Horse riding charity aims to offer 'freedom and joy'

A charity that helps people with physical and mental health conditions build strength and confidence through horse riding has been nominated for a BBC Make a Difference Award.

Watershed Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) is based in the village of Coates, near Cirencester, and has been nominated in the Active award category.

The charity was set up in 1993 and helps people of all ages through horse riding, animal care and offering a sense of community.

"We have riders who come, and yes we put them on a horse, but it's more than physical activity, it's emotional connection, it's freedom and it's joy," said trustee and instructor Kathy Mottershead.

Watershed RDA has its own dedicated site that includes a sensory garden and outdoor classroom. The charity offers a valuable source of community to its users, while staff and volunteers find their work rewarding.

"I have just been teaching a girl that had very little core strength when she started, she's non-verbal and quite physically disabled. We're working on getting her core strong and today for the first time she sat up unaided on the horse and that was just amazing to see," said Mottershead.

"That radiates out to the whole team. The whole team feels that, not just us with the child, the family feels it as well.

"We couldn't do the things that we do without every single person on site every day, every person does their bit."

The charity has been running for 33 years and the team is looking forward to the future.

"Because there is such need in the community we want to keep growing but we need to do that slowly and steadily," said Mottershead.

"Part of our ethos is the pastoral care we take of the riders and their families and we have to maintain that," she added.

The charity wants to bring younger people in to see what they do so that in the future they may come back to volunteer.

"I think everyone should see what we do because it's such a wonderful thing," said Mottershead.

The BBC Make A Difference Awards recognise and celebrate local people and groups who make a positive contribution in their communities.

Gloucestershire's Make a Difference Awards will be held on 4 September.

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