Posted: 8th June 2022 | Back to news feed
A riding school close to Newport, Pembrokeshire has become the latest equestrian establishment to become an Accessibility Mark accredited centre.
Based in the village of Dinas Cross, Havard Stables offers riding lessons for all ages and abilities and was opened in 2001 by Hannah Mcloughlin and her family.
The centre has been providing lessons for disabled riders for a number of years through their Wellbeing Sessions and during lockdown Hannah and her team stepped in to provide a base for North Pembrokeshire and Cardigan RDA when they had to leave their current premises after it closed down.
Having become home to an RDA Group, Hannah decided to put Havard Stables forward for Accessibility Mark accreditation after reading about the scheme in the RDA Rulebook.
Accessibility Mark status is awarded to a riding centre that has been approved by the RDA following training and assessment. The close link with the RDA means that it can offer continuous support to the establishment to ensure it provides a first-class experience that aims to be hugely beneficial to riders of varying levels of disability.
The RDA Group based at Havard Stables is completely separate to the riding school but the Accessibility Mark accreditation means that the staff and volunteers at Havard can safely and confidently deliver riding lessons to disabled riders, who attend the commercial riding school.
Hannah is looking forward to integrating Accessibility Mark sessions into the weekly calendar at the stables.
Said Hannah: “It was wonderful to be able to welcome North Pembrokeshire and Cardigan RDA Group to our yard and for their team to recognise that we had suitable horses and ponies for disabled riders. This inspired me to think about gaining Accessibility Mark accreditation for the riding school.
“Having the support of such a well-respected organisation is invaluable and I very much look forward to being able to access RDA Education Pathways for our riders.
“Some of our Accessibility Mark riders who regularly attend for lessons from a local residential home have already achieved their RDA Endeavour Award.”
For more information about Accessibility Mark sessions at Havard Stables please contact Hannah Mcloughlin on 01348 811452 or email: enquiries@havardstables.co.uk
There are currently 54 Accessibility Mark-approved centres across the country.
To find your nearest RDA Group or Accessibility Mark centre visit www.rda.org.uk
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