Perry RDA Ltd has recently changed from charity number 1074005 to a Company Limited by Guarantee charity number 1163030. The Group currently helps over 70 disabled individuals each week to access therapeutic riding, carriage driving, hippo therapy (physiotherapy on horseback) and equestrian vaulting. Many personal testimonials to the benefit each individual obtains from these activities are on file and the Trustees know that many more individuals could be helped in similar ways if there was simply a covered arena. Over 1200 individual sessions are cancelled each year due to bad weather. The group has found land on which to build an indoor arena and outdoor riding areas, planning permission has been obtained and the money now needs to be raised to build it. £750,000 for the first phase to provide access, parking and a roof over an arena surface.
The group delivers sessions from absolute beginner to riders, carriage drivers and vaulters with competitive aspirations. One of the group Trustees, Deborah Daniel started carriage driving with Perry, went on to compete as an individual and competed at the last three World Carriage Driving Championships for the British Team. She is currently National Para Carriage Driving Champion for 2015.
Almost all of the Perry Group vaulters began as hippotherapy participants, they then graduated to the vaulting group and the Perry Vaulting Team are currently National RDA vaulting Champions. These are young people who might never be picked for a school team who can now go to their Show and Tell at school and show their Trophy and their rosettes. Doing a sport that very few others have even heard of, let alone take part in.
Perry riders attend the Riding for the Disabled Regional qualifier competition on an annual basis with riders, vaulters and drivers regularly qualifying to go to the National Championships at Gloucester in July.
It is not just about competition, the group provides weekly sessions for all comers. There are very few conditions that might preclude somebody from being able to attend one of the different sessions. There is even an equine simulator to allow people to feel the movement of a real horse in the relative warmth of a classroom.
