Introducing our new Online Shop
We are delighted to announce we have launched our wee online shop! With just three carefully curated items for now; you can purchase a copy of our NEW 2021 Calendar, our limited edition eco-friendly Bamboo Reusable Cup, and our NEW Little Tins of Pony Poo…! All proceeds support our work 
With the October holidays and Halloween fun set to look a little different this year, due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions, we have two new events to entertain everyone during the autumn break! Our Rally Trail and our Virtual Balloon Race!
RALLY TRAIL!
Jump in your car and take part in our East Lothian Rally Trail anytime up until 1st November 2020. It’s a fun drive through beautiful East Lothian countryside, with lots of clues to spot on the way and picnic viewpoints. Plus, participants are all in with a chance of winning a big Hamper of Treats.
More info/booking rules click here
Get in touch by email here to request sign up info
VIRTUAL BALLOON RACE – HALLOWEEN 31ST OCTOBER!
Join in our eco-friendly virtual balloon race which lifts off from Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) Transylvania on Halloween 31st October. The race is like a computer game – you can change your balloon’s parameters to help you win!
The race simulation is influenced by real weather satellites in real time, and you can track the 7-day race on google maps 24/7. You’ll be racing alongside other charities and there are great prizes up for grabs including £500 and an Apple iPad. Buy as many balloons as you like, or gift one to a friend.
The Virtual Balloon Race is part of Muirfield Riding Therapy’s 10th anniversary celebrations of their pioneering partnership with NHS Lothian – The Children’s Therapeutic Riding Service.
For more info and to sign up click here
We are celebrating 10 years of a truly pioneering partnership with NHS Lothian, The Children’s Therapeutic Riding Service. We want as many people as possible to join in the fun by taking part in our eco-friendly Virtual Balloon Race! The Virtual Balloon Race lifts off from Dracula’s Castle, Transylvania on Halloween, 31st October at 12noon!
This eco-friendly online balloon race lasts 7 days and is like a computer game, you can change your balloons parameters – make it bigger or smaller, make the latex thicker or thinner – to help you win! There are some great prizes up for grabs, 1st Place: £500, 2nd Place: an Apple iPad, 3rd Place: £10 Book Tokens for the next 10 fastest balloons.
You can even track the action online 24/7; the race is influenced by information from real weather satellites in real-time! Be warned – virtual balloons, just like latex ones, can pop if the balloon parameters are not suited to the weather! But even a popped balloon can still win if the wind changes direction.
The race is a fundraiser for our Children’s Therapeutic Riding Service. In 2010 NHS Lothian and Muirfield Riding Therapy (MRT) launched The Children’s Therapeutic Riding Service, the first, and to this day the largest, Hippotherapy (a form of physiotherapy on horseback) service of its kind in Scotland.
NHS Lothian children’s physiotherapist Heather Falconer, who pioneered the service with MRT’s Service Coordinator Susan Law, says,
It’s particularly effective for children with neurological problems, helping them to develop motor skills like sitting and standing, walking, running, riding a bike. Things that need core stability and balance skills.
The Children’s Therapeutic Riding Service, and Muirfield Riding Therapy’s other therapy sessions for children, young people and adults with various disabilities, are provided free-of-charge.
For more information and to sign up for our 10th Birthday Virtual Balloon Race, click here
Looking for something to do this October holiday? Jump in your car and take part in our new Rally Trail! This is a fun drive through beautiful East Lothian countryside, with lots of clues to spot on the way and picnic viewpoints. Plus, be in with a chance of winning our magnificent Hamper of Treats !
Our route starts and ends in Haddington, the geographical centre of East Lothian, and you take part at your own leisure, anytime up until Sunday 1st November. (Note: please avoid doing the Rally Trail between Weds 21st – Fri 23rd October due to roadworks closing a route on our route on these 3 days). Allow around 2 hours to complete the route – depending on your picnic stops and clue spotting skills!
It’s not a race so take your time to enjoy the route as it winds its way around the beautiful East Lothian countryside, in all its autumn colours. Our Rally Trail pack even includes some recipe ideas to make some treats for your trip. Our instructions note a suggested picnic place, but you might find your own en route. Look out carefully for our quiz clues on the way round, as only forms submitted with the correct answers will be entered into our Hamper Prize Draw!
Fun for all ages, this COVID-safe event requires a minimum Team of two, a driver and navigator. Click here for more information and entry requirements.
Goodbye and thank you Bibi
This week have have had to say goodbye to our Therapy Pony Bibi,
Our Chair Michelle Sutton,
I am very sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but today we had to say goodbye to our lovely therapy pony Bibi.
What a week we’ve had at MRT – our teams of Kiltwalkers hiked part of the John Muir Way for this year’s Virtual Kiltwalk Weekend, to finish their challenges at our Centre at West Fenton!
After weeks and weeks of training, including a staggering 1,046 miles of combined long Sunday training walks, our Mighty Striders and Big Strollers were delighted to finish, raising over £9,600!
There’s still time to donate here – online fundraising closes on Monday 21st September
THANK YOU!
The Team fundraising total currently stands at over £9,600 – thank you to every single person who has donated so far. The amazing thing about The Kiltwalk is that their funding partner, The Hunter Foundation, gives every fundraiser’s total an added 50% boost! This incredibly generous event is a lifesaver for so many Scottish charities in this difficult year, and we are so grateful to everyone for their support. Your donation is directly helping us secure the future of our service.
If you’ve enjoyed following our Kiltwalkers progress on our social media, why not join in next year and be part of Team MRT 2021!
Why not give yourself a treat and pick up a delicious picnic, filled with our legendary baking, this coming September Holiday Weekend?
Indulge yourself, share a treat with a friend, or have a family feast. And with 100% of the income from this one-off fundraiser going directly to support Muirfield Riding Therapy during the coronavirus pandemic you know you’re doing something good too.
Takeaway drinks also for sale on the day – tea,coffee,soft drinks £1. (Buy one of our final few limited edition reusable cups for £9, and we’ll give you a drink for free!)
Extra baking for sale on the day – there may also be some extra items of our legendary baking for sale on the day…!
The Virtual Kiltwalk Big Weekend!
The Kiltwalk has gone virtual for 2020, and we kicked off our Team MRT Virtual Kiltwalk Week in style on Monday 9th September, with our four Mighty Striders completing their 24 mile challenge! This weekend, even more Team MRT Kiltwalkers are joining in. In small, COVID-19 compliant teams, twelve Big Strollers are taking on the 15 mile challenge and are already smashing our fundraising goal!
On Saturday 12 September
Look out for our Volunteer Christine and husband Ken taking on their 15 mile Big Stroll, walking a circular route from Gullane, to Aberlady then back round the coast to North Berwick before heading home to Gullane again. Look out for them in their green Muirfield Riding Therapy t-shirts! Give them a wave if you spot them en route!
On Sunday 13 September
Although you can’t offer our Kiltwalkers encouragement in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, you can support them by sending a virtual wave on our social media, and by donating and helping secure the future of our service
Donate here
Muirfield Riding Therapy has been closed since the end of March due to the Coronavirus Crisis. As we move into summer, we are planning for a phased return to therapy riding in line with Scottish Government and RDA National Office guidelines.
With Indoor Arenas now able to open in Scotland we are looking forward to when we can safely offer riding therapy sessions again. The team have been planning for how we adapt what we do so that some of our riders can return.
Our Roadmap to Riding planning involves considering safety protocols for our Riders, our Volunteers, our Centre and of course our Ponies.
In the meantime, there are lots of ways you can stay in touch and help us to fund the upkeep of the Centre and the care of our specially trained therapy ponies, so that once we re-open we can help as many children, young people and adults as possible.
Sponsor our Rider Kirsty to Skydive!
Kirsty has been riding with us since she was 3 years old! Read her story and support her fantastic fundraiser.
Shop online – raise funds for free
Sign up to Give As You Live This is a fantastic way to help raise funds for us, for free! With over 4,200 shops part of Give as you Live Online, including John Lewis & Partners, Expedia and Marks & Spencer. They’ll turn a percentage of your spend into free funds for us. Simply sign up, search for the retailer and start shopping. It’s that simple!
Sign up to Amazon Smile here Shopping at Amazon? Raise free funds at the same time! Sign up, choose us as your beneficiary charity, then do your usual Amazon shopping but via their Amazon Smile login, and they donate 0.5% of the net purchase price to us!
Free 50% boost for our Edinburgh Kiltwalkers’ fundraising!
Sponsor our Kiltwalkers and your donation will go 50% further! The Kiltwalk’s partner The Hunter Foundation gives every Kiltwalker a staggering 50% extra on their final fundraising total!
Sponsor a Pony
Who’s your favourite? Sponsor a Pony and help us to continue to fund all the care our four-legged friends need to do their important riding therapy work and lead healthy, happy lives.
Get in touch
Join in the chat during Lockdown!
We have Facebook chat groups for our Riders & their Families and our Volunteers
If you need to get in touch please drop us an email and we will respond as soon as we can;
Chair, Michelle Sutton
Services, Susan Law
Administration, Shirely Duff
Fundraising, Debs McLaughlin
We are so looking forward to when we can see you all again and want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone for your continued support!
Muirfield Riding Therapy is now closed, and its fundraising events cancelled indefinitely because of the impact of the Coronavirus.
But there are lots of ways you can help us to fund the upkeep of our Centre and the care of our specially trained therapy ponies, so that once we re-open we can help as many children, young people and adults as possible.
You don’t have to be super fit and some are free!
Calling all Home Hereos – Take on the 2.6 Challenge!
Click here to join in this nationwide challenge with us on 26th April – you don’t have to be super fit to take part, use your daily exercise to fundraise for us.
Sponsor our Rider Kirsty to Skydive!
Kirsty has been riding with us since she was 3 years old! Read her story and support her fantastic fundraiser.
We’re all online shoppers now – raise funds for free when you shop,
Sign up to Give As You Live We’re all shopping online at the moment so this is a fantastic way to help raise funds for us, for free! With over 4,200 shops part of Give as you Live Online, including John Lewis & Partners, Expedia and Marks & Spencer. They’ll turn a percentage of your spend into free funds for us. Simply sign up, search for the retailer and start shopping. It’s that simple!
Sign up to Amazon Smile here Shopping at Amazon? Raise free funds at the same time! Sign up, choose us as your beneficiary charity, then do your usual Amazon shopping but via their Amazon Smile login, and they donate 0.5% of the net purchase price to us!
Free 50% boost for our Edinburgh Kiltwalkers’ fundraising!
Sponsor our Kiltwalkers and your donation will go 50% further! The Kiltwalk’s partner The Hunter Foundation gives every Kiltwalker a staggering 50% extra on their final fundraising total!
Sponsor a Pony
Who’s your favourite? Sponsor a Pony and help us to continue to fund all the care our four-legged friends need to do their important riding therapy work and lead healthy, happy lives.
Get in touch
Join in the chat during Lockdown!
We have Facebook chat groups for our Riders & their Families and our Volunteers
If you need to get in touch please drop us an email and we will respond as soon as we can;
Chair, Michelle Sutton
Services, Susan Law
Administration, Shirely Duff
Fundraising, Debs McLaughlin