A good friend of mine, Jackie Bryans, runs the Horse Rangers, a children’s charity based at Hampton Court in south west London. As my parents live nearby, I had heard about the Horse Rangers, but until recently didn’t know how they were run or that they are a charity. I don’t normally write about charities or ask for help or donations, but this story struck so many personal and yours2share chords, I thought I’d write about them to see if you can help.
Over 350 young people attend the Horse Rangers each week – many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, they operate a Riding for the Disabled section throughout the week during term time and in the school holidays there is a ‘Horse Ranger for a Day’ experience for Young Carers to help ensure that these vulnerable young people have at least one positive day away from their commitments at home.
However, it is not just about learning to ride and look after horses, rather it is a very positive tool for personal development. The older Rangers are encouraged to mentor the younger children resulting in many of them growing up to become volunteers and leaders, thereby giving back to the charity.
During the current climate everyone’s budgets are really tight: Horse Rangers relies on volunteers to deliver most of its activities and therefore has a very small staff so the main costs are feeding and looking after their 30 horses and ponies.
Unfortunately a number of their horses are getting rather old: one (who is over 30 years old) is not expected to last the winter and several others are ready for retirement. Because of tight budgets this year the Trustees are unwilling to take in any new horses to replace those that are lost, unless they can raise the funds to feed them over the next year.
Finding the right horses and ponies is never easy, but the Horse Rangers has been offered a pony called Disney who was rescued from abuse at Spindles Farm. Disney was nursed back to health by the Horse Trust where the Horse Rangers retire their horses. Disney is only 5 years old and at 14.3hh he is the perfect size and build for the majority of children to ride. Moreover despite all the abuse he has received in the past, he continues to have a very gentle nature and the Horse Trust think he will therefore be the perfect pony for the Horse Rangers and he should be able to give a good 20 years of service before retiring (so a great long term investment!).
If you are in a position to make a donation, please go to Virgin Money Giving,
or if you know someone who may be interested in helping with fundraising, the Horse Rangers would be extremely grateful for any help.