Posted: 24th June 2019 | Back to news feed

To celebrate its 50th anniversary year in 2019, Riding for the Disabled Association is marking the milestone through its 50 Faces campaign, telling the stories of some of the amazing people who make RDA the extraordinary organisation it is today.

Designed to challenge preconceptions about disability and volunteering, and to celebrate the diversity and inclusiveness of RDA, 50 Faces features a collage of portraits, as well as the surprising and often moving stories of horse riders, carriage drivers and volunteers from all over the UK.

“A 50th anniversary could be a time for looking back, but we wanted to celebrate where we are now, as leaders in disability sport, and also look to our future – helping even more disabled people to benefit from time with horses.” says Caroline Ward, Communications Manager at RDA UK. “50 Faces is an engaging and interactive way for people to find out more about what we do – and will hopefully inspire more people to get involved.”

Here we meet…

Pranay Nama

Pranay Nama has been a participant with Chigwell Riding Trust for 14 years and was first introduced to riding on the suggestion of his physiotherapist.

Born prematurely and with left hemiplegia, Pranay has cerebral palsy, left field vision impairment and learning difficulties but his motto is ‘It’s all about your ability rather than your disability’.

When he first began riding he was unable to walk but he felt proud to be riding his first horse called Poppet. Riding Poppet helped a determined Pranay to become physically stronger as the natural gait of a horse is similar to that of a human. Participating in a hobby also helped increase his confidence.

During those early days riding, Pranay was assisted by two side-walkers who, as well as teaching him skills such as steering, also helped him with building relationships socially and learning to interact with others.

At 18, Pranay now has independent lessons after having a block of one-to-one sessions to transition him from a group lesson. Being in total control of the horse was a great feeling and enabled him to get the recognition of the skills he has learnt and the confidence he has built over the years.

pranay

Said Pranay: “The instructors teach you everything from coordination to more technical things and you get lots of time to practice and the volunteers are so nice and welcoming too, always on hand to help you out.”

Pranay got the chance to see how much work goes into running an RDA Group when he did his work experience at the centre. Working with the volunteers, he got stuck in with the mucking out and preparing the horses for the classes.

Looking to the future, Pranay would like a career in the media and is currently a student at the Global Academy which has amazing facilities such as radio, TV and music studios.

During its official opening in 2017 in conjunction with Heart FM’s Breakfast Show, Pranay was part of the production team with presenters Emma Bunton and Jamie Theakston. The official launch was also attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry as part of their ‘Heads Together’ campaign to raise awareness of mental health.

“At the moment I am doing my final major project and I have chosen to do an audio podcast on the benefits of riding and volunteering at RDA. I am passionate about the work they do here at Chigwell and through sharing my story I hope it will inspire more people to get involved.” added Pranay.

You can read Pranay’s story, and meet the other 49 Faces of RDA at www.rda.org.uk  

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