“AT THE beginning, we had a child with cerebral palsy. It had taken some time for her to have the confidence to go on a ride, until one day she slid off the pony. She was crying, and we sorted her out.
“We took her back to mum straight away – and she went, ‘That’s incredible!’”
After nine years of leading the Saddleworth Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), the young girl who slid off her horse remains one of Alison Pickering’s strongest memories.
The charity group had only been going for a year, she says, and it had never happened before.
“But it’s never left me,” she says of the moment she spoke to the girl’s mother. “Because then she went, ‘My child has been wrapped up in a cocoon all her life.’
“‘She’s never been allowed to fall, she’s never been allowed to fail. We protect her constantly, she’s totally wrapped up all the time.’
“‘But falling off ponies is what other little girls do. And she never gets to do what other little girls do.’”
It was a sobering moment, she continues. “And that totally changed my perception of what we were doing and the impact we were having, not just on the rider, but on the wider family.”
Alison co-founded the Saddleworth RDA back in 2017 after seeing the number of local children who couldn’t attend traditional riding schools due to their disabilities.
She says it started informally, but then attracted so much interest she joined the national RDA as an official charity organisation.
Nearly a decade later, the group is entirely volunteer-led, and now welcomes dozens of youngsters from the region. Based at a farm in Diggle, the group also boasts a mechanical horse housed at Croft End Leisure Centre.
It houses a mechanical horse, which the team uses to give children riding lessons. For many, it is the first time they will have ever had the opportunity.
With time came further such opportunities, including the chance to take children out on real horses throughout Saddleworth’s countryside, thanks to the generosity of local horse owners.
“We’re a very small charity,” Alison says. “We don’t own any of our ponies. We rely on the goodwill of the fantastic people who allow us to use their horses, but they also enjoy seeing their horses giving back and doing something for someone else.”
The RDA supports more than 39,000 children and adults across the country, with a further 4,000 on a waiting list to start.
A report from the group last year showed that 88 per cent of riders saw improved balance and coordination skills after sessions, and that 32 per cent now felt they had a ‘very high’ life satisfaction – compared to just five per cent of the wider disabled population.
“If we class it as a sport, it’s a very accessible one,” says Saddleworth coach Holly Roots, who has been with the group since 2019, and worked as a volunteer for three years before becoming a coach.
Along with husband Paul, himself a volunteer trustee, she describes her work as a positive way of giving back to the community.
“It’s difficult to pinpoint one moment,” she says. “Every single week there’s something. Last Saturday, we put somebody on the back of a pony for the first time and the whole way up and down the lane he was going, ‘This is amazing!’
“The week before, we had a girl with spina bifida – she was paralysed from the waist down – and her mum had to lift her onto the horse. She was completely in tears at first, but five minutes later, she had the biggest grin on her face.
“There’s just something every time you go that shows you what difference you’re making.”
Paul agrees: “It’s really rewarding when you see a participant finally take the plunge and get on the horse. It wouldn’t be unfair to say sometimes a participant comes into the room, and you’re scratching your head and thinking there’s no way they’ll get on.
“Sometimes all they need is silence and patience. So then it’s really rewarding to see them make that decision for themselves and feel brave enough.
“We’ve got all sorts of ideas on how we can make our sessions more interactive, especially with the mechanical horse. I’m looking forward to seeing how that works, and if the idea in our heads will be as good for the participants as it is for us.”
Following on from National Volunteers Week (June 1-7), Saddleworth RDA is as keen as ever to welcome more volunteers to their team. With many owners ready to lend their horses, the team is quick to emphasise that there is a range of ways to offer support.
“We’ve got a list of participants, and we just need a little bit more support to be able to ensure they can all have access to our sessions,” Alison says.
“[There is] mucking out, grooming, and being hands-on with the ponies, but there are so many roles you could almost create your own. We’d love to have more enquiries about people interested in coaching, but if someone were interested in event organising or something else remote, or if they’re really keen on fundraising, that would be lovely.
“We’re all volunteers, all giving up our time, but it’s something we have a passion for,” she continues. “Working with horses and working with disabled people has been absolutely fantastic.”
If you’d like to find out more about volunteering with Saddleworth RDA, please email saddleworthrda@gmail.com or call 07768 986031.
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