FOSSILFIELD TRAINING CENTRE
Fossilfield Training Centre in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire is a not-for-profit social enterprise that supports young people to realise their potential through a unique equine-based learning programme.
It was the brainchild of Mercy McEwen who, together with her husband, Ronnie, has funded the centre since it first opened three years ago. She is now working towards gaining charitable status to support the provision of equine-based therapeutic and educational activities.
Fossilfied aims to ensure that young people, people with disabilities and other disadvantages, and those suffering from social or economic exclusion will have the opportunity to access the positive outcomes offered within its unique equine environment.
Ayrshire Magazine caught up with Mercy, Senior Coach and Centre Manager, to find out more about Fossilfield.
What exactly is Fossilfield Training Centre?
It’s about supporting young people. We use a team of end of career racehorses and we emulate the horse racing industry to set young people challenges and a standard to work towards.
How did it all begin?
It was my idea three years ago. My background was point-to-point amateur racing. We had facilities and I’d toyed with the idea of going semi-professional and taking out a permit. But to go from amateur to semi-professional you need more staff… so I advertised to see if there were any local children interested in learning. We got over 60 applications… but the actual level of equine experience wasn’t anywhere near the standard required. It’s so under-represented in Ayrshire… the opportunities for them to learn about racehorses was non-existent.
So you saw an opportunity?
I had a riding school background so I came away from the idea of taking out a permit and decided I could teach young people to ride a racehorse. It grew from there.
What age groups do you work with?
Our main focus group is 14 and over, but we had children as young as four coming so we started affordable and inclusive riding experiences to hopefully inspire a younger generation into the horse racing industry. We also get adults coming along that are just wanting to enjoy what we do here.
How does it work?
We create a working environment for young people to learn how to work as part of a team and to value themselves. It’s not just about learning to ride, it’s about gaining experience in a working environment.
How can people join the programme?
It’s by application. We work a lot with organisations like East Ayrshire Council’s Employability Teams, trying to get people into work. We also run private programmes.
So it’s an inclusive environment?
We are open to all abilities, there are no barriers at all. Our aim is to improve the health and well-being of all.
What are the benefits to those taking part?
A lot of the barriers are social ones… they don’t know how to interact with adults and their peers. A lot of what we do is basic communication skills and building up their confidence, and they’re obviously working as part of a team. It also builds up their CV… as well as the basic care of animals they’re learning about organising events and marketing and things like that. Plus there’s the physical benefits too.
Presumably animal welfare is high on the agenda?
That was another reason for doing it. We’re working with end of career racehorses and people don’t realise just how well looked after racehorses are within the industry. It’s quite a specialist subject. When they come out of their careers they can end up in the hands of people who aren’t experienced… they’re not the same as normal ponies, so it’s very much trying to raise awareness of that.
How many horses are there at Fossilfield?
We have a team of four race horses and three riding school ponies, so we operate the traditional riding school through these ponies, as well as the specialist racehorse programme.
And you’re hoping to achieve charity status?
We’re working towards that so hopefully by this time next year, all going well, we should be a fully-fledged charity. We have a good group of volunteers and also Friends of Fossilfields who are helping us to achieve our charity status. We’re so grateful to our genuine supporters but we need the centre to be funded because there’s only so much Ronnie and I can do to keep investing in it. We’re actively looking for people that believe it is a really interesting project and who are interested in helping with funding.
What would you say to young people who may be interested in joining the programme?
I’m actually the first Level 3 Horse Racing Coach in Scotland. For a woman that came in through an amateur route to achieve that accolade is actually quite a big thing. What I’m trying to get across to the young people is… you can get there. You don’t have to have that privileged route. If you’ve got the passion for it and the desire to work hard, you’ll get there.
For more information, visit www.fossilfield.co.uk
