A new centre which will give more children with visual impairments and additional disabilities access to equine therapy has been opened in Dublin.
The centre was funded by the family and friends of Jack de Bromhead, the 13-year-old jockey who died at a race meeting in Co Kerry in 2022.
Horse trainer Henry de Bromhead, his wife Heather and daughters Georgia and Mia attended the official opening of the facility at the ChildVision campus in Drumcondra in north Dublin and met some of the children who have been benefiting from the service.
Family and friends of the 13-year-old jockey helped fund the indoor equine therapeutic centre, which is almost 1,400 square metres.
ChildVision said it will allow them to extend their services to more children as the new facility allows them operate in all weather conditions, throughout winter and for longer hours.
Mr de Bromhead said the opening of the centre three years after Jack's tragic death has been extremely uplifting for the family and that it is a legacy he would be proud of.
"It's incredible, we're blown away with what everyone's done. It's Jack, it's kids laughing, having fun, ponies, that was him, that was his life. He had an amazing, sadly short, but an amazing life, and fitted a lot in. He'd be so proud of this, I've no doubt. I know he's so proud of it."
Five-year-old Áine Nolan, from Clontarf in north Dublin, is among those using the service, and her mother, Sara, said it has been transformational for her.
"Áine has had a huge, huge improvement in her confidence, in her ability to communicate and just in her overall love of activities, and with a visual impairment, there is a lot of children that can't do regular activities like football and stuff. So, the equine program here gives Áine her own opportunity to do something that's just hers."
Equine Unit Manager Lucy Dillon said that equine activities have huge benefits for children with additional needs.
"The horse is a huge motivator for a child with a physical disability. Once they're on a horse, they're on a par with everybody else, they're moving in the same way as everybody else. The child is put in control, so the horse doesn't move until they say go, be that verbally, or they pat the horse, or signal some way that the horse goes, so they are in control."
She added: "Equine Assisted activities have an effect in number of levels. There's neurological effect that it has on your brain and your body, and your body's fight or flight response.
"There's the sensory impact that it has on your sensory system, and all the sensory input that helps to regulate the body, and then there's the emotional input, and then the physical input as well to the body, that makes a big difference to the children."
