Staff and volunteers at St James City Farm are celebrating after completing the first year of the Riding School based in Tredworth, sale Gloucester.
The Riding School was launched formally launched by BBC ‘Countryfile’ presenter Adam Henson a year ago, rx but the establishment of the school itself was the result of many years of groundwork beforehand by volunteers who wanted to use interaction with horses as a means of personal and career development for young people, something out of reach for most children from the inner-city.
The Friendship Café, a registered charity established for many years, and who manage the St James City Farm & Riding School, had been taking children on pony treks on an ad-hoc basis but there was always the desire by children to learn more.
With the help of Gloucestershire County Council and the charity ‘Wooden Spoon’, there was a concerted team effort to build a riding arena and stables in the inner-city, the first of it’s kind in the South West, which saw fruition and the first batch of students in January 2015. Over the course of 12 months, over 150 children have had a chance to learn about riding and care, most of them for the very first time. Local schools are also sending their children and the venue has seen demonstrations by mounted police officers amongst others.
Tim Miller, a parent-volunteer whose 13 year old daughter Brogan attends said: “My daughter has learnt so much over the past few months. She has always wanted to learn riding but we wouldn’t have been able to afford it. She volunteers regularly and it has taught her discipline and responsibility”.
The riding school has also just been awarded the approval of the British Horse Society, following a rigorous inspection process to ensure safety and welfare standards for both students and ponies are up to a high standard.
The project is overseen by a senior Riding Instructor, Sam Goss, who has many years of training people here and overseas, from beginners to international competitors, as well as a small team of volunteers and staff who work a rota throughout the week.
The project continues to enjoy the support of Olympian Emile Faurie, who is a firm believer in giving every child the chance to learn to ride, and the UK Pony Racing Authority has also selected the school to be one of only three pilot schemes across the country to run a jockey-training scheme. It is hoped that later this year, a handful of children will be taking part in a race in Cheltenham Racecourse, competing with children from across the country. This particular area of development was the idea of Edward Gillespie, former managing Director of Cheltenham Racecourse who is determined to see more children from different backgrounds have a chance to enter the racing world.
The project is now also making links with Hartpury College and established riding schools, as a means of career, volunteer and training development for young people and this year has seen financial support by the Police Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire and the Gloucestershire Community Foundation as well as organisations and businesses such as Countrywide Stores and Gloucester City Homes.
For more information, contact Sam Goss or Imran Atcha
imran@thefriendshipcafe.com 01452308127 or 07977022393
sam@thefriendshipcafe.com 07875311983