2025-04-05-accounts

This annual report has been prepared using Trustees' annual report template (SORP FRS 102) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/upl oads/attachment_data/file/562574/TAR_new.pdf

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2024-2025

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025

Charity name: Wenlo Riding for the Disabled Association Incorporating Carriage Driving

Charity registration number:

1191961

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	To promote the objects of the Riding for the Disabled Association incorporating Carriage Driving A UK Company Limited by Guarantee No 5010395 A Charity Registered in England & Wales (No 244108) and Scotland (No SC039473) by providing disabled people with the opportunity to ride and/or carriage drive to benefit their health and wellbeing in the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire area
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Our main activities are to offer adults and children with disabilities an opportunity to ride, carriage drive and look after horses to aid their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. We aim to teach new skills and promote independence by encouraging participants to take charge of their horses in a secure environment. As well as riding and carriage driving lessons and equine assisted therapy, we give our participants the opportunity to ride in the countryside, to take part in competitions including those organised by RDA UK, and to enjoy the sensory experience of being around horses at their own pace, and we work to develop supportive relationships with carers and families.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	In planning our activities we keep in mind the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit at our trustee meetings.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	N/A
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	N/A
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	We are an entirely voluntary-run organisation - our coaches and even the horses are volunteers, and some of our participants also volunteer with us. We are grateful for the many hours of dedicated work from all our volunteers who do everything from caring for our horses to assisting in riding/driving/therapy sessions and fundraising.

Achievements and Performance

SORP reference Summary of the main Para 1.20 achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. Chair’s Report to AGM 9 December 2024 Firstly, before I get fully into the Chairs report for this year, Maria my wonderful co-chair sends her apologies for not being present tonight. Most of you will know Maria is currently going through treatment for cancer. She wants to thank you all for the support she has received as it means so much. Maria, we can’t wait to see you back on the yard when you are feeling up to it, and we continue to send our love and support to you. As 2024 comes to a close we look back on the highs and lows of Wenlo RDA. As always, what to some may look like a team, we all know is family and this year we lost some very important members of our family, and I would like to take a moment to reflect on how much joy they brought to our lives. To Denby, a pony of a lifetime, we all miss his greying chestnut face around the yard and his kindness to all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him. He taught so many to ride, took participants to competitions bringing back many rosettes and even won RDA pony of the year. To Bob, a pony who turned his hoof to RDA in his later years and took every bit of it in his stride. He was a wonderful lesson horse but also an incredible competition pony leading to a long list of successes in showing and dressage. We miss them both along with our other horse friends we have lost this year. They will all live on in our hearts. We also lost a very special person this year, for those who knew her Kate was the kindest and most welcoming person you could ever meet. Many of you will know it was a long battle for Kate, but she never let anything slow her down, she was a shining light on the yard and she never let that

light dim. She brought joy and laughter to this world with her love of life and horses, especially her lovely boy Bear. There aren’t enough words to capture how wonderful Kate was and she is missed every day. I ask now for us to take a moment together to remember those we have lost in a minute’s silence. Thank you.

As with every year we would like to say a massive thank you to all our incredible volunteers, you are the cogs that keep Wenlo running and it couldn’t happen without you. Every pony lead, poo picked up and feed made day in and day out in the wind, rain, snow and sun is appreciated by the whole Wenlo team. We did say goodbye to a small number of volunteers this year who we thank for all their hours they gave to Wenlo and thank you to all our volunteers who stepped up to make the transition as smooth as possible after they left.

A huge thank you to Dawn, our fabulous head coach who continues to make dreams come true with her coaching and guidance. We really couldn’t do it without you and all your hours you give to Wenlo, in the arena, on the yard and doing paper work, which we all know is your favourite bit!

Thank you to all those who have made efforts to raise money for Wenlo this year, with a special thank you to Stephen on his incredible run and Lindsay and Liam for all their hard work running stalls at local markets. These efforts help keep our funds in the green and we appreciate it so much.

All our participants have had another wonderful year, achieving individual goals both on and off the horse. We continue to be busy with new participants joining Wenlo and many returning for their regular sessions. We are proud of everyone of them no matter where they are on their RDA journey.

Our competition team has had another incredible year with many rosettes from Dressage Anywhere, RDA Nationals, Para championships and RDA virtuals. Congratulations to you all, for flying the flag of Wenlo so well, we couldn’t be more proud. We also wish to congratulate everyone who participated in the 3 days of fun, in everything from hobby horse showing to endurance. Thank you to those who made those 3 days such a success!

Our Carriage Driving has had another year full of improvements from all both at home and at competitions, thanks to our fabulous driving team and special thanks to Chris and Penny for their continuing hard work to keep carriage driving an exciting addition to Wenlo.

This year Tea with a Pony has had the pleasure of more visits from care homes and continues to be a success. A special thank you to Jenny for running some fantastic days, which have been filled with so much joy, we hope to continue this success into next year.

Lastly a thank you to our most important members of our team, our horses and ponies, without their hard work none of this would be possible. They are the beating heart of Wenlo so we thank each and every one of them.

So, with that we draw a curtain on 2024, we look forward to 2025 with you all and wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Sophie Bell

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	Cash funds held at end of period totalled £27,379 Of which £8,291 unrestricted funds £19,088 restricted funds
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Aim to hold 3-6 months' operating costs in reserve in line with Charity Commission general guidance for groups1
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Unrestricted: £8,291 Restricted: £19,088 Restricted reserves at end of accounting period are held for: completion of specified projects or are funds restricted by the donor for use to support certain activities e.g. Equine Assisted Therapy or Tea with a Pony.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/A
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	N/A

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Direct donations, fundraising events organised by our charity volunteers, donations from other fundraising groups, grants.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	Some restricted and designated funds including money set aside for emergency expenditure for Wenlo RDA's horse is kept in an HSBC Business Saver account.
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	Wenlo RDA maintains a regularly updated Risk Register and this can be provided on request.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-reserves-cc19/charities-andreserves#explaining-reserves-in-the-annual-report

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document	Para 1.25	Constitution (RDA UK Standard Constitution for Unincorporated Group for charity number 1073408; RDA UK Standard Constitution for CIO Group for charity number 1191961)
How is the charity constituted?	Para 1.25	Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Trustees are elected at the AGM which is usually held in December. One third of the Trustees are required to retire at each AGM but may be re-elected. Trustees are required to declare any conflict of interest/personal interest.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51	New trustees are given RDA_UK's Trustee_ Welcome Pack Trustees participate in relevant training and courses organised by RDA UK including Safeguarding and Governance training.
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	Wenlo RDA is a member group of RDA UK (charity number 244108), in the North Midlands region
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	N/A

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Wenlo Riding for the Disabled Association Incorporating Carriage Driving
Other name the charityuses	Wenlo RDA
Registered charitynumber	1191961
Charity’s principal address	Bowleys Barn Farm Stanford Lane Normanton on Soar LOUGHBOROUGH LE12 5ER

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any)
	SHARON GARNER	CHAIR	To 27 July 2024	N/A
	CLAIRE MADEN	TREASURER	N/A	N/A
	MARIA HOLDAWAY	**SECRETARY/CO-CHAIR **	Co-Chair from 27 July 2024	N/A
	DAVID JOHNSTONE		N/A	N/A
	SOPHIE BELL	CO-CHAIR	Co-Chair from 27 July 2024	N/A
	AMY FOULKES WILLIAMS		From 13 January 2025	N/A

Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved: N/A

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity: N/A

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

N/A

Other optional information

Declarations

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustee's Report above.

The Report was approved at the AGM on 15 December 2025 and a copy signed on behalf of the charity's Trustees.

Signature(s)
Full name(s)	Maria Ann Holdaway
Position (e.g. Chair, Secretary etc)	Chair
Date	15 December 2025

WENLO RIDING FOR THE DISABLED ASSOCIATION INCORPORATING CARRIAGE DRIVING

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1191961

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENT ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD FROM 6 APRIL 2024 TO 5 APRIL 2024

Receipts and payments

INCOME

To the nearest £

	Unrestricted	Restricted	TOTAL
DONATIONS	3,491	260	3,751
FUNDRAISING	1,618	601	2,219
GRANTS	0	0	0
RDA COMPETITION ACTIVITIES	2868	0	2,868
INTEREST	369	0	369
TOTAL RECEIPTS	8,346	861	9,207

EXPENDITURE

To the nearest £

	Unrestricted	Restricted	TOTAL
BANK CHARGES	62		62
EQUINE	60		60
PROJECTS	965	1,171	2,136
MEMBERSHIP/INSURANCE/SUBSCRIPTIONS	2,620		2,620
RDA COMPETITION & RELATED ACTIVITIES	6,656		6,656
TRAVEL & TRAINING	15		15
EQUIPMENT/MAINTENANCE	857	223	1,080
STATIONERY/ADMIN/CONSUMABLES	366		366
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	11,601	1,394	12,995

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

RESERVES AT FINANCIAL YEAR END

To the nearest £1
RESTRICTED	8,291
UNRESTRICTED	19,088
TOTAL	27,379

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS:

Income: Income from RDA Competition Activities represents charges made to cover entry fees and horse transport.

Expenditure: Expenditure on RDA Competition & Related Activities includes entry fees, horse transport, transport and subsistence for volunteers, and equipment needed solely for competition use.

Restricted funds: Funds from grants/donations which must only be spent on the purposes specified by the grant-making body or donor.

The accounts were approved at the AGM on 15 December 2025 and a copy signed on behalf of the charity's Trustees.

Signed on behalf of the charity's Trustees:

Signature	M A Holdaway
Full name(s)	Maria Ann Holdaway
Position (e.g. Chair, Secretary etc)	Chair
Date of approval:	15 December 2025