A YOUNG rider from Dymock, near Ledbury, has qualified for the prestigious Riding for Disabled national championships.

Ryan Gwilliam has just competed at the RDA Mid-West regional qualifiers held at the Avon Centre in Bristol.

The 13-year-old, who attends Alderman Knight School in Tewkesbury, has been riding with the Maisemore RDA Group for the past 3-and-a-half years.

“Riding the group’s 11-year old pony, Amos, he put in a strong performance in the hotly contested countryside challenge class to come second,” said June Savidge, who is press officer for the Maisemore RDA group.

“We are delighted that Ryan has now qualified for the RDA national championships being held at Hartpury College in July.

It is wonderful to see how much Ryan gets out of riding.”

Ryan’s father Steve said that his son has a short attention span as he suffers with Aspergers Syndrome after contracting pneumonia when he was just a few months old.

“We are not a horsey family but Ryan is transformed when he is with horses,” said Steve.

“The effect they have on him is amazing and he has a real empathy with them. We are so proud of him competing in the championships and the whole family will be there offering their support.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the RDA. The work that they do is unbelievable.”

The championships take place at the Gloucestershire college over the weekend of July 12 to 14, and is the RDA’S flagship event, bringing together hundreds of competitors of all abilities in a range of events. These include dressage, countryside challenge, vaulting – gymnastics on a horse – horse care and knowledge, arts and crafts, best turned out and musical ride.

“This event reflects the coaching of flatwork skills and school movement, which is included in most RDA sessions,”

said Anne Coney, chairman of the championships.

“The championships have grown year on year and are now bigger than the Paralympics and Para World Championships combined.In previousyears ithasprovedtobe a springboardfor theParalympics, withmanyof the current team having competedthere.”

The event has been held at Hartpury since 2002 and last year saw the introduction of carriage driving, which will be held on Friday afternoon and will consist of a dressage test, a cones course and an obstacle course.

Ryan will be competing in the dressage test and countryside challenge, which is a development of skills acquired in RDA sessions.

The course is focused on school movements which are both challenging and stimulating for the rider but the focus is on having fun. They will undergo challenging tasks such as going through the gate into the farmyard, encountering sheep and hens. Steering balance and confidence are all put to the test, said Mrs Coney.