Alan Paterson
Nominated by: Thornton Rose Riding for the Disabled (RDA)
Alan Paterson has been a member of Thornton Rose Riding for the Disabled (RDA) since 2019. His sense of humour and kindness have made him a firm favourite with participants of all ages.In the stable environment he helps participants and their carers to groom and stroke the horses and spend time practicing their deep breathing to relax and rebalance their emotions. Alan made a big difference to one of our teenage attendees who lacked positive male role models in his personal life. Alan provided this young man with a safe place to express himself and to talk about his feelings. This is what the young volunteer said about Alan: ‘Alan encouraged me to never give up. Alan is a good volunteer. Alan is kind. Alan listens to you. Alan speaks to you. Alan made me independent. Alan encourages me to not misbehave when I’m with the ponies.’