Disabled make it a double at Bramham

Not so far away, based in the village of Sicklinghall, a Riding for the Disabled group has also been marking a 40th birthday.

The Stockeld Park group of RDA is holding a Ruby Ball at Wetherby Racecourse this evening.

Next month, the group stages its major fund-raising event of the year, a sponsored ride, which is, suitably enough, at Bramham Park.

The ride, which is held courtesy of the Lane Fox family, traditionally follows the horse trials and will take place on Saturday, June 15.

Following the thrills of the Equi-Trek sponsored horse trials, the following weekend is a complete contrast.

This is a chance for all those “happy hackers” to enjoy a rare chance to ride through Bramham Park, in countryside which is not normally open to the public.

The money raised goes towards helping the RDA group keep up its riding lessons for children with physical and learning disabilities from four local schools. The ride has received sponsorship this year from law firm Irwin Mitchell.

The closing date for entries is Friday, June 7. For more information and entry forms, email [email protected].

The countdown is also on to this year’s Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials which will take place between Thursday, June 6 and Sunday, June 9.

And to commemorate the event’s landmark anniversary, the number 40 will feature in Ian Stark’s cross-country course this year – with Stark having some ingenious fences planned to test horse and rider.

Over 500 horses are expected to grace the coveted turf in a range of competitions over four days.

Telephone booking is open to secure tickets, including an early-bird discount of free parking. For more info visit www.bramham-horse.co.uk or call 01937 846017. The box office closes on May 29.