Our special partnership with Park Lane Stables

Local company H&L Motors have been loyal supporters of Park Lane Stables for many years. In this very personal article, H&L’s Jonathon Laney explains why this is a very special relationship.

I’m the third generation Managing Partner, taking over from my father after his sudden death in 2022. I see myself as the current guardian of this family business which is proud to have deep roots in the local community.

I also inherited the partnership we have with Park Lane Stables, something initiated by my father who was a passionate advocate for the work of the Stables and Natalie. There was another personal reason too, as he knew at first hand what it meant to live with a disability. He was very close to his niece Emily, who we lost to Battens Disease at the age of just 23.

We don’t really think of this as marketing for our business, but as a way we can give back to the community, and because we’ve always been in awe of what Natalie has been able to achieve. We’re simply happy that we’re able to use our success to help support that work which makes such a difference to so many people. We’ve always worked with other local charities, such as football and tennis clubs. And we support the Hampton Hill Parade, each year driving our old classic Morris Minor.

In 2017 we became aware of Park Lane Stables when my father found out that Natalie was raising money for a special carriage to provide carriage driving for participants with disabilities. Dad was so struck by what Park Lane was doing that he decided that rather than give a donation he would stick his neck out and buy the carriage for them. He commissioned Fenix Carriages to adapt it to securely take wheelchairs, as this meant that any participant at the Stables would have the chance to carriage drive, regardless of disabilities.

From that point we’ve been proud partners of Park Lane Stables and we’ll do whatever we can that’s within our capacity and expertise to help them. We’re friends, this isn’t about publicity for H&L, it’s what friends do.

We’re so glad we made that decision to gift that special carriage. It’s humbling how many lives it’s already enriched, and hopefully will continue to. Naturally we maintain it and carry out any repairs needed, and we’ll always find time to do this quickly so its time off the road is kept to a minimum.

We’ll always be behind the scenes ready to help if we can, and hope that Natalie feels that she can count on us.

Every visit to Park Lane Stables is a reminder of just how deserving they are of support. The whole team does such an incredible job (many as unpaid volunteers), and the participants achieve extraordinary things despite the difficulties they need to overcome to do so. It’s real life and truly humbling. This is work we’ll continue to support for as long as Natalie and Park Lane Stables need us.

Natalie adds: “Peter Laney believed in me when nobody else did. He was beyond kind and had absolute faith in me. If he hadn’t, we’d never have been able to start the carriage driving because we’d never have afforded the carriage. But he did, and it’s helped so many people over the years. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s changed lives. And Jonathon is a chip off the old block and it’s so lovely knowing that he and they are there for us.”

 
Read Carriage driving, the next best thing to riding? to see what it means from a participant’s perspective, and more about H&L Motors in Hampton Hill