Riding For The Disabled Receives Donation from Royal Arch Masons
A donation of £500 was made by the Oakley Chapter of Royal Arch Masons to the Riding For the Disabled at their premises in Dummer.
The cheque was presented by Grant Chivers, the recent head of this section of local Freemasons founded in Basingstoke in1861, that operate from the Masonic Centre in Victoria Street, at the Top of Town.
Keith Hall, a trustee of this local branch of RDA, with its full name of Wellington & Dummer Riding for the Disabled, commented:
“This contribution will be used to help meet our running costs, mostly feed for the ponies. We also need to replace some wood on the ramp used by wheelchairs. We do not have fixed fees for our riders. Our funding comes from voluntary contributions, fundraising activities, and we are grateful for donations, such as this one from Freemasons.”
He added. “It would be good to see some more volunteers as we need as much support as we can get to help with our lessons or helping with stable activities.”
The stables at Wellington Riding are used on Thursdays for some activities while most are carried out at Dummer where the ponies are stabled on the land and facilities that are provided by owner Trish Willats.
The group champions Hippotherapy sessions at Dummer. This is a form of physical therapy that uses the natural gait and movement of a horse to provide riders with motor and sensory input thereby strengthening and stretching muscles and improving balance.
