We were delighted to welcome Elaine Wales, Community Liaison Coordinator, from John Lewis Partnership to the Riding Centre one sunny afternoon in April to present us with a cheque for £1,000.
We do not receive any government funding so awards like this enable us to continue to ride over 140 children per year. Children like Ruby below. Any sport is difficult to access for children with a disability and Ruby loves coming to us.
Ruby, her mother told me, was born with neurone migration disorder (a rare condition where her brain didn't develop normally). As a result, she has high muscle tone and limited selective muscle control in her arms and legs. She is nonverbal and tube fed, is unable to sit independently and has difficulty holding her head up for long periods. Ruby needs a wheel chair to get around and various equipment and therapy such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and dietetics to keep her fit and healthy. She also has complex epilepsy, called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which causes involuntary spasms and some vacant episodes.
Despite all these challenges Ruby is a happy girl and very social and loves to try new things. Her mother added "especially if she gets attention whilst she is doing it".
Ruby`s smile show just how much she loves riding at BDHRA and she certainly brings a smile to all of the volunteers too !