New Arena for High Peak’s Disabled Riders now open!
Riders, volunteers and supporters of Helen Atkin Group Buxton Riding for the Disabled (RDA) are celebrating the start of a bright new era as their wraps come off their state-of-the-art, £168,000 covered riding arena.
Almost three years of tireless fundraising, preparation and construction work have laid the foundations for disabled riders of all ages and abilities across the High Peak to ride in comfort in most weather conditions in the Helen Atkin Arena at Buxton Riding School, Fern Road.
Group Chairman Janine Frost cut the ribbon to declare open the 30 metres by 50 metres building – named after the late daughter of one of the group’s founder members and long-standing treasurer, Pat Atkin – on Tuesday 12th October.
"Our new arena will enable us to protect our riders in cold, wet and windy conditions, which can affect them in a variety of ways. Mentally, they can be distracting and distressing, while physically they can be painful, restricting muscle movement.”
"We also plan to expand the number of equestrian activities we offer, to encourage our riders to extend their skills and also offer opportunities to compete in regional and national RDA competitions, so our project has huge potential to make a real difference to many people's lives."
Members of Helen Atkin Group Buxton RDA - which was founded more than 30 years ago and has since worked in close partnership with Buxton Riding School to provide regular sessions for hundreds of High Peak riders – launched the appeal in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of national RDA. They raised the money themselves, with generous help from a variety of organisations and individuals.
Congratulations to the team at Helen Atkins Riding for the Disabled on their success in opening the brand and new riding covered arena earlier this week after three years of hard work into this new covered arena as their riders are able to ride inside the indoor arena with most weather conditions making a huge difference to this group - a big well done to everyone.