Every year we start round about March, I train them (the horses) for a new act, so it takes 12 months to prepare it for the opening season.

“They do formation work, they stand on their hind legs, they lie down. Anything that’s possible for a horse to do, we do.”

Raised in a family which was renowned for its work with the circus, it’s not surprising that Tom and his siblings ended up going into the business too.

His brother, Bobby, runs the hugely popular Bobby Roberts’ Super Circus, while his sister, Maureen, is the company manager and secretary of the famous Blackpool Tower Circus.

And Tom’s children, with wife Linda, look set to follow suit, with nine-year-old daughter, Kristina, particularly keen on circus life.

Kristina, whose big and little horse act is popular with the crowds, said: “It is good fun, when you get used to it, it is really good fun because you’re always on the go, you’re never just sitting there doing nothing.”

Zippos Circus is touring around Scotland at the moment, finishing on August 3. To find out more, visit www.zipposcircus.co.uk.