Twickenham Stadium Visitors Climb into the Saddle
It’s not every day that the iconic Twickenham Stadium is home to any sport other than rugby, but it scored a try with fans by putting them in touch with horse riding during The Clash – Bath Rugby’s match against Leicester Tigers (on 8 April), which was kicked off by a range of fun-filled family activities.
Members of the Take up the Reins campaign – a national initiative to encourage people of all ages to connect with horses – rode into town with RoboCob and Henry, two lifelike riding simulators, to take their place in the West Fan Village’s Have a Go at Equestrian area, alongside other sports on offer.
During the one-day event, 170 visitors climbed into the saddle to experience a realistic walk, trot and canter under the watchful eye of the Take up the Reins experts and instructors from the Park Lane Stables, Teddington.
Everyone who took part was presented with a fantastic goody bag, complete with an information guide for anyone wishing to take up horse riding, a £10 Equine Taster Experience voucher to put towards a riding session and a coupon that can be exchanged for a free pair of riding gloves when buying a first pair of jodhpurs and boots.
“We were thrilled with the tremendous response from families,” said Take up the Reins coordinator Tina Hustler. “Everybody loved the mechanical horses and it was wonderful to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they experienced their first-ever canter. Horse riding is a great activity for people of all ages and from different backgrounds, and The Clash certainly helped us to demonstrate this.”
The Take up the Reins campaign was devised by the British Equestrian Trade Association and supported by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to encourage greater equestrian participation among people of all ages and backgrounds.
For further information, visit takeupthereins.co.uk.
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.