Another Facility Awarded Funding to Improve Facilities
Hoof Club CIC at Local Equestrian Centre Rein & Shine Awarded £68,000 from Sport England
The team at Hoof Club CIC (Community Interest Company), based in Braydon, Wiltshire, is thrilled to announce they have secured £68,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund.
Since 2011, Inspired Facilities has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport. This grant has been awarded alongside partnership funding from Rein & Shine Ltd and will be used to expand the extremely popular Hoof Club programme. It will involve converting a disused farm building into a training centre comprising an accessible classroom, clubroom and office. Restroom facilities will also be upgraded.
Hoof Club CIC, a not for profit organisation, offers riding and horse welfare training from aged 4 years old, to the entire community, including the opportunity for special educational needs children to have access through their schools at discounted rates. This can be via single term sessions, academic year courses, and two or three-year post education vocational courses. The educational courses can lead to BHS (British Horse Society) qualifications or even City and Guilds training. Competition training courses including show jumping, arena eventing and cross country training programs are also being expanded as a result.
The facility will become a cornerstone for the Special Educational Needs (SEN) community and can offer immediate free taster sessions to SEN/D departments of schools and colleges.
Hoof Club CIC director, John McDonald, said:
“Our Hoof Club has been widely embraced by the local community and we’ve attracted over 100 members in the last two-years. However, limited facilities have restricted any further growth. There is a large untapped demand for equine training which has been evidenced via local councillors, special needs school advisers and the local community. The initiative has also gained support from our local MP partly due to the planned increase in employment that this facility will generate.”
Work is set to commence at the end of this year and anyone interested in riding and equine training including schools, colleges and individuals can start applying for courses immediately.
Sport England Property Director, Charles Johnston, said:
“The Inspired Facilities Fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £102 million into more than 1,920 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs. It’s great to see Hoof Club CIC join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”
About Hoof Club CIC
Hoof Club CIC at Rein & Shine is the brain-child of husband and wife duo, John and Johanna McDonald. Johanna has been working with horses since her childhood years and brings enthusiasm, skill and professionalism to the equestrian business. Coupled with John’s wealth of experience in commercial enterprise, they have successfully built an equestrian centre with a difference. The have based the business around the motto ‘the customer must come first,’ and this is evident as the customer experience at Rein and Shine has been paramount to its successful operation.
Rein & Shine is a thriving livery yard, riding school, competition centre and facility hire business. Aside from their focus on customer services, the horses at Rein & Shine are of the utmost importance. Every horse stabled at the facility enjoys great hospitality, comfort and 24/7 care.
John and Jo, alongside their top team of staff, offer a unique blend of equestrian proficiency as well as a wider range of related interests that would appeal to the horse rider and to those who want something more than pure equine related activities.
Furthermore, Hoof Club CIC has been awarded the Accessibility Mark. This status is awarded to a riding centre that has been approved by RDA (Riding for the Disabled) following training and assessment. The close link with the RDA means that they offer continuous support to the establishment to ensure they provide you with a first class service and an experience that aims to be hugely beneficial. There are currently 30 Accessibility Mark approved centres across the country.
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.