EMR Mitcham, based on Willow Lane, was keen to support a local charity which would benefit young people and chose to partner with The Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders.
As a result, the Diamond Centre is especially grateful to EMR Mitcham for their generous donation of £1,000 for the purchase of riding hats for our riders.
All riders at Diamond have some form of physical disability or learning difficulty. The centre charges modest fees for lessons and all riding lessons and activities for participants are heavily subsidised by the centre.
Many of the riders have limited financial means and some families would find riding too expensive if it were not subsidised. One of the ways the centre helps the riders is by providing riding hats and boots as these can be expensive items. Riders can borrow equipment for each lesson but unfortunately these items, especially the hats, wear out and do need replacing regularly.
Riding hats are essential for rider safety and their use is carefully controlled and subject to regulatory standards. At the moment the centre is faced with new standards being introduced in 2023 and has embarked on a rolling renewal programme to replace the current hats with those that meet the new standard.
The donation from EMR has meant Diamond has been able to purchase 15 new hats which is especially appreciated by our regular riders, instructors and volunteers.
Therapeutic horse riding makes a huge difference to the lives of our riders and one of the riding groups to benefit from the EMR donation comes from The Link Secondary School, based in Beddington. The Link provides a specialist, quality education for children and young people aged 4 to 18, with speech, language and communication needs including autistic spectrum conditions.
Each week six riders from Years 8-10 at The Link ride at Diamond. Horse riding plays an important part in their learning and helps develop self-esteem and confidence plus an appreciation and respect for others. The riders look forward to their regular weekly lesson and the staff have noted that they are much calmer and have improved concentration at school.
Stuart Smith, a teacher at The Link has noticed a marked improvement in all the students who ride with Diamond and says “the quality of teaching and therapy provided at Diamond is excellent and is of great value to the education of our students. The school appreciates the support from EMR which allows our students to benefit from their experience at Diamond and to continue to ride safely”.
Here is what the students have to say:
- Lily aged twelve is a student at The Link and rides regularly at Diamond finds that “riding a horse makes me feel happy and I like it”.
- Thirteen-year-old Luke says that “riding on a horse makes me kind of scared but happy”.
- First time rider Kade, who is twelve years old, said “I’ve never ridden before, and it feels great on a horse”.
Steve Axon, Chair of Trustees at Diamond commented that “the centre has over 200 young riders and they will all benefit in some way with the support from EMR Mitcham. As a local charity we rely heavily on the generosity of companies in our community and we are therefore especially grateful that EMR has chosen to partner with us on this project.”
Sam Taylor, EMR Commercial Manager said: “Physical activities are an important part of every young person’s development, meaning that the riding lessons that the team at the Diamond Centre provide are invaluable. We look forward to seeing the wonderful experience that the young people have at the centre.”
