HORSES and ponies are now warm and out of the harsh wind after a riding school received a life-changing sum of money from the Oxford Mail’s parent company.

Abingdon Riding for the Disabled teaches disabled children and adults to ride horses and ponies to the best of their ability, while always having fun.

At the end of 2015 staff and volunteers were overjoyed when they discovered they had been granted £5,000 from the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of the paper’s parent company. They applied for the money to build sturdy shelters for their animals, and at the end of last month were delighted to finish the project.

Chairman of Abingdon RDA, Ann Barlow, said: “The horses and ponies love them.

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“They are proper, solid field shelters and whenever we go out into the field now the ponies are all inside.

“Our horses and ponies are essential to providing our service, and their welfare is of prime importance to us.

“Both in the winter and in the summer months these shelters are vitally important to our ponies to protect them from wind, rain, snow and very hot sun.

“But we could just not afford them. And those fields do take a huge bashing from the wind.”

Mrs Barlow said studies had proved there was a direct correlation between the amount of time individuals spend riding horses and their improvement in a range of life skills, including the ability to communicate, gain confidence and build relationships.

The group has a long waiting list and riders range from two to 70 years old.

Each year the Gannett Foundation offers community groups the chance to apply for donations of between £5,000 and £10,000.

It is always a tough decision to whittle down the many worthy applications that come in from charities that do amazing work across the county.

Last year’s applications were reviewed by staff at the Oxford Mail and the best ones were sent on to the Gannett Foundation to decide which groups would receive grants.

Three were chosen – Abingdon Riding for the Disabled, reading charity ARCh Bicester and Katharine House Hospice – and were handed money that has now made a huge difference to the people that use their services.

The foundation will be inviting applications again towards the end of this year.