Arrow Riding Centre for the Disabled

This is Lydia and Baline, they both took part in the countryside challenge with a side walker and grade 6 walk dressage. Lydia is only 8 years old and this was her first time off of lead rein away from home which is a massive ask! Last year Lydia was national champion in led dressage so we decided to show everyone what she can do at such a young age! Lydia has Cerebral Palsy and rode perfectly around the countryside challenge course to come 3rd! After a difficult regionals dressage test where nerves got the better of Lydia, Lydia has worked so hard to learn a difficult test with so many different shapes to ride and she absolutely smashed it! Lydia was super worried that Baline would do something that she shouldn't (like she does at home!) and being off lead rein in such a big atmosphere is nerve wracking enough!! You were so brave Lydia, we are so proud of you 💙

This is Khianna and Baline riding their B1 walk test. Baline is a superstar having been at Arrow for many years but she is relatively new to competition having only started her competition career within the last 5 years. She really is a complete legend of a pony and knows her job perfectly! Khianna is completely blind and has to put so much trust into Baline and rely on her other senses to be able to get round a test. Khi rode with Bradbourne RDA before coming to Arrow so has been to the Nationals before but this is her first time with Baline. Baline likes to test Khi during training and all of this has helped Khi to really get to know Baline and enable her to ride such a fantastic test to become a national champion! For those that ride, try riding blindfolded and see how difficult this is - Khi, this is awe inspiring and we are so proud of you! 💙

This is Ella and Rosa riding their grade 6 walk dressage test at the nationals. This is Rosa's second time taking part in a dressage test away from home - her first was in May at the regionals so we a super proud of how well Rosa coped in such a big atmosphere with so much going on. Rosa is very green (needs more education in horsey terms!) and this is mostly due to the issues she had with her tooth a few years ago. But despite this, Ella done such a fantastic job with Rosa. Ella has Cerebral Palsy so Rosa isn't always easy for her and those that know Rosa, will know that if you do not tell her exactly what you want her to do at every step, Rosa will quite often do what she thinks is the right thing 🤦🏼‍♀️. We are amazed they stayed in the white boards and so pleased Rosa didn't think joining someone else's dressage test was a better idea (for the horsey people, she's a Welsh so you will understand!)🤣. The amount of dedication Ella has to her riding and understanding of Rosa is a testament to itself and Rosa has definitely helped Ella's confidence and belief in herself. We are so proud of you Ella! 💙