GHP 2018 Animal & Wellness Awards

16 GHP / 2018 Animal & Wellness Awards , Supporting predominantly local riders, Barguse Riding Centre works with riders of all ages and abilities and specialise in dealing with children and adults who have learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health issues. With such a diverse array of riders and horses, the team works hard to offer a unique, tailored approach to teaching, as Lisa explains. “At Barguse Riding Centre we take a holistic view and realise that riding is important but being around horses can have positive benefits too. Riders may have all types of emotional and physical issues and we work with each one to achieve a positive outcome or goal regardless of how small. We pride ourselves on offering instructors that can sign and understand those with sensory processing issues. The fact that many of our horses have had a bad start or background of health issues means people can relate to them. We can highlight that despite being abandoned or neglected they now have a great quality of life and more importantly a purpose and function.” Alongside supporting its riders, the team at the centre focus heavily on horse welfare, something Lisa is keen to emphasise. “For everyone here at Barguse Riding Centre, the welfare of our horses is paramount and coaching people is a passion. The driving motivator for us; is to understand why customers want lessons in the first place. Whether it is fitness, social or health reasons, improving their riding skills or just for fun, it is important we implement sessions that answer those needs whilst AH180015 Best Horse Riding School - Cornwall Based in picturesque Cornwall, Barguse Riding Centre is committed to delivering high quality riding lessons for all ages and abilities. We invited Lisa Todd to tell us more about the riding school and the range of services it provides. using that time to try and educate. Working with large, unpredictable animals means health and safety is a priority. Often, we do not know much about their backgrounds, so we have an assessment programme where we evaluate each one and implement a training regime based on our observations. Our team need to understand the behaviour of horses and the signs they give based on a situation and that comes down to experience. “As part of our commitment to equine welfare, we take in horses from charities such as the Blue Cross with the aim of giving them a useful role in the school and to help reduce the burden that charities currently face. At present, we have five which we have retrained. In addition, we take horses that for various reasons, owners do not want or with conditions they cannot afford to pay for. This may mean having to modify their workload and managing the condition accordingly, but all have a home for life. As a Pony Club and BHS centre we feel duty bound to promote welfare alongside the riding. We want people to realise why horses come to be abandoned or need help because of lack of knowledge and indiscriminate breeding. We are keen for people to have fun and experience our unique sport. If we can educate them at the same time in the reality of horse ownership, then that can only be an added bonus. For it’s at grass root level that education needs to start so that less horses end up in charities and more horses enjoy the kind of care that they require and deserve.” Overall, Lisa and her team at Barguse Riding Centre have big plans to continue to educate their riders and visitors and help improve horse welfare, which she proudly outlines in her concluding comments. “Looking ahead, we are very positive with regards our future, we are creating a sensory ride which all riders can enjoy but will particularly appeal to those with sensory needs and learning difficulties through our charity, Barguse Charitable Trust. The organisation was established to provide riding sessions to those who could not afford to access this sport; our continued fundraising efforts mean more bottoms in saddles. “Additionally, further horses from the Blue Cross are in the pipeline. The trainability and versatility of the ones we already have and an upgrade to our facilities will enable us to further our links with schools and help deliver national programmes that focus on mental health and getting teenagers to engage with the outside world. This will allow us to further flourish and better serve both our horses and riders.” Company: Barguse Riding Centre Contact: Lisa Todd Address: The Grange, Lockengate, Saint Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8RU, UK Phone: 01208 831817 Website: www.barguse.co.uk Barguse Riding Centre