London Riding Schools snaffle up Mayor’s Legacy Funding

London’s riding schools are to offer subsidized training at all levels thanks to the Mayor’s Legacy Skills Investment fund.


The opportunity was identified by the British Equestrian Federation and presented to members of the London Horse Network, a group supported by the BEF’s HOOF Ride London Olympic Legacy project.

BEF London representative David Gadsby says, “The ‘Mayor’s Legacy’ appeared to be almost too good to be true, paying up to 75% of the course cost in return for the candidate volunteering in the community, giving a win-win situation for candidates, riding schools and the London community.”

With the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) already offering an established training route for volunteers - to suit even those with no equestrian or special needs experience, so the Greater London region has delivered Mayor’s Legacy courses this spring with funding exceeding £5000.

Chair of the Greater London RDA, Diane Jeffries says, "This is a great initiative to encourage those considering volunteering, giving them the skills to be able to support their community and even our volunteers with more than 35years experience have been able to benefit from training part-funded by the Mayor's Legacy Skills Investment fund."

And a further six London riding centres are following suit with a raft of courses to encourage all levels including training towards Pony Club badges, BHS exams, ABRS qualifications, RDA awards, first aid to fundraising skills and even cross-country course building.

Jodie Maile, volunteer chair of the London Horse Network says, “The Network put forward some innovative training that would benefit the community by enabling new and established riders to develop and encourage non-riders including parents, friends and individuals to gain a greater understanding and enjoy being part of the sport, confidently able to contribute directly to the sport either on a yard or in a supportive role, rather than just watching from the sidelines.”

Hence transferable skills such as first aid, fire marshalling and fund-raising are among the courses on offer.

David continues, “The potential of this funding is huge as candidates can reside anywhere in the country with the only condition being that the minimum 20hours of volunteering, akin to work experience, is conducted in London, and in return 75% of the course cost will be met by the Mayor’s Legacy.”

For a full list of supporting riding schools and courses on offer register your details with Jodie Maile at jodievm@aol.com while details of forthcoming courses will be available via http://www.hoof-in-town.com/ and on the HOOF Facebook page.