City Riding School Visit

Image courtesy of Mia Benton

Summerfield Stables is a charity local to Birmingham that provides riding lessons and access to horses to people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The centre prides itself on its equality, diversity and inclusivity and is accessed by many with a long waiting list of clients waiting to access its services. It is a vital part of its young peoples social and emotional development and they work closely with local authorities and outreach to help as many young people as they can.

The recent visit from Lydia Heywood was nothing short of inspirational for the young people at Summerfield. Not only did they get to see representation of someone diverse in the sport but they also had the chance to be coached by someone riding at international level. Lydia spent all day with our riders talking to those of all different ages and abilities.

Lydia, who works for Howden Insurance, and is also the founder of Cool Ridings, really took her time to coach, analyse and assess the riders to and discuss their suitability for alignment on a training day with The Howden Way. This programme would allow Summerfield riders to access additional training at a higher level as well as further opportunities within the sport. Summerfield and Lydia are looking to align in the future to bring in finances, opportunities and the beginning of some strong futures for the young people who access the stables.

Funding is limited and Summerfield struggle to facilitate everyone needing to access its services so working together on projects like this to raise awareness and further opportunities for the Summerfield riders is extremely important. The alignment with Lydia is very exciting and we cannot wait to see more from this partnership.

Written by Mia Benton