Many, over the last year, have cherished the opportunity to engage in sports, albeit in an impaired form, to ease stress and provide an escape from the often monotonous monologue of Lockdown. I speak to Jessica Merritt, local resident and horse rider at Park Lane stables, Teddington, about her experience.
Jess began horse-riding at the age of five, and started at her current stables when she was ten. When asked about the challenges of horse-riding, particularly before the pandemic, Jess highlighted the fact that ‘you’ve got to respect that they’re [the horses] an animal. I took a horse on a ride once, and he ran into a main road, so I had to get off and take control of the situation myself. Everyone develops a connection with the horses they ride, but it is more about you learning to be confident in your own abilities with a horse.’
She described how her stables were able to allow experienced riders, such as Jess, to attend lessons after the first lockdown, before having to close again when Tier 4 restrictions were put in place. ‘Horse-riding was a blessing over lockdown. I had more time to be out in a park with a horse, which was really good for my mental health. It was an incredible stress-buster in that it allowed you to take your mind off school and impending deadlines and just go for a gallop’.
Because of the nature of horse-riding, it did not face as many changes as other sports, allowing riders to see one other person whilst exercising. ‘Horse riding was very much the same apart from the fact that nobody is being led, and you just chat to whoever you’re riding with for an hour. Humans are sociable beings so it was really nice to get away from home and just talk to somebody else about anything really’.
Equally, however, Jess identified clear issues precipitated by the pandemic within the sport. ‘One difference is that we had assigned lesson times which were fixed, and because I am not an official, paid worker the restrictions meant we could not stick around before or after our time-slot, and missed out on grooming the horses and other activities other than merely riding’. This was something that I heavily empathised with as a rower myself; the pandemic has the ability to strip sports down into just training, removing many of the elements that provide the full, enjoyable sporting experience.
Jess also noted that ‘because the restrictions prevented people from riding if they needed someone to lead them, only allowing experienced riders to come back, younger or disabled riders were not able to ride again. Park Lane is a big RDA [riding for the disabled association] stables, and they have started many initiatives that make horse-riding much more accessible for the disabled. Unfortunately, the pandemic ceased all of this’.
Park Lane stables has recently been in the news for their news of an uplifting campaign in which £1 million pounds was raised by the local community and others across the nation to save the stables. Jess described how ‘The stables used to lease their property, but the owner delivered the sad news that they would not be able to renew the lease this year, unless they could fundraise enough money to buy the stables. I spoke to a couple of people I knew and asked if they could donate, but initially it seemed very unlikely. Once the news and some celebrities raised awareness, as well as, of course, the local community, and more people got involved, it really started to take off; the result was incredible!’
