Accessibility Mark Centres Join Forces with Disabled Access Day

Accessibility Mark Centres Join Forces with Disabled Access Day

Accessibility Mark has joined forces with Disabled Access Day to encourage more disabled people to attend their participating riding centre to find out about the opportunities on offer.

Businesses can hold their Disabled Access Day on March 10th, 11th or 12th 2017 and this event encourages venues to showcase their facilities and the services they provide.

RDA Chief Executive Ed Bracher said: “Accessibility Mark is now developing into a great success and we are delighted to be promoting Disabled Access Day in the Spring.

“We want as many people as possible to get involved and go along to their local Accessibility Mark accredited riding centre to take part in the activities they are running.”

Riding establishments are planning a host of events to run over the three days including:

• Riding sessions.
• Non-riding activities that can provide interaction with horses.
• Information about how riding can be beneficial to disabled people.

There are currently 12.2 million disabled people in the UK and according to a recent study by the English Federation of Disability Sport, only two out of every ten disabled people are regularly involved in activities. A further seven out of ten wanted to be more actively involved but were unaware of any local opportunities.

Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), in partnership with Hoof, the British Equestrian Federation’s (BEF) participation programme launched the revolutionary Accessibility Mark scheme with the aim of getting more disabled people to participate in riding.

Accessibility Mark status is awarded to a riding centre that has been approved by RDA following training and assessment. The close link with the RDA means that they offer continuous support to the establishment to ensure they provide a first class experience that aims to be hugely beneficial.

Participating centres will be holding Disabled Access Day events where people can find out about the range of opportunities on offer, try a free taster session and find out how inclusive riding as a sport can be.

As Accessibility Mark is specifically aimed at non RDA centres the level of disability that can be catered for varies from centre to centre. Please telephone your nearest Accessibility Mark centre to find out what events they have planned for Disabled Access Day. Activities will need to be booked in advance.

There are currently 37 Accessibility Mark approved centres across the country. To find your nearest RDA Group or Accessibility Mark centre visit www.rda.org.uk.

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.