A HELENSBURGH charity set up to help people with disabilities by introducing them to horses, ponies and riding has revealed the number of people it has helped has nearly doubled.

Louise Worrall from the Gareloch Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) says the charity supported 120 people in the 12 months to March of this year.

The charity, which is based at Colgrain Equestrian Centre, has appeared regularly in the Advertiser over recent years - most recently in May, when we found out more about how its 'Tea with a Pony' sessions are helping people living in care homes in Helensburgh.

Louise revealed that the charity delivered 65 'Tea with a Pony' sessions during the year from April 2023 until March 2024.

The sessions allow care home residents to interact with horses, enjoy tea and sandwiches, and have a chat.

The 'Tea with a Pony' events are among more than 1,200 sessions which the charity's volunteers delivered during the course of the same 12 months.

In addition to 'Tea with a Pony', the charity's 57 volunteers - no mean feat in itself - delivered 796 riding sessions, 236 'carriage driving' sessions, 70 lessons in horse care and 80 'equine facilitated learning' sessions - a total of 1,247 events during the course of a single year.

And Louise says she, and the RDA's other volunteers, benefit from the sessions just as much as the people the charity works with. 

She said: “Being able to give back to the charity which gave me so much is rewarding in a way I can’t describe.

“I know first hand how lifechanging the impact of the RDA is, and it means so much to be able to help others."

Louise, a former Royal Navy officer, spoke to members of the U3A (University of the Third Age) group in Helensburgh on June 3 about how the RDA helped her regain her own confidence after her military career was cut short when she was injured in a training session.

She was so inspired by how the charity helped her that she agreed to become a board member and a trustee.

The Gareloch RDA works with children and adults with a wide range of physical and/or learning disabilities.

The charity has gone from strength to strength in recent years after admitting in 2020 that it was "struggling to survive" the impact of the Covid pandemic.

They are always welcoming new volunteers and those who are interested in helping out in any way should contact garelochrdasecretary@gmail.com.