News, Notes & Neighs
Here’s some of the latest news from our centre…
An electric welcome!
This isn’t just any gate – it’s a brand-new electric gate newly installed on our drive all thanks to Parking Facilities. This means that now when you arrive at our centre you won’t have to get out of your vehicle to open the gate; just drive straight up to gate and it will open for you, welcoming you to our centre!
We can’t thank Parking Facilities enough for this brilliant addition to our centre, making life easier for everyone, but especially for participants with additional needs.
Happy Easter everyone, and happy easy drive-in access on your next visit!!
31/3/24
Adventures Away from Home
We’ve had an amazing time over the last few weeks running activity days for young people with additional needs as part of ‘Adventure Away from Home’ funded by UK Youth.
In total 36 young people have had their first encounters with horses, spending the day at our centre having adventures, learning & fun.
Our horses have been their usual brilliant selves, making sure everyone had a day to remember.
30/3/24
New loos in use!
Our fantastic new toilets have a 5 horseshoe rating - see how April checked them out ready for the grand official opening!
Huge thanks to the Severn Trent Community Fund and the Bernard Sunley Foundation for funding this project. Special thanks to Sue from Severn Trent who joined rider Gemma to perform the official opening!
22/3/24
Club sessions at SHC
Our Tuesday evening Saddle Club; a whole evening of pony fun & learning followed by cake and chat - what better way is there to spend your time?
This club for riders with additional needs provides opportunities to develop skills both in & out the saddle as well as time to socialise & have fun!
Many thanks to The Boshier Hinton Foundation for helping us establish this club session at our centre.
Watch out for more club sessions coming soon, thanks to funding from the David Solomons Charitable Trust and the Hedley Foundation
7/2/24
Premier Nutrition back for more!
How brilliant are the team from Premier Nutrition. Having already spent a day painting for us back in June they've been back at the centre this week painting the arena fencing. They've done an amazing job - closely supervised by Cody!!!
Huge thanks to you all!
30/7/23
North Midlands RDA at the Championships
Have a read about how groups from the North midlands got on at the RDA National Championships - some great mentions of Scropton RDA!
25/7/23
Severn Trent to the rescue!
We're celebrating the generosity of @severntrent who are funding the complete refurbishment of the toilets at our centre.
After 30 years of constant use they are more than ready for replacement and the Severn Trent Community Fund have come to our rescue! We're looking forward to the installation of smart new water efficient facilities that will be easy to clean and more comfortable for everyone.
We have to wait a bit for our plumber to be available to fit them, but we're delighted that we'll have date in our diary soon for this to happen.
25/7/23
Championship Success!
Wow - what a brilliant weekend we had at the RDA National Championships. Over 3 days we had 6 riders taking part in dressage, showjumping and the countryside challenge. For all but one this was their first time riding at this event ; a huge step on from riding at our centre.
We couldn’t be prouder of how they all performed. Not only is the Championships a huge event with a lot of atmosphere, but the weather threw in extra challenges with heavy rain, high winds and even thunder & lightening. Our riders weren’t deterred and rode at their best. Competition was fierce with RDA riders competing from all over the UK, but we had some really positive feedback from judges and a good share of rosettes.
Congratulations to Chloe D on her 2nd and 5th in Grade 1 Dressage, Ruby who also came 2nd in her class and Emma 3rd in hers. Matty, Chloe P and Danielle, our showjumping team, got some great scores with Chloe P achieving 4th in her class. Danielle’s Countryside Challenge ride was delayed but the storms and took place in the rain but she got a great score only just missing out on being placed.
Chloe D received a gold medal for coming 1st in her grade in the online Dressage Anywhere Championships which were held by video earlier in the year.
Scropton rider Matt D was awarded RDA UK Volunteer of the Year for the work he does in publicity for our RDA region and RDA UK.
Huge thanks go to horses Cody and Hercules who performed brilliantly throughout the weekend, to the staff & volunteers who supported our riders in both preparation and at the event ,and not forgetting everyone who helped with funding to make the trip to the championships possible.
What a brilliant time for Team Scropton! We’re looking forward to next year’s championships already!
17/7/23
Goodbye Zeus
This weekend we have had to say a very sad goodbye to our beloved Zeus. Late Saturday he developed colic and at the grand old age of 30 he wasn’t able to fight it.
Zeus has been at our centre for almost 20 years and has been a firm favourite since he first arrived. Countless riders, both RDA and mainstream, have ridden him over the years, falling in love with his looks, character and ability. He could be the gentlest pony with a new and nervous rider but could step up for a great ride for those more advanced. He loved people and the busyness of Scropton life, and enjoyed his down time with the varying members of our pony team over the years.
When he reached an age to retire from riding, we thought he would have a peaceful retirement in a lush green field, but it was soon apparent that he missed all the activity so he came back to the centre to take part in ground based sessions and was a real favourite for horse care and agility activities. Right up until his last day he was enjoying being with people and helping them to get the most out of their time at the centre.
We are indebted to the late Mr.Stokes and his family for the long term loan of Zeus to our centre. We have loved having him here and through your generosity many hundreds of people have benefitted from knowing Zeus and spending time with him.
We will all miss him deeply; there is a Zeus shaped hole in our centre now, but he lived a long and amazing life and helped so many people to improve their own lives. He may be gone, but his legend will live on.
12/6/23
