The 10 horses at Cambridge Riding for the Disabled do more than carry their riders – they are also therapists, which gently and without judgement, enable children and adults to increase their self-esteem and confidence.

Now the Cambridge RDA wants to further enhance that experience, by creating a sensory trail; an interactive environment ridden through on horseback, to stimulate the senses.

“Many of our riders struggle with overloading of sensory input and many find difficulty in verbalising their feelings and interpretations of senses,” says RDA coach Katrina Roberts.

“Exploring different senses in a non-threatening, safe environment will make a huge difference to them,” says Katrina.

“The stimuli may be both man-made such as specific bespoke artworks or installations or natural such as plantings or landscape changes.

“The purpose of this trail is to create a stimulating and challenging environment for both the horses, riders and volunteers to explore as part of the therapy programme that Cambridge RDA offers.”

Cambridge RDA manager Vanessa Donnelly says the concept is in its infancy and in need of sponsorship support, but it’s something the organisation very much wants to see become a reality.

“The hope is to create a trail which either winds through our six-hectare property; or to sacrifice one small paddock and create a trail there.”

Visible location

Cambridge RDA is set almost in the heart of the town, on land leased from the local council, and a newly-formed cycle trail skirts its boundary, creating, says Vanessa, a highly visible location for sponsors to display signs.

“We hope the Cambridge RDA sensory trail could be a place the wider Cambridge community could utilise and enjoy, not just on horseback, but also on foot. It could also become an educational resource for schools,” says Katrina. “By engaging local artists we are hoping this sensory trail will become a community project, with all sorts of different groups working together on a little bit to create the complete project. “This would give it a unique community feel and would allow local artists and groups to share and showcase their work to the wider community.” The proposal is each station would have a sponsor, who may be the artist or group that carries out the work from design to development.

“Or they may be a person that would rather sponsor the station with funds for another person or group to take on the station.

“Either way each station would be clearly marked with the designer, developer and funder to acknowledge their contribution.” Some stations can be interactive such as a naughts and crosses game made of wood that can be done from pony height.

Wind chimes

Other ideas include wind chimes to stimulate the sense of sound; a jasmine vine arch for smell, maybe mixed with raspberries for taste; a water feature for sight and sound; toi toi planting for sound and touch and astained glass feature with light bouncing off coloursto also stimulate sight. Anup and down, a winding narrow hill path or mazecould provide another interactive, sight-focused part of the trail.

Like other RDA groups throughout the country, the Cambridge RDA, it horses and volunteers, play an important role in enhancing the lives of riders from five years to adults, who have physical and intellectual difficulties, says Vanessa, who has been the Cambridge RDA coordinator for 13 years.

“We all get so much reward from seeing the pleasure our riders gain from the experience, and the close bond many form with the horses. Some riders are quite apprehensive at first but as we gently introduce them to the horses and to riding, their confidence grows.”

The classes are generally conducted in the relatively new, large covered arena built with the help of funding from the Rodmor Charitable Trust.

“Our riding programmes are designed to help develop and increase physical abilities, communication, concentration, social skills, confidence and self-esteem. “We also provide our riders with a sport and an opportunity for recreation in a supportive environment that is fun, exhilarating and different.”

Show events

Each class is tailored to the rider’s needs and goals. Riders are split into group classes based on ability, personality or age and the availability of horses. There are no more than six riders per class and sessions run for 40 minutes. Although some riders are only able to ride for a short time, especially when they first begin to ride.

“All our riders are given the opportunity to compete in shows and competitions, which are always so much fun. We take riders to the A&P show in Cambridge to compete in the RDA section. The annual RDA regional games day is held at different RDA groups in our region with Cambridge hosting it every three years. We also run an RDA dressage competition in term three,” says Vanessa.

To find out more about Cambridge RDA, or to sponsor the sensory trail, visit: www.rda-cambridge.com