SHIFFORD CARRIAGE DRIVING GROUP
Carriage Driving for Disabled People. Enriching lives through horses.
The Shifford Carriage Driving Group RDA is a small independent charity. We are a very friendly group and welcome everyone – volunteers, participants and carers. We very much look forward to carriage driving with you all!
We meet on a Wednesday morning at Charney Bassett (weather permitting) from April until October/November.
Our Group
We operate one day per week from April to October and always weather permitting.
At present we have three ponies in harness. We aim to do a maximum of 30–45 minutes per drive.
We have a number of regular participants on our books with several more on the waiting list. The majority of our participants are adults, although we cater for teenagers, the activities are not suitable for younger children. Our participants have a wide range of disabilities. We rely very much on our fantastic volunteers as at least 6 or 7 are required each drive.
Our Ponies
At present we have three ponies in harness.
Lady
Lady was born in 2005. She is a 14hh Welsh/cross grey mare. Lady was purchased by the group when she was 4 years old and trained to harness. She pulls a 2 wheeled carriage and has worked for the group ever since. Lady is the group’s stalwart and longest serving equine. She is very enthusiastic about her work and has shown herself willing to face new challenges since the group’s driving venue moved from Shifford/Cote to Charney Bassett. Her preferred command is “Trot”.
Freddy
Freddy belongs to our group chairman and is loaned to the group on driving days. He is a 15hh black Dales type ride and drive gelding and was born in 2001. In his younger days Freddy was a Cavalier adventurer, taking part in Civil War re-enactments and is familiar with the sound of cannon and musket fire. He has also trekked across the country from Cornwall to Oxfordshire. He joined the Shifford group in 2019. Freddy now pulls our 4 wheeled carriage. His preferred command, now that he is the group’s elder statesman, is “Walk”.
Tommy Zoom
Tommy is the baby of the group. He also belongs to our chairman and joined the equine trio in 2023. Tommy was born in 2009. He is a 15.2hh bay American Standard Bred/Pacer gelding. We do not know much about his background but do not think that he has ever been raced. His relaxed trot is swift but he has cleverly understood that we prefer him to saunter along. Tommy is very keen to please. He passed his RDA assessment in June 2025. He also pulls the 4 wheeled carriage. We hope that Tommy’s preferred pace will become “leisurely strolling ” in both walk and trot, so that Lady can keep up with him.
In 2025 Lady was selected as the RDA Equine of the Year.
We collected her award at the RDA National Championships in July 2025.
Testimonials
Carriage driving has been fantastic for my daughter. Her limited mobility means that there are few activities that she can do outdoors. She loves seeing the horses and starts smiling as we are coming down the drive. The movement of the carriage gives much needed but gentle exercise, and it is a pleasure for us all to be out in the fresh air doing something that my daughter enjoys so much.
Everyone at RDA is so welcoming, helpful and kind- the whole family is included. My son loves coming to help and is disappointed in school term time that he can’t come along.
We fully appreciate how much work is involved in setting up the sessions, complying with all the rules and regulations, organising the volunteers, getting the horses in the right place and ready to go. Then making sure everything is as safe as it can be when out on the road – we feel very lucky to be part of something so special.
Looking after a teenager with a severe disability is hard and being part of such a caring and supportive group, working so hard to give our family such a special experience really helps us to get through…”
A parent.
I began coming to this group in 2019 and ‘welfare Wednesday’ is now a fixed point in my diary (where my work allows!).
Carriage driving has meant I can continue with my love for horses and the outdoors – something I thought I would lose when I needed to stop riding.
Being part of this group has been a real blessing for me – it is good for my physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
The horses are beautiful and intuitive, the countryside setting is refreshing, and the volunteers are amazing.
Learning to drive is an excellent skill which takes practice and patience – and our instructors are fantastic teachers.
KT T – Participant.
We Need Volunteers
We always welcome new volunteers and can’t run this wonderful organisation without their help. Please consider giving a few hours a week to keep our group running.