This blog was started to share Prodney’s astute observations about Park Lane life. As our Chief Equine Officer he also graciously welcomed guest blog posts from Natalie and others. We hope you’ll enjoy reading his, and their, insightful articles in the pages below.
To honour Prodney’s memory this page will now include monthly ‘The horse’s mouth’ features by his pony friends at Park Lane.
The story of two of our regular adult participants
Meet Bev, who first came to us in March and has got well and truly hooked on riding! Bev explains what brought her, and subsequently her son Christopher, to Park Lane Stables
Prodney’s Blog: Jack meets stormtroopers, whatever next
By Prodney
In all my years at Park Lane Stables I’ve seen some sights, I can tell you, but this is right up there. What is going on, and why on earth is Jack so calm?
Being inspired at The Houses of Parliament
By Natalie O’Rourke
Four years ago when we were trying to raise £1million in a few weeks, we worked with Crowdfunder, and somehow between our amazing team and them, we succeeded. In fact we overshot our target by £300,000!
Prodney’s Blog: Behind the scenes in a day in the life of the Stables
By Prodney
Natalie loves to share the stories of our participants, the challenges, breakthroughs and happy endings. But I think it’s about time I shared what’s happening behind the scenes.
Matilda, Woody and Ibrahim share a love of horses, and all have Down syndrome
By Natalie O’Rourke
We wanted to highlight this as we approach the 21st week of the year as individuals with Down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21.
Prodney’s Blog: “Definitely alive and kicking”, says Natalie. How rude!
By Prodney
Lots of you continue to ask about me, saying you haven’t seen enough of me lately. We celebrities get used to this of course, but appreciate that it’s important to keep our admirers updated. So Natalie’s been brandishing her phone camera at me.
Volunteer Cynthia in the spotlight!
By Natalie O’Rourke
It goes without saying that all of the Park Lane team love horses, and there are plenty of thoughtful gestures towards them, the team, and the participants. Here’s one you might not expect.
Prodney’s Blog: Hello from Park Lane’s ‘oldies field’ in Surrey
By Prodney
I gather that some of my legions of fans have been asking after me as I haven’t been in Teddington for a while. So this blog comes from our fields in Surrey where I’m spending the winter with some of the other ‘golden oldies’ from the team.
When Cathy met Charlie – and what happened next
By Cathy Cooper
The gentle but life-affirming stories of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse have made it a bestseller for artist Charlie Mackesy, and helped Natalie in the dark times when it looked as though the Stables would be lost. But what happened when volunteer Cathy had a chance encounter with Charlie?
Prodney’s Blog: Natalie’s running 50 kms to celebrate turning 50
By Prodney
We’ve both always loved a good run, but honestly, Nat does take it to extremes. Now she’s doing the Hibernal Hills Ultra Marathon – cantering for 50 kms over the Hampshire hills on Saturday 8 February.