FOR children who are wheelchair-bound, riding a horse seems near to impossible.

At the Colchester Garrison Riding for the Disabled Club, the instructors will not rest until they make miracles happen.

The group, which was formed from cash generated at a coffee morning, is celebrating 30 years of changing children’s lives.

Carol Hipkin, head instructor, had never worked with disabled children until she joined the club when it first started.

“A group of friends wanted to start a club in Colchester as they had been doing it abroad,” she said.

“They invited me along to a coffee morning to explain the idea and I thought it was lovely.

“They said they needed an instructor and it went quiet and everyone looked at me. I explained I had never worked with disabled people before but I was willing to do it.

“I signed up for five years and I’m still there - it’s my passion.”

Gazette:

Formerly known as the Colchester Garrison Saddle Club, the group had three ponies and three disabled riders.

The stables were closed at the garrison in 2005 and the club moved to the nearby Fletchers Farm.

The farmer had come to the group’s aid as he was looking to change from cattle and pigs to livery.

The garrison is no longer associated with the club and it has been renamed the Fletchers Farm Riding School.

Now two groups of four children from Lexden Springs School for special educational needs take part in regular lessons.

The instructors deal with everyone from children with autism, to wheelchair users, to arthritic children and those with behavioural problems.

All are aged between four and 13.

Mrs Hipkin said: “They learn new skills - for people with autism, who do not like change, it’s hard for them to come into a building they have never been in before and they have never been near a horse.

“They gain social skills, eye contact, balance, and co-ordination.

“For wheelchair users they have ended up walking or sitting up unaided because they get the use of muscles in their legs.

“I always get tearful when we achieve goals.”

Everyone was apprehensive when the group first started as teaching disabled children was a new challenge.

Mrs Hipkin was the only instructor at the stables for 20 years, but she now has two others helping her.

She said: “I was in charge of caring for the ponies and the children, and the ponies have to be trained. It’s a lot for them to take on board.

“But the helpers here are so lovely, they provide so much TLC.

One woman brings her horse all the way from West Mersea to help out.”

Although she has been in the job for 30 years, the volunteer still finds seeing the changes in the children overwhelming.

“Sometimes their faces can be quite lifeless, but they build such a bond with the ponies, just seeing them smile is amazing,” she said.

“Some riders don’t talk much but we have two who say Monday nights are the only nights they talk non-stop, as it’s always about riding.

“When you have a floppy rider and they manage to sit up unaided over time and you see their determination, it’s just mindblowing.

“They children and the ponies become friends, they learn through enjoyment.

“It’s not like being in a classroom.”

Gazette:

If achieving all this is not enough, with the help of ponies Joka, Toby, Daisy and Ronnie, the children learn to become happy and confident in themselves - the biggest reward of all.

To find out more about the group, which runs during school term time, visit http://fletchersfarm.co.uk