It is Armed Forces Week, and this means a lot to us at Horseback.
We are connected to the armed forces in many different ways. Four members of the team have served, some for many years. The core part of our work is with veterans, and was initially inspired, all those years ago, by the wounded coming back from Afghan. That was the spark that ignited the HorseBack dream.
We work with serving men and women too. They will sometimes come to us because they need time for recuperation and revival after intense service. Sometimes, we’ll simply offer the chance for some uncomplicated rest and relaxation in these glorious Scottish hills.
Many of our stalwart supporters, some of whom have been with us since early days, are in the Armed Forces. They speak our language and encourage us in our mission.
Our mentor programme, one of our most proud success stories, is exclusively populated by veterans.
And we work with veterans’ families too, offering those who have served the chance to bring their children to us, so they can play with the ponies and the sheep and the dogs and the chickens. This is some of our loveliest and most rewarding work.
It’s not just horses, although they are at the beating heart of everything we do here. The veterans and those who are still serving get to do conservation work in the wilds of Glen Tanar, learn archery, do a variety of imaginative teamwork exercises (invented in the creative brain of our own Jason Hare), go for camping trips and cookouts in the Caledonian pine forests, and sometimes simply come and spend time with us in our beautiful corner of Scotland.
The memory of those who have served, in past conflicts and back into the mists of history, is always with us. The thought of those still serving is a constant, in this green valley. The Armed Services are truly a family, and we are honoured to be part of that family.
