Shiresmill Therapy Riding Centre

Guest speaker was Lynda Milne from the Shiresmill Therapy Riding Centre. This is an individual charity, a member group of the RDA. RDA stands for the Riding for the Disabled Incorporating Carriage Drivers. As a charity they stand alone with their own insurances.

They moved  into their site at Shiresmill in 1996 and was officially was opened by Princess Anne who is President of RDA. Originally known as the Dunfermline Riding for the Disabled group but the name was changed to be more geographically specific because people kept looking for them in Dunfermline.

At Shiresmill they have seven horses / ponies and they have introduced a few different things over the last couple of years. Tea with a Pony which has been very successful and residents are brought in from care homes.

Those attending don’t necessarily ride, they can groom a pony, touch a pony, smell a pony. 

971 equine activities for 104 participants were carried out in 2024. Previously that  would have been solely riding, horse care and proficiency tests.

Lynda explained how they now do stable management since not every participant wants to ride. They're quite happy to groom the pony, learn about the tack, tea with the pony.  The Countryside challenge is where gates, pretend ponds etc are placed in the park to give mental stimulation.

There is a sensory riding park, six acres, mostly woodland with paths cut through so that endurance can be done without knowing that they're going round and round. 

Non riders can do horse care, learning about horses, what they eat. How to brush them with all the different brushes. They can learn to take the tack on and off if they're capable and if they want the certificated proficiency tests are just little tests on riding and horse care.

Equine facilitated learning is basically working with the pony on the ground to lead, stop and walk a pony through a course. To be in charge of this huge animal is a huge benefit to participants. 

The horses all have to be trained and exposed to bean bags, balls, musical instruments, snowmen. That's to be done before anyone gets on the pony, that's a lot of work.

The farrier comes in every six weeks because the horses have to get the hoofs ground. The vet comes regularly and the horses have to have dentals every six months.

Teeth extraction costs £1,000. So 2024 vet bills were the most it's ever been - £8,000 for teeth and all that.

Volunteers.

The 73 volunteers are aged from 14 to 80 plus and it's becoming quite difficult to get volunteers.

Lynda said “we have volunteers who don't necessarily like ponies, but they may have come from a background of early years learning, or have worked with children with special needs. So they come because they want to interact with the participant, there is something for everyone.

“We're also in partnership with the West Fife Woodlands. They work out of the car park next to our place.”

How much does it cost to run? £26,000 a year. They have no staff, they are all volunteers and fundraising is important. 

Bills have to be paid, the ponies are a big part of that. 

Pony sponsorships.

You can sponsor a pony for £20 a year, and for that you get a photo, a story, a coaster, a key right now, a Christmas card and a birthday card. The centre offers bronze sponsorships for families, which is £100. Silver sponsorships is £500, and gold at £1000 aimed at  companies.

“We own the horses. We own everything on the land that we rent the ground from Fife Council” Lynda explained.

Grace Strachan proposed the club’s vote of thanks saying how amazed she was at how much goes on at the Shiresmill Centre. 

“I honestly thought it was riding only. Your slogan says it all - It's what you can do. The service you do within the community, for everybody involved, their mental health as well, for your volunteers, it must be amazing. All that therapeutic work that you do.  Thank you very much.”