Our aim at Barrow Farm is to enable people with special needs and disabilities to develop their abilities and enrich their lives through riding.

Barrow Farm is a specially equipped riding centre in Mid Essex providing the opportunity for people with special needs and disabilities to ride. Barrow Farm is a registered charity.

Why not take a look round our website and meet the wonderful team that makes it all possible, the instructors, ponies, riders, supporters and volunteers. Come and join our team!

Dates for your diary

20th May 2012 RDA Regional Competition at Oaklands

9th June 2012 Barn Dance

18th June 2012 Dressage to Music lecture/demo - for more information contact Sally Dowsett

23rd July 2012 Spanish riding and sidesaddle display - for more information contact Sally Dowsett

23rd September 2012 Fun Dog Show Fun dog show schedule

Pony of the Month for May is Tawny

Tawny has been our hardest working pony throughout the last year, especially as he had to pick up some of Starra's riders whilst Starra was off with his sore leg. As a very strong and sturdy little pony Tawny is able to carry lightweight adults as well as children. Tawny has matured into a very calm, patient pony and so is good for riders who need time whilst mounting to get there balance. He also listens well and responds to voice aids (sometimes too well especially if Anne is teaching - walking on or stopping before the rider has had chance to ask him) but this voice control makes him an ideal pony for riders who find it difficult to use their legs.

Of course Tawny also has his cheeky side especially when it comes to food. For those of you who know Tawny you will know he is very fond of his food and can smell a carrot or an apple at 20m. Many unsuspecting volunteers have been pulled to the grass whilst bringing Tawny to the school as he cannot resist a bit of the green stuff. Some of you will know that Tawny has problems with his hooves and has to wear special shoes. These shoes mean that Tawny is not allowed out in the mud, so he has really enjoyed this winter as it was so dry (he wasn't sure about April though as that was definitely muddy). You will sometimes notice that the mud has been fenced off in the fields and this is so that Tawny can go out and enjoy himself. This is good news for Rocket who thinks Tawny is wonderful, Rocket loves going out with Tawny - a pony of similar size and the same breed (they are both Exmoor ponies) and they do enjoy playing together.

For more information about Tawny take a look at his 'Meet the Ponies' page.

Open Day Musical Rides

On Saturday 12th May Barrow Farm held an Open Day to celebrate Jet's 30th birthday. As well as singing happy birthday to Jet and seeing all the Barrow Farm horses and ponies parading in the school together there were four musical rides. Kath had the very difficult job of judging the musical ride competition. All the rides were brilliant and a lot of effort had been put in by riders, parents, carers and helpers. The final result were:

1st The Pirates of the 10am ride

2nd The 3pm ride as Dressage riders

3rd The Hawaiian themed 9am ride

4th The 12pm ride doing Mary Poppins

Well done to all of you and photos coming soon!

Fundraising update

There are currently lots of iniatives underway to help raise funds to cover the running costs of Barrow Farm. Unfortunately riding fees only cover about half the costs of running a session and it is difficult to get grants and large donations to cover the day to day expenses of the centre. Some of the things that you might like to get involved in at the moment include:

Fun dog show 22 April 2012

For all of you that attended the Fun Dog Show on 22 April you will be glad to hear that a great time was had and we raised nearly £1000. A big thanks to Jo Moss-Rowe for all the hard work she put in and don't forget there is another dog show on 23rd September 2012

The Giving Machine

Do you ever shop online at major retailers such as Amazon, Argos, Tesco, Play, iTunes, Next, Waterstones?

If the answer is YES, then you will be able to help Barrow Farm get donations from these retailers plus many more via a charitable giving organization called THE GIVING MACHINE.This is a not for profit giving organization which processes a donation from the retailer to your favourite charity – Barrow Farm – with no cost at all to you – or us! For example, if you wish to buy a book from Amazon, instead of going direct to the Amazon website, go to The Giving Machine website, register with them to identify Barrow Farm as your chosen charity, click on Shop with Us and choose Amazon and continue from there. We will get a donation from Amazon on the back of your purchase and it will cost you nothing, just an extra click or two of the finger. Many schools, clubs and charities are signing up to this organization and it’s a great way for us to get much needed funds and for you to support us. Please visit The Giving Machine website and check it out.

Coming soon to the website - watch this space!

Pony of the Month for June is going to be Macie - if anyone has any stories about Macie please email isobelgowers@gmail.com

Updated 14 May 2012