The summer holiday activities for our children in Worcester and Dudley with a horse riding lesson at Cobbles Academy in Dudley.

Fourteen children and their foster carers came along, and for many of them it was their first experience of being around and riding a horse. The lessons took place across 2 sessions so that each child could have a member of the riding club working with them on a one-to-one basis.

Each child was allocated a horse fit for their size, experience and confidence levels and horse and rider were then introduced to each other. The trainers at Cobbles Academy did a fantastic job of promoting respect for the horses, and before any horseback riding took place the children were given brushes and taught how to brush the horses down and how to care for and behave around the animals. They were also shown how to attach the riding equipment onto their horse, putting on the saddle, girth and stirrups. There was no rush and each child was given plenty of time to get comfortable being around around their horse, before climbing into the saddle and being led out to the field.

Amy, the owner of the riding club, showed them how to trot and the children spent the next hour trotting around the field and completing exercises. Amy is a fantastic teacher, and she was able to give each individual child tips on how to improve their riding skills, and foster carers and staff watching proudly from the side lines could see the children’s confidence growing as they tried out their new skills.

All of the children enjoyed their horse riding experience and our foster carers were impressed with the stables and delighted that their foster children were able to have the chance to try out this very therapeutic activity.