TELEVISION presenter Clare Balding was guest of honour to officially cut the ribbon and open a new community hub for Saddleworth Riding for the Disabled Association.
The group has been based at Saddleworth Stables in Diggle for about one year but has just completed the hub thanks to funding from local organisations.
They received £4,000 from Bags of Help via Tesco and Groundwork to build the hub while another £1,300 from Saddleworth Round Table enabled them to kit it out.
It was officially opened by Ms Balding, who has been an RDA patron for 10 years and is a big supporter of their work up and down the country.
Her children’s book, The Racehorse Who Learned To Dance, features the RDA and its role in helping overcoming adversity and following your dreams.
Ms Balding said: “I first went to my local RDA to help when I was about 16 so have known about the good work they do for a long time!
“The work the Saddleworth RDA does here is fantastic and it’s great to hear they are going to start helping more children in schools.
“There are so many ways we can benefit from working with horses and ponies – there is the responsibility of looking after them as well as the feeling of being rewarded when you work with them and build relationships.
“Volunteers play a huge part and it’s great to see how much they get out of it as well as the riders.
“The hub is a fantastic idea and will be a huge benefit for the group. I’m delighted to officially declare it open.”
Other special guests included: Phil Treaton, Groundwork (Bags of Help); Sheila Saner, NW Region RDA; Gill Petty, NW Region RDA; Andrew Rothwell, chairman of Saddleworth Round Table; Matthew Sykes, Saddleworth Round Table’s community projects officer; Sally Jones, Saddleworth RDA Trustee and treasurer; and Michael Pickering, Saddleworth RDA Safeguarding.
The hub boasts seating and tables and is adorned with photos of the group’s three ponies, Ludo, Tank and Dylan, as well as certificates the riders have won.
Alison Pickering, Saddleworth RDA chairperson, explained: “This offers a warm, dry space where riders can wait and watch or for parents to gather – a real community spot.
“Nigel and Carol at Saddleworth Stables have made us very welcome and we’ve been using the arena, which is incredible, for a while but have just finished the community hub.
“We’ve been here for a year and it has been a transitional year getting used to a new venue, new volunteers and ponies.
“We wanted something special to mark the opening of the community hub so getting a celebrity like Clare down is great.”
The hub will be used by the group’s 27 riders and nearly 30 volunteers when its holds lessons at the arena on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Volunteers also get hands on to muck out and clean every day of the year, even Christmas Day, while riders work hard to prepare to compete in the NW Regional Show.
Alison added: “Every helps out differently and does as much as they can. We try to get everybody involved and have no boundaries.
“We cater for disabilities including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, hearing or vision loss, hypermobility, ADHD and autism. We even have adults on mobility scooters leading the horses.
“The riders are out in the open so they can enjoy the elements and the countryside. As well as being in the arena, they ride out in the fields to engage with the environment too.
“That helps the young people understand sights and sounds and is part of the challenge and experience for the riders.
“The ponies seem to understand the riders and you can see they enjoy their work.
“We’re also starting to work more with schools and getting children involved through the D of E awards.”
• Find out more about Saddleworth RDA on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/saddleworthRDA/
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