Saddle Up: Renee’s Horse Riding Experience

We are always excited to discover inspiring stories involving young individuals!

This blog post is from Renee, a recent Achievement Award winner who went on a Showjumping Schoolmaster Lesson.

About Me

My name is Renee, and I am a 16-year-old equestrian who was nominated for the Jack Petchey Award at Ebony Horse Club in the summer of 2023.

The nomination took me by surprise, but my amazing friends at Ebony Horse Club chose me because they recognised and appreciated my commitment to Ebony as both a member, volunteer and friend. In return I spent the award on them.

For months, I was very indecisive about what I wanted to spend the award on, I had many ideas: new equipment for the horses, new jumps for the arena or a photoshoot with other volunteers and their favourite horses. My youth worker, Charlotte, gave me many suggestions while I pestered her for hours, trying to come up with the perfect idea.

Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to spend it on an unforgettable experience for me and my friends. I found a stables which offered a ride on schoolmasters which we hadn’t experienced, despite having the strongest desire to.

The Showjumping Schoolmaster Lesson

It was an unforgettable experience, which I often find myself thinking about in my free time and raving about with the friends I went with. We rode amazing horses at Prestige Equestrian which made the hour’s long drive more than worthwhile as we were able to transfer all of our years’ worth of training and skills onto these horses which exceeded all of our expectations. I also loved that I was able to share the experience with Amel, Liezl, Gesse, my youth worker Charlotte, my instructor China, and my sister Rhianna. They are all like sisters to me and made the whole trip one of the best days of my life.

None of this would have been possible without my amazing friends at Ebony who nominated me for the Achievement Award which funded the trip and the outstanding youth worker, Charlotte, who organised it meticulously through weeks if not months of planning. This experience really reminded me why I cherish the intangible, wealth of friendships and experiences I have at Ebony Horse Club, and I am grateful for everyone who made this possible.

If you are interested in sharing your Achievement Award story, send an email to pr@jackpetchey.org.uk.