Birthday wish comes true for 100-year-old thanks to disabilities charity

The group received an unusual request from the family of Audrey Merry, who lives at Skylark House care home and has just celebrated her 100th birthday.

Audrey has a bucket list of wishes for her centenary year, one of which was to sit in the saddle again and re-live her riding days from the past.

She visited the group to watch them in action and pet the ponies and with the support of RDA volunteers, her family and care home staff she returned a couple of weeks later to make her wish come true.

A spokesman for the care home said: “We were told that Audrey mounted Toffee with confidence and enthusiasm and carried out several laps of the school with a straight back, perfect riding position and a beaming smile on her face, recounting tales of her youth as she went.”

Audrey said: “I was very excited about being in the saddle again, that it was like being a girl again and brought back many long forgotten memories such as riding in the hills.

“It seemed to instantly transport me back to my youth and when I used to cross the river Thames by boat to go school and brought back some memories that my family had never heard before.”.

The South Downs RDA Group has a great team of volunteers, but are always on the look out for more help, so if you think you would like to become involved visit: www.southdownsrda.org

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