Raising aspirations through riding

Based in south London, Ebony Horse Club provides subsidised riding lessons to disadvantaged children and young people who are facing significant challenges in their lives and who wouldn’t normally be able to afford them. In taking riding lessons, children are taught important life skills, and the charity raises their well-being and aspirations.

How does it work?

Ebony Horse Club provides riding lessons to children and young people from Brixton, one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the UK and an area in which few children are able to enjoy positive interactions with animals. At Ebony Horse Club, children take riding lessons, enjoy days out and go on residential camps. Where appropriate, they also receive mentoring to raise their aspirations, broaden their horizons and help them cope with challenges in their home lives, social lives or at school.

Riding lessons at Ebony Horse Club have enormous benefits to these disadvantaged children and young people. Grace, aged 13, comments: “Ebony Horse Club is a place where you can escape from problems at school and in your social life because you just think about what is just through the gate and what is around you, instead of thinking about what’s happened.” Another member, aged 10, says, “Learning to ride has helped me at school because it has taught me to be patient and listen to instructions”.

How we’re helping

In March 2015, Petplan Charitable Trust awarded Ebony Horse Club a grant of £7,500 to help with the charity’s running costs. This grant has enabled the charity to continue its excellent work, providing 5,963 riding lessons for around 400 children and young people in 2015.

72% of those who rode with Ebony Horse Club came from within a mile of its community riding centre in Brixton, just under 80% of whom are from black and minority ethnic communities, showing that it maintained its focus on supporting the local community. What’s more, the most represented neighbourhood among young riders is Coldharbour, which is one of the top 10% most deprived areas in England and Wales. 26% of young riders have a disability or special educational need, while 73% live in social or council housing. The charity gave riding lessons to an equal number of boys and girls, in contrast with the largely female demographic of the wider equestrian community.

As well as riding lessons, the charity was able to continue its high-impact youth work support, through which the club directly supports young people who are facing challenges that could risk their physical and mental wellbeing, as well as their future aspirations and ambitions.

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