“Children will only see ponies in books”: RDA and Pony Club Centre’s fight for its piece of London

Park Lane Stables has been a horsey haven for its urban community long before it was a riding school – and never more so in lockdown. Now that its staff and residents face being uprooted, the fight to remain on the premises is underway

For the past 12 years, Park Lane Stables’ message has been that horses are for everyone. Tucked away on a tiny plot in Teddington, and just a stone’s throw away from London’s Bushey and Richmond parks, the riding school of Lilliputian proportions provides 3,000 Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) sessions per year under pre-covid circumstances. It’s also a Pony Club centre, gives youngsters their first taste of pony racing and has strong links with its urban community ­– horsey and non-horsey members alike.

So much so, that the centre recently made modifications to their front gate. Natalie O’Rourke, the stables’ owner and manager, told H&R: “The front of the stables is right on the pavement and we’re always happy for people to come in and cuddle the horses – they’re there for the community to enjoy. The first lockdown obviously had a huge impact on everyone’s social life, so we decided to cut the gate in half and leave part of it open so those passing could access the horses on their daily walks. We call it the cuddle door, and it made a huge difference to people missing out on emotional connections.”

Running an equestrian operation in the nation’s capital is no mean feat, and Natalie’s daily routine is worlds away from the majority of the UK’s equestrian community. Adversity, however, is something the urban equestrian just gets used to. “It’s just our version of normal,” she explains. “Every day, we have to muck out straight into a trailer and drive it away to tip it, and our turnout is an eight-mile lorry ride away. It sounds impossible to most people, but it’s our routine and we just get on with it.”

Like every equestrian facility, Park Lane Stables has faced huge challenges in the wake of Covid-19. But the centre faces an ever-larger threat – eviction. After leasing the site for over a decade, Natalie’s landlord has made the decision to sell the property. There’s no bad blood, and Natalie acknowledges that almost everyone has had to make lifestyle changes since the outbreak began, and it’s far from the end for the stables. Having recently been awarded Asset of Community Value status, the stables’ landlord is required to offer Natalie the chance to buy the property first – but she’ll need to raise £1million before 31 May to do so.

At the time of writing, the centre has crowdfunded close to £200,000 – a feat that’s inspired immense positivity among Natalie and her staff. “People have been so generous. We’re incredibly grateful and it feels fantastic to have raised this much. If we can get there and purchase our own piece of London we could stay forever, and nothing could take it away. We have to think optimistically because if we lost the stables we might never find a way back. Horses are being forced out of London all the time and taking our ponies away from the local community would be devastating. Children would only ever see ponies in picture books.”

What of the impact on those more directly involved in the stables? Natalie’s answer paints a gloomy picture. “We have six staff members all with additional needs, so they’d be out of work in a very tough job market. Every RDA centre has a waiting list, so for many of our participants there’d be nowhere else to go. There isn’t a huge world of accessible activities for disabled adults, and for many of our participants coming to the stables is a huge part of their social life – to lose that would be catastrophic.

“Of course, we’d have to try and find loving homes for the ponies, too. It just doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Natalie stresses that members of the public can make a huge difference to Park Lane Stables’ survival whatever their financial situation. She says: “If lots of people pledged just a small amount, we’d make it to our total. Even if they couldn’t spare anything in these difficult times, a share on social media could make all the difference.”

To find out more about Park Lane Stables, and to pledge a donation, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-stables