With the rise of ill mental health in riders, Riders Minds has announced that their helplines are being taken in-house, and expanded with additional mental health and well-being services that includes help for those experiencing bullying and confidence issues.
“When we set up Riders Minds, we always wanted to be able to support all equestrian people in any time of need,” said Victoria Wright, Founder and Chair of Riders Minds. “Having our services available 24/7 was very important to us. This is a service that we’ve always outsourced whilst we grew and evolved as a charity.”
“Having listened to the people who have used our resources, and to people from within the industry, it was important to us to bring everything in-house and that our services were provided by trained people who also had knowledge and understanding of what is an incredibly tough industry,” Wright explained.
“When we put a call out for volunteers we were overwhelmed with the response and goodwill of people with a background in mental health, either being counsellors or Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA’s) who were involved in the industry and were prepared to give up their time to help others. These people will be our frontline workers and able to assist and support people, whatever the circumstances, and will be supported by our Riders Minds counsellors.”
The transformed service will provide support for people dealing with problems like bullying on yards or confidence issues – a new service that is totally unique to the industry. The helpline will also enable qualified counsellors to be linked into calls, meaning users will be supported faster.
Riders Minds Volunteer Coordinator, Martin Schleicher said, “Our volunteers are compassionate horse lovers from all walks of the equestrian life, united by a fervent interest in mental well-being and wanting to contribute to the equestrian community. The helpline team have undergone thorough training from the Riders Minds team and will be continuously supported throughout their positions as volunteers. The equestrian knowledge of the helpline team means they fully understand all the struggles and challenges equestrians face on a daily basis and are ready to listen.”
The development of the volunteers’ database has allowed an additional new feature for equestrian events to be able to book a MHFA via the Riders Minds website should they feel they want this onsite support for riders, grooms, owners or parents/partners. “The recent updates to our services are not only groundbreaking for the equestrian industry; but so differently adaptable for any industry and we would welcome conversations to improve mental health support across different sectors in the UK,” added Victoria.
To find out more about Riders Minds and to access the live chat go to Riders Minds. If you would like to talk to someone call the helpline on 0300 102 1540, or text 07480 488 103. Due to the change in services please note that the text support has a new number.
All of the Riders Minds services are free, 100% confidential, and accessible 24 hours a day.
Katie Gilmour is the host of Poles, Piaffe & Prosecco: the podcast for riders that love to train, laugh and drink prosecco! The podcast is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Katie is a Webby and ESMA award winning multi-media journalist with an equestrian focus. She hosts the podcast Poles, Piaffe & Prosecco, which is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Katie lives on her family farm in West Sussex with her husband, four children and an assortment of horses, ponies, dogs, cats and poultry.