Princess Anne to launch first National Training Centre for RDA

The first ever National Training Centre for RDA will be officially opened in Warwickshire on 12 June by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.

Princess Anne is President of the RDA and a patron of the centre, which will bring together, train and inspire the charity’s volunteers and coaches from all over the UK. The opening coincides with the 50th anniversary of the charity, which is dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities through horse riding and carriage driving.

The RDA’s new home is based at the Lowlands Equestrian Centre in Shrewley and the charity hopes it will deliver an important service to the Warwickshire community. The Centre already provides horse riding opportunities to 100 disabled children and adults from the local area - a number the charity hopes to double in the coming months.

On the commercial side, Lowlands Equestrian Centre also offers group and private riding lessons to the general public, and is already proving a popular venue for arena hire.

Princess Anne, who will enjoy a tour of the new centre during her visit, said:

Ahead of the opening, local MP and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright visited the National Training Centre.

Writing about his visit he commented: “The impressive centre is located at Lowlands Farm in Shrewley, which falls within my constituency, and we are fortunate to have the charity rooted so firmly in this area. The new centre marks a significant development for the RDA and I am confident that it will be a national asset which will help them in their excellent work.”

Over recent years, the charity, which helps 25,000 disabled children and adults, has further developed the range of activities it offers as well as the areas of training provided to volunteers – including equine welfare, safeguarding, disability awareness and volunteer management.

In addition, the RDA’s 18,000 qualified coaches and volunteers are supporting ever more complex forms of disability, especially in the areas of multi-disability, learning disabilities and mental health problems.

Paralympian superstar Sophie Christiansen CBE, who boasts eight Paralympic gold medals, is also a patron of the new centre – a commitment made in recognition of her local RDA centre in Berkshire, which helped her rise to stardom.

The world number one said: 

The centre is home to the four existing RDA groups which currently operate there, plus stables and grazing for 20 horses, indoor and outdoor arenas and training and conference facilities. The charity’s staff team will also relocate to the site.

It also boasts a working yard with indoor and outdoor arenas and classrooms to provide the ideal environment for hosting practical training sessions, workshops and demonstrations as well as events and competitions.

The focus of training will be putting riders’ and drivers’ needs first, and the RDA insist that this message will be at the heart of everything that happens at Lowlands.

For more information on RDA, please visit: www.rda.org.uk.

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