The SLL charity would like to present you with its new project for 2012: Caravan of Hope
The new White Horses charity ride project from the Camargue in Southern France to London, England is being planned to take place May to October 2012.
Our aims continue to be:
- To help children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs by giving them horses to ride
- To help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds or with sociological problems, by enabling them to care for and ride horses. Their participation in the Caravan of Hope project will give them an opportunity to get their lives working.
The young British and French participants will have the opportunity to ride, accompanied by a support group, on the 1,500 km ride from Southern France to England. The horses will be donated to Riding for the Disabled Association centres in the UK and equivalent centres in France.
The project will provide these young people with new skills and experience which will help them reintegrate into society. They will learn about communal life, respect for people and animals and for their environment. The ethological approach of learning about horses will be an educational tool, and the youngsters will discover each other’s culture and language.
Participating in the new project will be 8 horses, of which 2 Camargue horses driven in tandem pulling one covered wagon; 1 draught horse which also will be used in harness for a second wagon and 5 other Camargue horses, which will be ridden by the 8 young people (2 British and 2 French for the first 3 months, and the 4 others for the remaining months) and the SLL team. At least 5 people will accompany the youngsters throughout the project (team leaders and SLL people) and the whole team will number 9 – 10 people for 8 horses for the duration of the project.
Our new objective: Respect for the environment
The 2012 project will endeavour to educate and encourage the young people to become more aware of the natural environments which we will be travelling through. It is hoped that they will learn to live in an environment of minimum comfort, where typical home comforts are not an absolute necessity, and to understand renewable energy production.
This “Journey of Discovery” will operate without motorized escort vehicles, which is the major difference to our previous projects and our objective is to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible.
As in the past, SLL is asking various partners and sponsors to contribute and thereby help, whether these are private companies, public companies or individuals.
If you would like to sponsor this project, please contact us soon.
To see photos of the horses being prepared for the 2012 trip, please go to the section Horses: Rita de l’Orme, Seduisante, Seth, Saphir, Romeo, Rabiolot, Qualitas, Osiris.
