We had a lot of fun in the sun at the Spring Common Academy fair on 21st June when Aeromark sponsored a visit from the Keysoe Cuddle Therapy Ponies for the children.
Spring Common Academy is an outstanding community special school for pupils age 3-19 with special needs in the Huntingdon area.
A handful of the students from the Academy attend a Riding For the Disabled Group that Hayley Marks, from Aeromark, volunteers for but we wanted to create an equestrian experience that was accessible for all the pupils.
The cuddle ponies, called Prince and Mouse, attended the fair for two hours so any child who wanted to could spend time interacting with them.
Veena Crowther, a teacher at Spring Common, and the fair organiser commented: “Your visit to us for the summer fair was a wonderful experience for all the students. We loved how hands on the visit was and how accommodating you all were for the different abilities of the students who came along to see the ponies. We had many wonderful comments from the teachers and Teaching Assistants who accompanied the students; it was extremely heartwarming to see the joy on the students faces as they interacted with the ponies. A big thank-you from Spring Common Academy for your time.”
Kaylea Jackson from Keysoe Therapy and Well-Being Centre added: “It was our absolute pleasure to join in with the summer fair at Spring Common Academy, it was great to see so many people having a really fun day. The ponies loved interacting with the pupils, parents and staff. They have a positive effect on all those they meet and helped to spread cheer and put smiles on many people’s faces."
The Keysoe Cuddle Therapy Ponies is a Community Interest Organisation based in Keysoe, North Bedfordshire. The ponies provide a unique Animal Assisted Therapy service to individuals, schools, hospices, care homes and organisations who would like to book a well-being visit. Known benefits are reduced stress, anxiety, improvement in mental and physical well-being, encouraging communication, empathy and confidence, and much more.
Thank you to Spring Common Academy for enabling us to support your school fair, and congratulations on raising £822.13, which will go towards a water feature for the Post 16 sensory garden, and a donation to the Wood Green Group who provide horse riding free of charge for the upper school students.
