Think Like A Pony in Leeds receives The King’s Award for Voluntary Service

‘Think Like A Pony’ in Horsforth has become the first riding school in Leeds to receive The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Transcript

00:00To have this award for all of those beautiful volunteers who've worked with me to build

00:07this beautiful intervention, it's just a way of saying thank you to them.

00:13The mission of Think Like a Pony in Horsforth is to empower children through horsemanship,

00:18giving young people the tools they need to succeed.

00:21The Leeds Holistic Riding School, which also has an online club, is the first in the region

00:26to receive the King's Award for Voluntary Service.

00:29Linda Lynn Henry, along with volunteers Louisa and Kate Lynn, have been reflecting on how

00:33it helps people thrive.

00:35When I was a little girl I didn't have a background in horses. I grew up in the middle of a corporation

00:39estate. The only horse I ever saw was pulling a rag and bone cart, really. But we were fortunate

00:47enough eventually, my mum and my husband, to buy a smallholding.

00:51Our eldest son suffered with loss of eyesight and our doctor suggested that he take up riding.

00:59And so we actually bought him a pony and I had to learn about horses. And changing

01:05him was magnificent. And I had this huge passion then and love to understand horses.

01:11I used to work for the Medical Needs Teaching Service in Leeds, who work with young people

01:17who've got social and emotional mental health as well as medical needs. And a lot of our

01:20young people came to Think Like a Pony and it helped them in ways that no other kind

01:25of therapy could.

01:27Being in this safe environment where they can be their authentic self and can have that

01:32permission and space just to go at their own pace, that then had a knock-on effect on them

01:37being able to access school again, have a better relationship with their parents.

01:41I used to hate going out. I used to hate going into town where it's really busy because I

01:47would get all overwhelmed. But when I came here they're just like, just breathe. And

01:51because it gets quite busy here, but I'm at the point where I can start talking to people

01:56that I don't know. Because they're really calm here and everyone's really nice to each

02:00other. We've all been through kind of a similar thing. So it's all like everyone kind of gets

02:05each other. So we're all really good to each other.

02:08We mainly do hay nets, waters, skip out the arena, sort out the stables.

02:18Children can join the dots of, if I behave like this here, then that makes me feel good.

02:26How can I take this, what I'm doing here, to other areas of my life?

02:30This is a place that really invests in all the young people that come, but also in its

02:35volunteers and its staff. I feel really supported here. I feel really valued. I feel like, even

02:43though I'm giving my time, I feel like what I get is so much more.

02:48We're not rescuing. We truly are empowering. And it's a word that is banded around a lot

02:53now, you know, empowering people, empowering children. But really the empowerment comes

02:58from the child themselves.