On Wednesday 8th July the Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Mrs Helen Nellis, attended Willington Riding Centre and presented us with a certificate and a stunning glass paperwork with the Queen`s Award insignia. Mrs Nellis presented the official certificate, signed by the Queen, to Mrs Sue Hayhurst who has been a volunteer for 39 Years. Mrs Nellis presented the glass trophy to Mrs Helen Dunster who has been a volunteer for 36 years.
The Queen`s Award is all about volunteering - it is the highest accolade a volunteers group can receive, it is the MBE for volunteers. Mrs Nellis read out a commendation from the Queen in which she specifically thanked the Godber family, The Twigden Family and Mrs Jean Bedford MBE for their involvement in the charity, but her most expressive thanks were to the volunteers who give up their time each week to ensure that "riding days are always happy days". Mrs Nellis said " Bedford and District Handicapped Riders Association is an exceptionally well-run, high quality, organisation and represents the very best example of how well co-ordinated and dedicated volunteers can make a genuine impact on their local community. I give my personal congratulations to them and all the wonderful team of volunteers who have worked so hard to achieve this honour".
We feel immensely proud to have been singled out in this way. Now we will be able to use the Queen`s Award logo in our applications for funding and it will certainly help us. We receive no public funding and rely entirely on voluntary contributions to cover our annual running costs of approximately £26,000.