Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

We are aiming to raise £100,000 for building centre resilience to allow us to safeguard the future of Glasgow RDA for many years to come.

Your donations can help Glasgow RDA support children & adults with disabilities through equine therapy.

Our Story:

For nearly six decades, Glasgow RDA has been a lifeline for people across Glasgow and beyond from our purpose-built centre at Sandyflat in Summerston. We deliver 23 therapeutic riding and equine-assisted sessions every week, supporting individuals with:

- Physical disabilities

- Autism, ADHD, PTSD, anxiety

- Learning disabilities and complex needs

- Dementia and age-related age-related conditions

"The pupils have thoroughly enjoyed their time with the horses and leaders, they look forward to their Friday class all week!" - Friday class feedback

For 58 years Glasgow RDA has provided life-changing equine therapy for children and adults living with disabilities, additional support needs and more recently dementia though Tea with a Pony.

Our riders experience improvements in:

- Balance, strength and mobility

- Confidence and communication

- Emotional wellbeing

- Social connection and independence

Research from Activity Alliance (2024) shows that disabled people are more likely to:

- Have worse mental health and wellbeing – Only 11% of disabled adults have a ‘very high’ happiness yesterday score, compared to 19% for non-disabled people.

- Feel more lonely, excluded and socially isolated – One in five (20%) disabled adults feel lonely “often or always”, which is almost twice the rate for non-disabled people (11%), and 48% feel socially isolated.

- Have lower life satisfaction – Only 5% of disabled adults rate their life satisfaction as very high, compared to 15% of non-disabled adults.

- Be physically inactive – Disabled people are twice as likely to be inactive (41%) compared to their non-disabled peers (21%).

- Experience exclusion in educational settings – Disabled children and young people are not consistently provided the educational support they are entitled to by law and are disproportionately excluded from school (National Children’s Bureau, 2024). https://rda.org.uk/impact/

For many this is the only activity where they feel free, capable and truly included, but, we cannot continue this work without you.

"I feel like I'm dancing when walking along on Connie!"- Individual adult rider

Why we need your help:

The cost of caring for our therapy horses and running our centre has risen sharply.

Every week we face essential expenses:

- Feed, bedding and specialist supplements

- Veterinary care and farrier visits

- Staff wages for our small dedicated team

- Heating, lighting, and maintenance of our 20 acre site

- Safety equipment and accessible facilities

"The pupils love coming horse riding and are so excited for it. They display so much confidence each week during our sessions!" - School class feedback

As a charity we subsidise every session, however, we rely on donations, grants and fundraising - but demand is rising faster than funding.

Your donation will help us:

- Keep our horses healthy and happy

- Maintain our arenas, stables and equipment

- Provide subsidised sessions for families who cannot afford full costs

- Secure the future of Glasgow RDA for years to come

"I did it! I did it!" - Individual rider feedback

What your donations supports:

- £10 Buys a bale of bedding/hay for our horses

- £25 Helps fund a riding session for a child or adult with additional support needs

- £50 Supports essential farrier and veterinary care

- £100 Funds feed and supplements for one horse for a week

- £250 Supports a full day of therapeutic riding sessions

- £500 Helps us maintain our arenas, stables and accessible facilities

"My son has hearing loss and was reluctant to wear anything on his head. Through the patience and understandings of the staff and coaches he has greatly improved. He also had issues with balance and overall strength, since he started riding these have improved and his mobility and core strength increased. This goes beyond his riding sessions, he's invested in the care and well being of the horses and stays behind to observe the volunteers." - Individual child rider

The impact of your support, your generosity helps us:

- Reduce our waiting list

- Provide more sessions for those who need them most

- Support families, carers and schools

- Offer placements for OT and veterinary students

- Create a safe inclusive community for all

Every pound you give goes directly to supporting Glasgow RDA.

Glasgow RDA is more than just a riding centre, it is a place where people discover strength, joy, and confidence they never knew they had.

Please donate today and help us continue this vital work, join our Facebook page to keep up to date with our progress.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.