News
The Duchess of Cornwall opens a riding school for disadvantaged young people
26th October 2011
The Duchess of Cornwall today praised the "passion" of young members of an inner city area's horse riding club.
Her Royal Highness was visiting Brixton, south London, to open the Ebony Horse Club's new £1.7 million purpose-built community riding centre.
The Duchess is President of the riding club, which was created in 1996 to give disadvantaged children and teenagers from the area access to horses and riding.
During her tour of the new centre, Her Royal Highness said: "You can just detect the passion these children have got for riding.
"The only problem is that there will be so many children wanting to come here now."
The Duchess said she visited the site three years ago when it was just empty land, adding: "To see the centre completed is a dream come true."
The Ebony Horse Club aims to use riding to help children with special educational needs, those at threat of exclusion or excluded from school, and those in need of extra support.
Its new centre is overlooked by the tower blocks of the Loughborough council estate and is in the Coldharbour ward, which is considered among the most deprived areas in Britain and is among the 15 London wards with the highest crime rates.
Shannel Foster, who belonged to the club as a child and now works there, told how it had improved the life of her brother, Nathan, before the 18-year-old was shot dead in Brixton in 2007 in an argument over a gold chain.
Ms Foster, 24, a senior youth worker for the club, said: "Nathan was a member of the club as well.
"It definitely helped him to be part of the club.
"He wasn't that good in school education-wise but he was able to learn a lot of social skills such as discipline through horse riding."
During The Duchess's visit, children from different age groups put on a display with Irish Cob horses which have been bought for the centre.
The new stables will house six Irish Cobs and one Connemara pony.
Until now children had to travel for an hour by minibus to ride horses.
Local Labour MP Tessa Jowell said she had given the centre her full backing from the start.
She said: "This is one of the London boroughs where more children ride than any other now because of Ebony.
"These are children who would never dream of going to Pony Club, learning how to ride, all the disciplines of looking after a pony, but thanks to Ebony they will."
Later in the day, The Duchess also opened a clinic and nursery which has undergone a £3.5 million refurbishment.
She spoke to parents and staff and watched a group of children sing nursery rhymes at the Bessborough Centre in Pimlico, central London.
From today the centre will offer 50 childcare places, three new play areas, direct access to a new garden and a new sensory room.
Westminster City Council funded the makeover of the Pimlico centre together with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
Nickie Aiken, Westminster Council's cabinet member for children's services, young people and community protection, said: "It was an absolute honour and fantastic to have royal endorsement with The Duchess visiting today.
"It was particularly special for us because of the royal connection the Bessborough has, having had the Queen Mother open it back in 1937.
"It's lovely for the children, the parents and the staff to continue that royal connection."