A FAMILY fun day was held at Camelford Leisure Centre to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the North Cornwall Riding for the Disabled group recently.

Held on Saturday, April 14, many former volunteers, riders and parents attended and the organisers were delighted that the founder member, Mrs Margaret Harrison, was able to come along and share memories with other members from those early days as well as current volunteers and riders.

A display of photos of past and present riders and events was very popular with everyone. Refreshments were provided in the form of a bar and barbecue; there were stalls with cakes for sale, bric-a-brac, tombola, art and crafts, as well as cream teas available; and Johnny Cowling provided some very enjoyable entertainment, ably assisted by one of the group’s own volunteers, Francis Larkin.

The group was started all those years ago by Mr and Mrs Harrison at Tall Trees Riding Stables, and with hard work and help from friends soon became well established.

Some 20 years later, the group moved to Lakefield Equestrian Centre, where it is currently based, and some of those early riders are still riding with the group today.

It was primarily intended that the celebration be a social occasion, but the group are delighted to have raised £887 on that day, and would like to thank everyone for their generosity and help in making the day such a successful one.

There are a number of events coming up at Lakefield, including a regional competition on Tuesday, May 15.

The group has been successful in the Tesco Bags of Help token collection scheme and will be receiving £4,000 in due course.

Thanks were expressed to everyone who contributed to the huge collection of tokens the group received at the end of last year.

For more information on the group, visit rdanorthcornwallgroup.weebly.com