Riders to savour the great indoors at new facility

A £1 MILLION-plus indoor riding arena is to be built in the Capital in an effort to beat the worst of Scotland's winters.

Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled (RRDA) had to stop lessons at its base on the sprawling Ravelrig Estate in Balerno for three months last winter because of the harsh weather.

The new facility will allow it to provide year-round lessons to the 100 riders with physical disabilities and learning difficulties that attend each week.

Housing developer Cala is offering to "gift" several acres to the riding charity as part of its plans to build three homes on the estate.

RRDA has been based on the estate for 25 years and currently leases the land it uses from Cala. It is hoped that owning its home for the first time will allow RRDA to finalise funding for the new arena.

Barbara Johnstone, RRDA's organiser, said: "It is very exciting and will allow us to improve the facilities and services for our riders.

"Last winter, we didn't put a saddle on a horse between the end of December and the middle of March and this new indoor facility will help to protect us from the elements.

"We cannot sell off ponies at the end of the summer and purchase new ponies in the spring because they are so hard to find. So we have to care for the ponies over the winter when they're doing no work and that is expensive.

"To be given this land gives us security. We've always had the worry about our land being developed and us being asked to leave. But because it belongs to us we will be able to do what we want, such as the indoor facilities."

Plans for the new facility have been submitted to city planners this week.

RRDA hopes that the new indoor facilities will not only allow it to provide year-round riding for its existing riders, but also allow it to increase the number of rides it can offer.

Ms Johnstone believes that will mean more disabled people will be able to benefit. She said: "This builds their confidence and lets them do something on a level with everybody else. Just because they have learning disabilities does not mean they can't be a good rider.

"A horse and a horse's movement is better than a session in a physio clinic. If a horse moves, you have to move your muscles to stay on, so you get physio in spite of yourself."

Derek Lawson, land director at Cala, said: "We realise what a wonderful resource the RRDA is for disabled users, and the wider community, and see this as great opportunity to provide them with the security to allow a state-of-the-art riding arena to be developed."

Balerno Community Council chairman Ken Shade said: "Our view is that we are generally supportive of what Cala wants to achieve and we have no objections, although we have not yet seen the detailed planning application."