A HITTESLEIGH group of volunteers which gives local children with special needs the chance to learn to ride a pony has won a lottery grant of £2,600.
The money for Hittesleigh Riding for the Disabled, which comes from the Lottery 'Awards for All' scheme, will be used to set up a disabled toilet unit at the stables where the children ride.
Up to 16 children from the Okehampton and Crediton areas attend the riding sessions held at Penny Hill's South Nethercott Farm stables near Whiddon Down each week throughout the summer.
All the helpers, the teacher and physiotherapist, give their time voluntarily while the running costs are provided by the parents and by fundraising events organised by group members.
Last year Hittesleigh riders swept the board at the county Riding for the Disabled show held at Exeter where they won the team shield and one of their young riders Jennifer Howard was show champion.
The next fundraising event is a coffee morning at Castle Drogo on November 21 from 10am -12 noon.
Hittesleigh Riding for the Disabled Group member Cicely Drewe said this was the first time they had received a lottery grant and everyone was delighted.
'We have been going for ten years and we have funded everything ourselves in the past,' she said. 'We are very pleased to get this extra money which will be a great help to us in providing another facility.'
Mrs Drewe said one of the main things the children had gained from riding was confidence.
'It is also very nice if you are wheelchair bound to be able to sit on a pony — it gives you a different perspective,' she said.