At West Lothian RDA, our team of 80 volunteers and 8 horses normally provide weekly life-changing therapeutic riding lessons for around 60 adults and young people with physical and/or learning difficulties. Earlier this year, we sadly lost three of our horses over a few days due to grass sickness. This has been a devastating loss to our group and resulted in us not being able to cater for as many participants this year. We are therefore running a fundraising campaign to raise £8,000 to help cover the cost incurred due to the loss of the horses, loss of income and the funds raised will allow us to purchase new horses for our riders who have missed out this season.

The simple pleasure of working with horses is the cornerstone of all RDAs activities. Research from RDA National Office shows that horse riding with RDA delivers physical benefits, boosts confidence, improves communication skills and helps to build relationships.

Starting in September, we are running a number of events to raise money for the group. We will be starting with an 8 mile sponsored walk on Saturday 7th September from Linlithgow Palace to the Kelpies and would appreciate any support you can provide our group as we recover. Without the dedication of our volunteers together with donations and fundraising activities we could not continue to provide this wonderful opportunity.

Our group is self-funded and completely run by volunteers. Our season runs from May to October each year as we only have an outdoor arena but throughout the winter our horses are looked after by a small team of volunteers who give up their time every day and week in all weathers.

Thank you for taking the time to read our page and if you can provide support we would appreciate it. As our motto says, Its what you can do that counts.