The Calm Clydesdale Therapeutic Centre
Trustees' Annual Report
For the year ended 30 September 2025
Scottish Charity Number: SC0 2034
Reference and Administration Details
| The Calm Clydesdale Therapeutic Centre | |
|---|---|
| Charity name | |
| SC0 52034 | |
| Charity number | |
| 27 September 2022 | |
| Charitable status awarded | |
| Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) | |
| Legal form | |
| Constitution, approved by trustees 16 January 2025 | |
| Governing document | |
| South Ayrshire (Knockmurran) | |
| Principal address | |
| Claire McGill (Chair); Donna Cesar (Secretary); Claire Torrens (Vice Chair); Lisa Fagan (Treasurer); Judith McConnachie (Trustee) |
|
| Trustees (year end) | |
| Wilma | |
| Accountant | |
Charitable Purpose
The purpose of The Calm Clydesdale Therapeutic Centre is to facilitate and advance the development of health, social wellbeing, and quality of life by providing equine-assisted therapy and learning to people in need due to ill health, disability and social exclusion.
This purpose is extended to all armed forces personnel who have been injured or wounded and are suffering mental or physical illness or disability, and to children and young people who are struggling with emotional wellbeing, to help develop coping skills and confidence.
The charity is also focused on the advancement of education and training in animal welfare, including Scottish culture and heritage, by promoting the Clydesdale horse — a native Scottish breed considered vulnerable and rare.
Structure, Governance and Management
The Calm Clydesdale Therapeutic Centre is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), governed by its constitution. The current constitution was approved by the trustees on 16 January 2025, signed on behalf of the trustees as a body.
The board met regularly throughout the year to review activities, finances, governance and future development, and held its Annual General Meeting on 30 November 2025, at which trustees confirmed they were satisfied with the direction of the charity.
Trustee appointments for the following year were formally approved at the AGM as follows:
-
Claire McGill – continues as Chair (approved by Lisa Fagan and Donna Cesar)
-
Donna Cesar – continues as Secretary (approved by Judith McConnachie and Claire Torrens)
-
Claire Torrens – continues as Vice Chair (approved by Claire McGill and Donna Cesar)
• Lisa Fagan – appointed Treasurer (approved by Judith McConnachie and Claire McGill)
No conflicts of interest were declared. The next board meeting date of 16 March 2026 was approved, proposed by Donna Cesar and seconded by Lisa Fagan.
The governing document continues to be reviewed by the board on an ongoing basis, with updates actioned as required, and work has begun on reviewing the charity's supporting policies.
Activities and Achievements
Over the year, The Calm Clydesdale Therapeutic Centre continued to deliver on its charitable purpose through equine-assisted therapy and learning, supporting children and young people struggling with emotional wellbeing, and working in partnership with South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (SAHSCP) to reach families most in need. The charity supported clients on a weekly basis throughout the year, all of whom continued their support from the previous year into the new financial year, with SAHSCP confirming continuity of funding for these families. A new contract was agreed with South Ayrshire maintaining the same monthly funding despite supporting a reduced number of clients, in recognition of the increased value and intensity of the work delivered. Demand for the service significantly outstripped capacity, with 25 enquiries received in the year that could not be actioned — clear evidence of unmet local need that additional funding would help address.
The charity relocated its operations to Knockmurran, fencing was renewed to protect horses and improve safety, and lighting was installed to allow year-round use of the facilities in poorer weather and darker months. All horses in the herd remained healthy.
The charity strengthened its connections within the local community, engaging with Rankinston and Drongan primary schools — both located close to the farm in areas of recognised deprivation — with a view to building referral pathways, and beginning conversations with local police regarding community safety. The charity was also approached by Beautiful Inside and Out, who are now working with some of the charity's clients, and by an ASN Facebook group covering Ayrshire, exploring how the charity might support their members. Feedback from families continued to demonstrate the significant impact of the service, with one parent describing the support provided as having become an essential, stabilising presence for her family, without which they felt they would struggle to cope.
On funding, the charity submitted applications to a number of funders during the year; despite strong applications, funding remained highly competitive, with oversubscription cited as a recurring factor in unsuccessful outcomes. In response we connected with the South Ayrshire Council funding officer and signed the charity up to a funding alert system to ensure ongoing visibility of new opportunities, continuing to apply for appropriate funds as they arise.
Governance remained active throughout the year, with the board reappointing its officers, reviewing and updating the governing document, and beginning a review of the charity's policies to ensure continued good practice.
Funding and Development
Securing sustainable funding remained a central focus throughout the year. Applications were submitted to a range of funders to support the charity's Herd Life programme and wider development: Awards for All (Scotland), for an 18-month pilot covering delivery, running costs and one-off startup needs; the Corra Foundation, the Ayrshire Rural and Island Ambition (ARIA) Fund, supported by a full grant narrative, evaluation plan and governance documentation; the Fairer Life Chances fund; and the Volant Trust, delivered as part of Foundation Scotland. An application to the Weir Foundation was unsuccessful, with oversubscription cited as the main barrier.
Delivery will be under the EquiScholars curriculum, structured around two distinct streams: a school-referred stream and a parent/community-referred stream for neurodivergent children not currently in school. A
community consultation survey of 17 local families underpinned this model, finding universal interest in the programme alongside significant difficulty accessing existing mental health support locally.
Development work also progressed on expanding outdoor and forest-based learning. The charity is working towards Forest School qualification and John Muir Award delivery centre registration, which will allow sessions to expand into accredited outdoor learning, food-growing and healthy-living activities, and family/community connection work, building on the site's riparian woodland along the Water of Coyle. Woodland development funding routes are being explored, including correspondence with the Tree Council, Scottish Forestry grant schemes, and Woodland Trust Scotland regarding MOREwoods eligibility, alongside volunteer and community labour partnerships to support site clearance and planting.
The ARIA Fund application was not successful this year due to a planning application mix-up, where an earlier submission was incorrectly routed to East Ayrshire Council rather than South Ayrshire. A corrected planning application has since been submitted, alongside initial enquiries on a building warrant. SPIFOX has confirmed its support for the construction of the Calm Clydesdale Barn, which will enable the charity to deliver its programmes year-round, removing the current constraints caused by weather and lack of shelter.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, the charity plans to deepen its work with local schools and the wider community once current funding applications are successful, providing the continuity needed to properly measure outcomes and strengthen the case for longer-term, sustained funding.
Financial Review
During the year, income included ongoing delivery funding via the SAHSCP contract, supporting the basic upkeep of the herd, alongside grant funding applied for through Awards for All, Corra Foundation, the ARIA Fund, Fairer Life Chances, and the Volant Trust (Foundation Scotland). The trustees discussed the charity's financial position and contingency planning during the year, and continue to monitor cash flow closely given the seasonal nature of feed and running costs.
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Charity law requires the trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity's financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year.
In preparing these accounts, the trustees are required to select suitaCcle accounting policies and apply them consistently, make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, and prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, they have complied with these requirements in preparing the accounts.
Approval
This Trustees' Annual Report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Signed: claire mcgill_______
Claire McGill, Chair, on behalf of the trustees as a body
Date: 16 March 2026