Volunteering Afternoon 1:
Our first afternoon of volunteering took place on the 30/01/24 at the Clwyd Special Riding Centre.
Jack, our Approved Electrician, Oli, our Electrical Apprentice, and Joe, one of our Sales Surveyors,
spent the afternoon there.
Sara, the Volunteering Co-ordinator, welcomed our staff warmly. Her passion for the mission of
Clwyd Special Riding Centre shone through as she extended her gratitude for their dedication to the
cause. Sara guided our staff through the riding centre – showing them the stables, greeting the
groomers, and the different buildings where the riders go to learn.
The first task on the agenda was to tidy up the Christmas decorations for storage, this involved
organising them into the appropriate boxes depending on the type of decoration. Once all the
decorations were boxed up, they needed to be transported over to the storage room which had a
tarpaulin over the top to protect them from any rain.
The volunteers then began their second task of the afternoon – tidying up the horse coat room. Sara
briefed the team on how the coat room had been organised previously, and how to find the sizes of
each coat. They then went through finding the sizes, and figuring out how many of each they had so
that they could allow appropriate space on the shelf. Finally, they labelled up and laid the coats
down neat and tidy.
Sara expressed her gratitude the next day with a heartfelt email, conveying how polite our staff were
and how much it meant to the staff at Clwyd Special Riding Centre for those jobs being completed.
Volunteering Afternoon 2:
Our second afternoon of volunteering took place on the 14/02/24 at Clwyd Special Riding Centre.
Lauren, Our Head of Operation, Sophie, our Health & Safety Manager, and Meg, our Sales Support
spent the afternoon there.
Similar to the previous volunteering session, Sara greeted our staff at arrival and gave them a tour of
the Centre, showing the stables, and telling them about the different horses they had recently
gained.
The task at hand that day was clearing out two large cupboards at the back of their common room.
Sara had said they had not gone through them for most likely 10+ years. They had many different
objects inside, such as files, fancy dress costumes, old awards, and old riding equipment.
They began with the cupboard on the left by removing everything from within, laying it all out on a
table clearly so they could go through everything. They then swept and dusted inside the cupboard
before everything went back in.
They then moved on to the right cupboard, which was bursting compared to the first cupboard they
sorted through, which took them longer.
Again, Sara was very grateful for their help in a job they just don’t have time to do. We have already
booked in our next session with them.