A local equestrian centre that helps young people build confidence and life skills through horses has been praised by both the Princess Royal and actor Martin Clunes during a royal visit last week.
The British Horse Society’s Changing Lives Through Horses (CLTH) programme – which supports young people outside mainstream education – was showcased last month at the Royal Armoured Corps Saddle Club in Bovington. The yard was the first in Dorset to offer the scheme, launching it back in 2019.
Princess Anne, vice-patron of the BHS, visited the centre to see the work being done through Changing Lives Through Horses and the BHS’s Coaching for All programme. During her visit, she toured the stables, classrooms and arenas, meeting students, staff and volunteers involved in the projects.
Steph Buchanan, manager of the RAC Saddle Club, said the visit was the culmination of months of preparation. She learned in March that the club had been nominated for a royal visit, but it wasn’t until August that she discovered they had been selected by Princess Anne herself.
‘It’s been absolutely awesome for us,’ Steph said. ‘Though we’d just held our British Eventing horse trials the day before, so it’s been a completely mad few weeks getting everything ready. In the last three weeks we’ve been juggling the preparation for the trials along with palace security visits, walkthroughs and timetables – but it was worth every bit of it.’
The Princess watched a packed afternoon of demonstrations, and presented certificates to four young riders who had completed their BHS Stage 1 qualification. One of these was 15-year-old Layla, who was referred to the Changing Lives programme from Wey Valley Academy, having never ridden before. She passed her Stage 1 exam “incredibly well”, Steph said.
Princess Anne also visited the classroom, where trainee coaches were working on their Coaching for All EDI section, before seeing a live lesson for three children in the CLTH programme as part of their Alternative Provision. Along the lines, members of the Household Cavalry demonstrated a practical assignment, while other Changing Lives students, working towards their own BHS Stage 1, were tacking up horses.
Steph said she was immensely proud of everyone involved: ‘The whole team – staff and students alike – were just amazing. The CLTH kids can struggle with confidence at times, but we’d rehearesed how to greet the Princess, and they were perfect. Brilliant. The horses all looked stunning, and the yard has never looked so good, it was spotless – not a blade of straw out of place. It was an astonishing day.’
In her speech, Steph also paid a candid tribute to the Will Does charity, of which she’s a trustee, which supports young people’s mental health. She brought the charity’s outreach bus onto the yard for the event, and said the day carried a deeply personal meaning. ‘I honestly am not sure I’d be here, doing this, if it hadn’t been for the loss of my nephew, Will,’ she said.
The RAC Saddle Club, which operates as a charity open to the wider community as well as the military, is one of 600 riding centres nationwide approved by the British Horse Society.
BHS president Martin Clunes told The BV: ‘It’s great to see the work of both BHS and Bovington Equestrian Centre being recognised in this way. The Changing Lives Through Horses programme is improving the conditions of young people who have slipped through other nets and haven’t been picked up on other radars. It gives them so much – I see it all the time.’
It was a day that reflected the heart of the Changing Lives programme – horses providing a bridge to confidence, connection and opportunity.
