TWIN SPRING CLEAN UP!

(Photo credit: Sam Horn).

Annual Championship Event 2009

    Eleven young people took part in our sixth annual championship, held on 8th April this year at Chelsfield Riding School. Shanice Reid made club history by becoming the first person to retain the championship title from the previous year, with twin sister Shaneka hot on her heels in second place.
    Riding instrutor Liz Dougill assessed the competitors and noticed a big improvement since last year. The young people completed a written test on horse knowledge, tacked up, and underwent a one hour riding assessment.
    Prizes were generously sponsored by our patron Valerie Shawcross, Member of the London Assembly. The first three places won riding hats, and the next eight won horse books. Goody bags were kindly provided by Claire McCaffery-Clarke, British Horse Society Development Officer, London and the South east.

Results: 1st, Shanice Reid; 2nd, Shaneka Reid; 3rd, Shaniel Swaby; 4th, Perola Da Cruz; 5th, Chloe Rice.

(Photo credit: Sam Horn).

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

Could you be a Foundation Sponsor?

    We are inviting individuals, businesses and organisations to become Foundation Sponsors of our much needed planned £1.5m riding centre by donating £5,000 or more to the building fund. A reception to launch The Foundation Sponsors Scheme was held on 25th March 2009 at The Officers' Mess, Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
    70 guests attended and were the first to see a new five minute DVD message from Ebony Horse Club, generously made without charge by film maker Carl Callam.

Guests at the reception with Major Richard Waygood, including Dane Rawlins and Ronke Phillips.

Youth workers and former club members Shannel Foster, Tanya Whyte, Aaron and Mussei Kidane, pictured below, all worked hard to make the evening a success.

Please contact Ros Spearing, Development Director, details at bottom of the page, and ask for more information.

A Royal President for Ebony Horse Club

Her Royal Highness talks to youth workers and members of
Ebony Horse Club. (Photo credit: Melissa Caplan).

The management committee of Ebony Horse Club are delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall has kindly agreed to act as President of the charity.

Ros Spearing, Development Director, said 'This is a tremendous boost to everyone who has worked for the success of Ebony. We were delighted when The Duchess of Cornwall was able to visit us in September last year for our annual prize giving ceremony where we were able to showcase the unique opportunities we provide to young people from the Brixton area.'

'We very much appreciate The Duchess's kindness in taking on this role. Staff and volunteer morale is high and we feel it bodes well for our bid to become a 2012 legacy project to bring opportunities to even more young people - we thank The Duchess very much for her support'.

The club is facing its toughest challenge yet in raising funds to build our own riding centre in Brixton. It will make possible an increased range of opportunities for a great many more children - well worth all the hard work.

Ebony Wins Special Award

Tessa Jowell, M.P. and Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet with club founders Ros Spearing and Lynn Clark, youth worker Shannel Foster, club member Rhea Bowley and Rhianna Spearing. (Photo credit: Leo Wilkinson).

Ebony Horse Club won The M.P.s' Special Award for Best Community Group at the Kids Count Inspiration Awards ceremony at the House of Commons on 21st April 2009. The trophy was presented by Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, and Tessa Jowell was there to talk about why she had nominated Ebony for the award, which recognises organisations that have created initiatives that are grounded in practicality and make a positive difference to young people's lives.

Ebony gives sixty children a chance to
try out riding

Sixty children from Coldharbour ward, including children from Loughborough School, St. Johns School, Angell Town, Angela Carter Close and St Johns Church, Angell Town enjoyed participating in our 'Introduction to Riding' day. Ebony club members applied for money from the Lambeth Youth Opportunities Fund to enable more local young people to experience riding. 21young people joined our waiting list as a result.

Alpine adventure
Clara and Jadine at Snow Camp	Five Ebony Horse Club members, Sophie Parsons, Ara Sun, Chamilla and Jadine Lambert and Ciara Cunningham went with the youth organisation Flipside to Snow Camp in the French Alps. The trip, which cost the families just £99, was described by Flipside Director Jean Carpenter as a great success. She commented "The Ebony girls were a pleasure to have and a credit to Ebony Horse Club. They really worked hard and developed as young women throughout the week."
Learning for life
	Chloe Rice and Stefan Brown completed the LIFE course (Local Intervention Fire Education) at Clapham fire station. They learnt to climb ladders and use hoses to put out fires, rescue people, including babies, and use breathing apparatus. Ebony director Ros Spearing, youth worker Aaron Kidane and peer mentor Jonathon Whyte attended the graduation ceremony, which was a chance for Aaron and Jonathon to catch up with the firefighters as they are both graduates of the course.

• Tudor Trust
• Lloyds TSB Foundation
• Lambeth Endowed Charities
• The Barrow Cadbury trust
• Emile Faurie Foundation
• Help A London Child
• The Worshipful Co. of Loriners
• The Saddlers Company
• Lambeth Children and Young Peoples Services
• Lambeth First/Capital Community Foundation (rowing)
• The Jack Petchy Foundation (awards)
• The Metropolitan Housing Trust (project management)
• The Princes Trust (young peoples' projects)

Easy fundraising

Ebony needs funding now for 2009/10
Can you help?

£9,000 for riding lessons
£8,000 for youth workers
£10,000 for insurance, running costs and mentoring
£600 to run the 2009 championship event

easyfundraising.org.uk is a website where you can shop online with hundreds of different stores and raise much needed funds for Ebony Horse Club. There is an account set up for Ebony Horse Club, and all you need to do to register your email address for shopping is:

1. Go to the easyfundraising.org.uk website and click on ‘find a cause’.

2. Select letter ‘E’, scroll down to ‘Ebony Horse Club’ and click on it.

3. Follow the instructions to register.

Make sure that you bookmark the page shown after you register or save as a favourite.

Each time you shop online, log on to the bookmarked page for easyfundraising and then click on the links to shop at your selected stores. Between 0.5 and 15% of your shopping bill will be donated by the stores to Ebony Horse Club.