Wednesday evening participants tend to be older teens and young adults. They are a hardy lot as, although recent sessions have been enjoying the light nights, for a large part of the year their sessions are during colder, dark evenings. The volunteers should also be applauded for bringing in muddy ponies to get ready, and turning them out after sessions in the dark!
These evening sessions mean that this group of people can be catered for.
In this lovely photo you can see the big grin from David, obviously enjoying his time with therapy pony Charity and his team of helpers.
David, who has Williams Syndrome, and is now in his early 30s, has ridden at MRT since he was 7 years old. He has ridden all of our ponies moving from little Smartie at 11.2hh to Charity who is 15.2hh and most recently Oreo, our mechanical horse.
He, like most of our participants, rides on an on-off basis. During his block off David and his parents Audrey and Colin come along to help with stable management duties so that he doesn’t miss out on his pony time.
Audrey says this about David,
MRT has given David so much confidence. He feels he is achieving and it’s something that is special for him. He loves the interaction with the ponies and all of the volunteers, who he knows so well after so long an association with this amazing organisation.
MRT has played an extremely important part in our lives as a family, and we are so grateful that David is still involved. We are indebted to the wonderful team of volunteers who give their valuable time and experience to help enrich David’s life and our family appreciate their contribution so much.
More information about William’s Syndrome:
Williams Syndrome Foundation UK
