Eat, Sleep, Ride - which helps people overcome personal issues - is set for a makeover
A project which uses horse riding to give people the confidence to excel has received a funding boost.
Eat, Sleep, Ride (ESR), a licensed riding school and trekking centre in Eyemouth, was launched last year to help people overcome personal challenges, including mental health issues, and provide an alternative learning environment to mainstream education to teenagers at risk of being excluded or no longer in full-time education.
And now the community interest company is set to undergo a makeover after securing funding.
Founder, Danielle McKinnon (33) used advice from Business Gateway Scottish Borders to successfully apply for £20,006 from Scottish Borders LEADER.
The funding, combined with £13,328 raised by ESR, will be used to: resurface the facility’s indoor arena, construct a field shelter for the enterprise’s 12 horses and ponies, purchase a quad bike, and take on a project manager, handyman, and a marketer on a temporary basis.
McKinnon said: “I am delighted to have secured funding through LEADER and would like to thank my Business Gateway adviser, Annie Watt, for helping me prepare all the documentation needed to support the application. She’s been with me right from the start, pushing me forward, answering any questions I have had, helping me with my cash flow, advertising, marketing, and connecting me to other organisation who have supported my business.”
Watt said: “Having never set up a social enterprise before, Danielle turned to us for advice on how to put structures in place to launch Eat, Sleep, Ride.
“Through one-to-one assistance we’ve increased her business knowledge and practical skills and helped her expand her contacts book within the local area. Further support with the funding application not only ensured she’d provided all the information needed, it gave her greater confidence in her own abilities.”
The drive to provide children and adults with an opportunity for personal growth stems from McKinnon’s own experiences as a teenager. Aged 15, and facing various problems at home and school, she attended the local stables in Edinburgh and then volunteered at stables in Sussex near her grandparent’s house run by people with learning disabilities.
Realising that working with horses gave her a greater sense of self-worth she successfully applied for a college apprenticeship at Oatridge Agricultural College the following year. Since then she has gained extensive experience and qualifications in horse riding, horse management and teaching.
She said: “My life experiences have given me a greater understanding of some of the challenges people face and how difficult it can be to overcome them through traditional means.
“At Eat, Sleep, Ride we provide people of all ages and personal challenges with an opportunity to learn stable management. We show them how to care for the horses in the field, how to feed and water them and give them the opportunity to lead them during lessons.
“We also provide an opportunity to learn how to ride and use the lessons to instil trust and teamwork. By working with the horses people gain a connection with them, they share the responsibility of looking after them, they learn how to work with others, and the horses accept them for who they are.”
