Londoner's called up for last chance to volunteer for Olympics 2012

As the closing date for volunteering for the London 2012 Olympic Games looms, Londoner’s, in particular, are being encouraged to sign up before it is too late.


By signing up before 27th October 2010, ‘Games Makers’ or volunteers can still opt out or apply for paid roles but if they fail to complete the online application process now they could miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime altogether.

Jodie Maile, chairperson of the London Horse Network, supported by the British Equestrian Federation HOOF Ride London Olympic Legacy project, has made contact with the Network members to encourage them to sign up saying, “By volunteering, people from London will have a real opportunity to be a part of the Olympic Games and it will inspire them to continue to develop the legacy the Olympics will bring for equestrian sport in our capital city and beyond.”

While the application process includes sections for people to both input their experience level and the kind of roles they would like to undertake, the London Horse Network has also been asked to inform the process to ensure that the city’s equestrian community is fully represented.

Tim Hadaway, Director of Equestrian Sport for the Olympics, explains, “Equestrianism is a specialist sport and by allocating roles appropriately, we will be able to provide the riders, the horses and the volunteers with an unforgettable experience, and it'll be great to have as many local people from the London equestrian community sharing in that too.”

To volunteer or for more information please visit http://www.london2012.com/

Get off the sofa and into the saddle with new campaign from HOOF

Enter a competition to win five riding lessons at http://www.hoof-in-town.com/index-competition.php 

 

Hoof, the British Equestrian Federation’s legacy to the London 2012 Olympic Games today launches a new campaign – Hoof it to Health – to get people off the sofa and onto horse back as one of London’s healthiest outdoors sports for any age or fitness level.

The new online video for the campaign explains the benefits: http://www.hoof-in-town.com/health/video.php

“Horse riding can burn as many calories as jogging, tones and strengthens your core muscle groups, is a great way to get fit and at the same time, enjoy the psychological benefits of being outdoors in partnership with a horse,” says Lynne Munro, Chair of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Therapeutic Riding.

“Riding is proven to help everyone but also benefits people with physical and mental challenges. Every step a horse takes, the rider must rebalance their body resulting in continual muscle, posture and balance adjustments even in walk. Once a rider is able to move up a pace, they not only continue to tone muscles in this way, the whole cardiovascular system gets working.  We have many examples of people whose fitness, strength and mental abilities have been vastly improved through horse riding.” Concludes Lynne Munro.

Andrew Finding, Chief Executive of the British Equestrian Federation says;” We are building a lasting legacy to the London 2012 Olympic Games for the equestrian industry by investing in expanding riding facilities in selected London riding centres and through this campaign, to get more people off the sofa and into horse riding as a great way to get and keep fit.”

Hoof has teamed up with the Riding for the Disabled Association www.rda.org.uk/ and Vauxhall City Farm www.vauxhallcityfarm.org to launch this campaign in the heart of London. Vauxhall City Farm runs a Riding Therapy Centre working with RDA to enable people with disabilities to ride and also offering riding to disadvantaged children in the local community. It is also a British Horse Society approved centre and a Pony Club centre.  Hoof is also a partner of Go London – the Change 4 Life campaign.

In addition to this campaign, Hoof is working to make riding in London more accessible through financial investments to help riding schools develop their facilities and offer more riding opportunities to Londoners.

For more information on Hoof, visit www.hoof-in-town.co.uk



London Horse Network puts funding as priority

The first meeting of the London Horse Network under new chairman, Jodie Maile, identified funding as the Network’s priority.


Facilitated by the British Equestrian Federation’s HOOF-Ride London project to create a legacy for equestrian sport in response to London as home to the Olympic Games 2012, the Network brought together professionals from riding schools and livery yards to instructors, charity-run city farms and RDA centres as well as representatives of funding organisations and government bodies responsible for developing sport in the city.

Jodie said, “A short discussion session to identify the key needs of the Network demonstrated a wealth of experience a valuable insight into the differing approaches of the Network members to combat similar challenges.”

With accessing funding identified as one of the priorities of the network, the meeting moved on to talks from Mary-Ann Horne of the Emilie Faurie Foundation, Kelly Smith of the Pro-Active Network and Katie Couchman of the Mayor’s Legacy, outlining funding available through the initiatives they represent.

“It is a good start”, remarked Jackie Cheeseman, manager of Mudchute Equestrian Centre, generous host for the meeting and a fine example of a well-presented, professional facility in the heart of the city.

BEF London Representative, David Gadsby, then proposed an action plan following the outcome of this first meeting and said, “Although the plan is for the Network to meet quarterly to both review progress and identify future projects, HOOF-Ride London will set up a series of workshops. Helping the Network file viable applications for funding will be a matter of priority.”

Network members were then invited to put themselves forward to lead, particularly, the funding project.

David concluded, “Organisations seeking funding need to be in it to win it. Day-to-day business pressures aside, much of the funding identified is only available for a limited time so it is imperative that the members work together and take ownership of the network project for their aims to be achieved.

“I am confident there are people within the Network with ample expertise to do just that”, he added.