The race is on to save Scotland's oldest Riding for the Disabled (RDA) school, a crucial centre for the area. Billy More Nisbett, whose grandmother Sheila More Nisbett founded the school in 1959, has just embarked on the New Zealand coast-to-coast race, which involves cycling, running and kayaking hundreds of miles to raise £27,000 to repair the arena surface at Drum RDA in Edinburgh (0131-664 5803; www.drumrda.org.uk).
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‘Any help or donations would be magic, as we're one of the busiest RDA centres in the UK, with more than 250 riders a week, and the surface urgently needs replacing,' says Billy's mother, Patrea More Nisbett. ‘Riding is automatic physiotherapy and it's so much easier to do that when you're enjoying it.'
The popular riding centre was born after Anne Hendry, a local polio victim, was given a ride on Topper, the family pony. The RDA's network of 500 volunteer groups offers riding, carriage driving, vaulting and showjumping to up to 28,000 people each year. To adopt or sponsor one of Drum's 10 ponies, or to make a donation to Billy's Bonkers Bash, visit bit.ly/billyrda.
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