- Work Hard
- 29th Jun 2024
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Horse master and CEO at Kynren: Meet Anna Warnecke
If you have happened to walk past Flatts Farm in Bishop Auckland in recent weeks and have seen 100s of Vikings roaming the fields, jousting knights and Charles I being dragged to the executioner’s block, you may start to question your own sanity and you may need to go straight to A&E.
Fear not, this was just rehearsals for the annual extravaganza Kynren as it prepares for its return on July 27.
Kynren – deriving from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Cynren’, meaning generation, family or kin – is an outdoor live event like no other as over 1000 volunteers take the audience on an immersive 2000-year trip through British history.
The event is a mammoth task and overseeing the whole operation is Anna Warnecke.
Before joining Kynren, Anna had a rich vein of experience in eventing as she was a former five-star eventer and competed at Badminton and Burghley horse trials.
However, Kynren is a completely unique challenge as the event is unlike anything that the country has to offer, something that she learned as the CEO.
“It’s so exciting because you have nearly a thousand volunteers come together and work really hard learning specific skills and trained by brilliant choreographers,” said Anna. “They put the passion in because they want to do something good for the area. It’s impossible to recreate anywhere else because you wouldn’t have that many people but also it’s impossible for a cast to have that much passion on stage and off stage.
“It gets me emotional when I see everyone get together and create a beautiful show.”
Kynren was introduced in 2016 and has been a staple of the North East culture scene ever since. One of the challenges of an annual event like this is how to keep it fresh and exciting for returning visitors each year.
That’s something that’s a strong focus for Anna as the 2000-year tale of British history doesn’t change but they constantly look to add new and exciting elements to the event.
“You can see the show three times and you still haven’t seen some elements. Even if we weren’t going to change anything, you could come back and explore different aspects.”
Anna added: “We are always planning on getting better and the best that we can be. There are constant changes within the show as well because maybe things are happening in the world and we are creating something around that.”
Kynren is a big boost to the local economy as it brings tourism to the region, with 40% of its visitors coming from outside the North East.
“What is the local benefit? That is always the first question. There’s a feeling about being proud of Bishop. There’s a huge movement here at the moment with huge investment, whether that’s through the levelling-up fund or government funding,” said Anna. “Everybody can see there’s movement. There are AirBnBs popping up, new hotels and new shops and cafes.
There is also something unique about the idea of community that this fosters in Bishop Auckland. It is a town that, until recently, has been underfunded and lacked so many opportunities that other cities and towns received.
Therefore, Kynren is just the start but it gives locals hope that their town can prosper in the future.
“It’s not just us alone, it’s a town coming together to want to be exciting and vibrant again. Everyone has to play their part in this because we can’t do it alone,” said Anna. “We have a real chance for Bishop Auckland to be a vibrant town again and we are taking this chance together.”
The economic boost that an event like Kynren can bring to Bishop Auckland cannot be understated and neither can the opportunities it brings to local people.
This is often overlooked but Kynren offers over 1000 people rare opportunities and life skills that can help them mature and grow as individuals.
“Where can we give a teenager a sword fighting lesson and then get a standing ovation afterwards? When we put work into it and come together we can reach the sky,” said Anna. “That is something really special, there are only a few teenagers that can have that feeling nowadays but we can give it to them here. They are making a difference but growing up and taking that feeling with them – and that’s an absolutely rare opportunity for them.”
Anna lives, eats and breathes her job at Kynren and has an immense passion for the role and it’s all worth the hard work to see the life-changing moments it can give young adults.
“Moments like this bring a tear to my eye because we sometimes have a kid coming in, maybe from a complicated life situation and then ends up with a main role in Kynren and it’s wonderful to see them grow up like that.”
Anna has been involved in Kynren since the beginning, having started as director of cavalry and estates. She never intended to rise through the ranks to become CEO but now she is in this position, she is driven and determined to lay the foundations for its exciting future.
“I’m so passionate about this and I would do anything to make sure that Kynren was okay. I now have this opportunity to be a guardian for many years to come, and for my kid’s future to be here.”
Beth Williams
Senior Digital Executive
Beth is our Senior Digital Executive and can be credited with how everything at HLN ‘looks’ – from the website to our social media and twice-weekly emails. She’s also the super organised one in the team and keeps us all on-track. A born and bred scouser, Beth moved to Newcastle…
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