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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Riding in Haringey

As some of you may know, I have been lobbying for part of Alexandra Park to be leased to any company which is prepared to make a go of it as an equestrian centre.  The interest from the councillors on the AP Trust has left something to be desired but interest from us ordinary folks has been phenomenal.  We are holding a meeting in the Salisbury in Harringay (corner of Green Lanes & St. Ann's Road) on the evening of Wednesday 15th June and would welcome anyone who has ideas for furthering this project or who wants to show some support.  All are invited, especially Trust members but also Councillors who have an interest in diversifying Haringey's programmes for fitness, youth welfare and sports for the disabled. 
For those of you contemplating long drives out to Enfield to satisfy your kids' ambitions to ride, think how much more carbon- and time-efficient it would be to have riding right here in this borough.  We have cricket pitches, football fields, gymnasia, tennis courts and golf clubs mostly catering for sports dominated by men and boys.  While not exclusively for women, riding is a sport which appeals very strongly to girls and gives them a chance to shine.  It is an opportunity for all children to experience real adventure and is an especially effective exercise and psychological therapy for disabled people of all ages.  Why are the Council not making the most of their parkland resources to help it along?
 
If enough people turn up, maybe those councillors on the Trust might take some notice.
Feel free to circulate this.
Meeting is at 7.30pm. 
Any questions, ring Lydia 07711919167 or email: rideinharingey@btinternet.com
Please let me know if you are willing to take the minutes.  
Lydia Rivlin

Tags for Forum Posts: alexandra park, horse-riding, parks, riding

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Louise Nazeraj on June 4, 2011 at 18:05

I will come to the meeting, I think it sounds like a very interesting proposition.

Permalink Reply by Lydia R on June 4, 2011 at 18:34
Great!
Permalink Reply by E. F. Salzman on June 7, 2011 at 13:32
I hope this would be riding for grown-ups too! Great idea.
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on June 7, 2011 at 13:38
Good luck with this, Lydia ...
Permalink Reply by hhnrau on June 7, 2011 at 14:49
have you considered other  sites in the borough where it might benefit a wider cross-section of the community?  What about Lordship rec? It has masses of space, and for some of the folks there, merely to be able to see horses close up would be a big deal, could really enhance peoples experience of the park and might make up for them not getting the city farm as part of their makeover?
Permalink Reply by Lydia R on June 7, 2011 at 16:34

I have indeed considered Lordship Rec. 

As a matter of fact, some of you may know me because I have run the pony rides at the Lordship Rec festival for the past four or five years.  This is one of the things we have to discuss at the meeting but the fact is that while Lordship Rec is one regular piece of land which is used fairly evenly throughout and will have to be divided up and fenced off to provide accommodation for the animals, Alexandra Park has a discrete section which is isolated from the rest of the green space and deserted most of the time. For that reason it makes the most sense to start there.

Another option for a site would be part of the Lea Valley park which has acres of space. It is also true that there are tracts of land in Haringey which are unused, ignored -- and hidden.  Not so long ago a sharp-eyed woman found a whole meadow behind where the Hornsey hospital used to be.  It was owned by the NHS, who had forgotten all about it.  She started a process of leasing it as a nature reserve.  If someone comes to the Salisbury meeting with a piece of land like that, that would be best of all.  ...Anyone for Google?

My ambition is to further the idea that equestrian centres have so many benefits to the community, education, health, recreation, ecology and, crucially, jobs, that Haringey will end up with at least two equestrian centres, possibly specialising in different types of riding.  However that is for the future and we have to start somewhere. 

Permalink Reply by Edel B on June 7, 2011 at 18:11

It's a great suggestion and I wish you well with it. 

 

But... is tennis a sport primarily for boys? I really think it's one of the better sports in terms of gender neutrality. And football has improved a lot - plenty of girls play football at my daughter's primary school, Tottenham Hotspur have an excellent junior ladies' squad and Chestnut Park is host Saturday morning classes for girls and boys. If cricket is still seen as boys-only then that needs to be addressed by the sport's governing body - there's no practical reason why girls can't play it well. And golf's inbuilt sexism is down to the social side of golf clubs being men-only clubs in the past. 

 

This is in no way meant as a criticism of what you're doing - far from it, I think it's great.  I'm a fairly hardline feminist in most respects - and I agree that equestrian sports have a particularly strong appeal for girls. But FWIW, I'd put the focus on extending opportunity - for boys and girls - rather than criticising the current provision of sports opportunities for girls. 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Lydia R on June 7, 2011 at 18:58

I'm not criticising. 

What I am doing is pointing out that while experts keep saying that girls and women don't do enough to keep fit, the sport that attracts women and girls in the highest numbers is the very one that is regarded as the least worthy of public support. 

It is true that there are girls in every sport, but by the time they grow up they have a tendency to abandon it.  Riding is the exception.  There are 4 million riders in the UK, 80 percent of them female (BHS statistic).  These are all participants, rather than spectators.  The next sport down with the most players is rugby, with a quarter of a million participants (also a BHS statistic).

If the world made any sense, then, there would be more 16 times more riding facilities than rugby fields. 

OK.  I know the world doesn't make sense.

 

Permalink Reply by Edel B on June 7, 2011 at 19:33

 OK. I know the world doesn't make sense

 

 Tell me about it... 

 

And you've made your case really well - I take your point.

 

(I didn't think you were criticising, btw, my comment was just about the emphasis/ approach. And I didn't mean to sound like I was criticising your plans either) 

Permalink Reply by Lydia R on June 9, 2011 at 5:13
Yes. Sorry. I realise that.
Permalink Reply by E. F. Salzman on September 15, 2011 at 16:38
While i"m now in USA half the year, the other half I'd LOVE to have nearby place to ride which is something I love and have never done enough over the years. I mean one has to HAVE a horse or know people who do (I do in USA but they're many hours away!) and even better with a little green land for a canter. I'm no expert or pro but simply enjoy it and given chance would like to try to do more, so hurrah Lydia. Alexandra Palace sounds and looks like excellent location more so than others.
Permalink Reply by Omotn on September 15, 2011 at 16:21

Are you aware of thisStakeholder's Forum?

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