DISABLED schoolgirl Emma Suttle has got stronger and more confident thanks to a riding school that has just been handed a £50,000 funding windfall.
Despite suffering from cerebral palsy, the nine-year-old of Meon Close in Springfield, Chelmsford, has been riding two horses at the Barrow Farm disabled riding school in Highwood, near Writtle, for two years.
The school, which also teaches disabled people carriage-driving, has just been handed a £49,000 grant from Sport England to help repair its leaky roof over the indoor riding area and its worn-out floor.
Emma, who rides for an hour each week, admitted the riding school could do with a facelift, adding: "It's a bit dark in there."
But she also said: "I think my life would be worse off without the horses."
Her mum Joanne says the school has helped boost her daughter's confidence and make her much stronger as her condition means her left side is very weak, which can make walking difficult.
"We've been lucky and haven't been riding when there's that much rain," she said, speaking of the holes in the roof.
"But it is a quite an old building and it needs updating.
"Emma loves it; it's the highlight of her week coming here.
"It's helped to build up her confidence and her muscles around her hips. She was not into horses before this, but now she's obsessed by them.
"I think she struggled to find other interests, but this has given her a drive.
"Barrow Farm has been a fantastic place for us."
The charity was founded in 1976 and its indoor riding school was opened by Princess Anne in 1984.
It caters for around 130 riders each week and costs around £100,000 a year to run with only a handful of full-time employees, although more than 100 volunteers help to keep it afloat.
Their famous resident Peter, a 32-year-old former Blue Peter pony, retired a year ago after 24 years' service at the school.
Another disabled rider, Molly Mills, 21, who suffers from myotonic dystrophy and is from Brentwood, added: "It has helped with my social skills and confidence."
The centre's manager and co-founder Anne Mitchell said: "The centre was built in 1981.
"The grant was specific to repair the roof as all the rivets are leaking.
"If we did not get the money, we would have really struggled in winter.
"We had to put pots in the riding school and it's not very easy to ride round and the floor is uneven.
"A floor has a certain life and we feel that it's at the end of its life. We need to have the right sort of floor so that it's safe for our riders and staff to walk on.
"We are more than very happy – we're thrilled to bits."
To find out more information on Barrow Farm Riding for the Disabled, which is always looking for volunteers, visit www.barrowfarmrda.org.uk or call 01277 822927.
