Anne Mitchell explores the history of Barrow Farm RDA, remembering some old friends along the way...

1976-2006. How did it all start.

People often ask, how did Barrow Farm start? Well, in a very small way is the answer. In April 1976 a leaflet about R.D.A. was put through our door. It suggested ways to help or maybe start a group. I had just left my job as a riding instructor in Middlesex and was at a loose end. We had ponies and fields. So we thought, we could start a group, mum would be group organizer and I could teach one morning a week, do my bit for charity. I often wonder who put that leaflet through our letterbox.

Like everything in life, the R.D.A. of 30 years ago was very different from that of today. Health and safety as an industry hadn't been invented and common sense still ruled. Seriously though, looking back it was all ridiculously easy. We were visited by the R.D.A. Regional and county representatives. They were enthusiastic and supportive and gave us lots of help and advice. They put us in touch with the late Mrs. Carey M.B.E. from Woodlands School in Chelmsford. Woodlands had been wanting the opportunity to ride and couldn't wait to get going.

The first ride was on a Monday in May 1976, twelve children arrived in the mini bus and as they tumbled out I did wonder how we were going to manage. I had never seen children like them. Although we had visited the school and been shown round it was very different seeing the children out of the classroom, near my ponies. But with the confidence of youth I just got on with it. My mother had put together an excellent team of helpers, and with advice and help from Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Best from Woodlands the first session was a success. I remember one girl was very frightened and spent six weeks leading Fern round the paddock. But once she plucked up the courage to get on she loved it and made speedy progress. We were all hooked, the smiles on the children's faces, the pride of their parents at our first open day, made us all feel that we were really making a difference. It was a far cry from my previous teaching experience and a thousand times more rewarding.

Most importantly we must remember the first ponies, Minnie, Thistle and Fern, joined in August ‘76 by Sandy who was given to me by the late Pam Taylor. Four small Exmoor ponies, a native breed renowned for its stamina and strength but also often thought too strong and willful. They proved themselves to be ideal R.D.A. ponies, coping with children and small adults with ease. They helped make Barrow Farm the success it quickly became. In fact I would go so far as to say, " Barrow farm was built on the back of the Exmoor Pony-. And very broad backs they were too, they coped with the wobbly, unbalanced riders easily and took the noisy ones in their stride. And of course we took them for granted. It was only years later when trying to replace them that I fully realized how lucky I had been to have them.

They went everywhere. In those days the question, -will we be insured?- was not even thought about. We took part in carnivals, displays, gave pony rides, took riders to fancy dress competitions, in fact anywhere that we could promote ourselves and raise money. Joined by Thistle and Minnie's daughter Honey, and Moonwind they walked round Essex in 1977, raising money to build the indoor school.

I was often asked, why did you use Exmoors? And the answer is very simple, because I had them, had grown up with them and trusted them. They did me proud, and gave us a unique identity, we were the group that used Exmoor ponies. It made for a talking point, always good when you are new and need to raise huge amounts of cash.

Word got round that a new R.D.A. group was up and running and by the autumn of 1976 we had been approached by The Endeavor School in Brentwood and Great Stoney school at Ongar. We were doing three sessions a week. We charged riders 25p and every one involved gave their time. We also had some weekend riders, two of whom are still coming. Soon riders from Bridge hospital school joined us and their headmaster was so enthusiastic that he wanted them to ride all year round. So for a winter we loaded ponies into a horsebox and took them to Norton Heath to use the indoor school.

It soon became apparent that there was a huge demand for riding but also that many of the riders could not cope with the winter weather. We couldn't take them all to Norton Heath.

We started talking about an indoor school. When all you have is a muddy field and no money an indoor school seems like an impossible dream. But my mother was equal to the challenge and, supported by my father, gathered together a team of fundraisers who over the next five years set about turning the dream into reality. The ponies were again put in training for a second sponsored ride, this time to go to Norfolk. Why Norfolk you may ask, well it was the home of our indoor school builders and certainly posed a challenge. I became very handy with an O.S. map. This time Sabre, Mischief, Honey and Moonwind did the walking.

The first planning application was turned down, we knew we were in Green Belt but learnt that we were also in an -area of outstanding natural beauty-. We had naively thought we're a charity, doing a good job , we’ll get planning permission. We soon learnt better . Not only did we face the challenge of raising money, we also had to win over the borough and the county councils. We regrouped, re-kindled enthusiasm, sought planning advice and re-submitted the plans and eventually permission was granted.

Fundraising was non stop, who can remember the pony badges, the discos in the barn, the dinner dances, the horse shows and fetes in the front field? We produced Christmas and greetings cards, held raffles and sold anything we could get our hands on. A brave committee took the difficult decision to take out a loan and build. R.D.A. gave us a grant and a loan, half of which was later converted to a grant. I think they got fed up with waiting for us to repay. I don’t think that would happen now!

More pictures needed if I can find them. So many people were involved it would be impossible to mention them all, but special thanks are due to our chairman for the -Indoor school years- Mr. Geoff Banham. There was a man who was an expert at -networking- long before the term was widely used. Our secretary, Jean Gascoigne whose organizing skill was evident in the smooth running of our Royal Opening. And our treasurers during the overdraft years, firstly Mr. Ken Dixon followed by Mr. Bob Skingsley, both of whom kept a cool head despite a bank account permanently in the red.

In August 1981 the shell of our indoor school was built. Flooring, lights and kickboards followed as grants were secured and money raised. The area where the amenity rooms are now remained an empty shell for another three years while we raised more money. Finally everything was finished and October 1984 saw us the proud hosts to The Princess Royal when she visited to officially open the indoor school.

We were also left with a larger than I care to admit overdraft, which hovered over us like a dark cloud for many a year.

Rides had continued to increase. Elmbrook School from Basildon, Haywards School from Chelmsford, Little Highwood Occupational Centre and Chelmsford Training Centre had all joined us. More riders came with their parents after school and at weekends.

More ponies came into work, I wonder how many of you reading this remember Huckleberry Pied Piper, (H.P. for short), Pipkin, Flame, Tango and Sabre. They all started their R.D.A. careers during those first ten years. H.P. came on loan from the local riding school, Flame was given to the group. The others were already here and like the ponies already mentioned belonged to the Mitchell family. The only one of the early ponies still with us is Mischief, he is 31 this year.

So the first ten years had passed, the group had grown beyond any expectations we might have had. 1986 saw us celebrating our tenth anniversary, feeling proud of our achievements, and looking forward to the next ten years. To read what those years brought us, watch out for the next newsletter.

Barrow Farm continued to be very busy with rides and fundraising. There was a large overdraft to pay off and we were very unlucky to be owing money at a time of sky high interest rates.

One of our biggest fundraisers was the Craft Fair, organized by my late father Mr. Peter Mitchell. For a few years it was so popular we held two a year. Stall holders and customers came from far and wide, the wine tasting was always particularly popular as I remember.

The Barrow Farm stall sold goods featuring paintings of the ponies. They were done by local artist Mary Turner who was our chairman for several years and donated several paintings to the group. You may have seen them on the walls in the amenity block. Christmas cards were a very good fund raiser and people looked forward to seeing the new card each year.

My mother and father took the Barrow Farm stall to events, selling goods and promoting the group.

In spring 1989 we received a surprise phone call from the chairman of R.D.A. asking if we would like to have Jet, the second Blue Peter Pony. Lots of excitement followed, we were going to be on the telly. Jets arrival was a super, if very hectic day. He was already an experienced television star, and took meeting all our ponies and riders in his stride. Our riders turned out in force to welcome him and the sun shone.

He has been here ever since, thanks to R.D.A. for choosing us as his home. For many years he remained an R.D.A. owned pony on loan to Barrow Farm. Then two years ago when it became necessary to get him a passport R.D.A. gave him to us, so we are now the proud owners of -Jet The Blue Peter Pony- Many people think Blue Peter or the R.D.A. paid for his keep and care. That was never the case, Blue Peter paid for him and his training then handed him over to R.D.A. and when he was placed at Barrow Farm we became wholly responsible for all the costs of keeping him.

The storms of the late 80’s gave our stables a battering and during the winter of 90/91 we replaced some old stables and added some new ones. At the request of the council a tree screen was planted and if you look across when driving down the lane you will see that the trees have matured nicely.

Picture of lane?

In 1994 we had the idea of teaching Jet to pull a carriage so we could do Driving for the Disabled. This involved a huge amount of work as not only did Jet have to learn, I did as well. We learnt together, not the ideal way, but thanks to expert help from many people and Jets natural talent, we were successful. He took to pulling a carriage like a duck to water. In October 1995 we passed our R.D.A. driving assessment and started teaching carriage driving.

Other riders joined us, a group from Loughton Adult Training Centre on Friday afternoons, and many more riders started coming at the weekends or after school. During this time Saturdays became very busy, many of our riders were integrated into mainstream education and could only attend on Saturdays.

More ponies joined us. Schnapps, Diamond, Polly, Maggie and Mouse all came and took their place in our equine team. And sadly we lost some of the older ones. Founder ponies Minnie and Fern, and little Pipkin. I still miss them, Minnie and Fern were part of my teenage years.

Who can remember Pipkins strange habit of trying to walk over the cones, I used to make riders laugh by saying he was going mountain climbing. He was also a dab hand at tripping people up, whilst nonchalantly looking the other way with an innocent expression. Before you start worrying about us using this naughty sounding pony I should point out that he was only about 10.2 hh.

In 1995 we were very lucky to be chosen by M&G staff as their charity. Thanks to them and to Mr. Doug Denman who publicized the project needing funding in the Gallops newsletter at the time. We would never have raised the £20.000 it cost without them. This project was to build an outdoor riding area, a manege. This would enable us to ride in a safe environment outside. Our riding school is very hot in warm weather, and although we had fields health and safety was starting to make its presence felt and riding in a big field was thought to be risky. The manege is bigger then the school, so gives riders a feeling of space. For those riding off lead it is a real step up to ride by themselves outside.

And so our next ten years passed, the group had continued to expand. Many people, far too many to mention them all, helped to make Barrow Farm successful. But I must mention and thank our secretary for fifteen years, Jean Gascoigne, who emigrated to Canada in 1991.

Last year Barrow Farm celebrated its 30th anniversary, proud of having provided riding facilities for people with special needs and/or disabilities for 30 years. During the last ten years we have made further improvements to the facilities. We have resurfaced the indoor school floor, thanks to a grant from The Currie Trust. We have improved health and safety and disability access by putting in a viewing gallery, new ramp and hoist and automatic doors. This was made possible by a grant from Chelmsford’s Jubilee Fund for 50% of the cost. We have had essential maintenance to do including field fencing and stable roofs.

Fund raising continues, we hold quizzes and barn dances, we make grant applications and continue to be fortunate in the support we get from the community.

We employ two full time and one part time staff and keep twelve horses and ponies. Our annual expenditure is approx £65-70,000, costs for the horses tend to vary a little, a large vet bill can make a big difference.

We have 118 rides a week and 50% live in Chelmsford borough.

We make a charge of £3.00 for school rides and £8.00 for all other rides. £8.00 is less than half the average commercial rate for riding lessons, fundraising has to make up the shortfall to meet expenses.

The demand for riding continues to be high, we currently have a waiting list of over twenty. Riding is widely recognised to be both enjoyable and beneficial for a variety of reasons.

The benefits of riding are many and varied.