“A year ago today I was at rock bottom and Park Lane Stables had no future.” 

Life’s journeys are often described as rollercoasters, but Natalie O’Rourke’s 2021 redefines the term. She has been the proprietor of Park Lane Stables in Teddington for 13 years. It’s a thriving Riding for the Disabled Centre providing a lifeline and a nurturing safe space for over 350 children and adults with disabilities and additional needs. Her tenacious fight in 2021 to save the small stables in a residential London suburb from closure captured the heart of the nation. 

On the day that she is awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list we look back at a tumultuous year. 

New Year’s Eve 2020: the landlord of Park Lane Stables’ home in Teddington announced he was selling the building, unless they could raise £1million to buy it. “It was a mountain to climb but we had to believe it was possible” said Natalie as a fundraising campaign was launched to attempt to raise the money. The deadline was 25 February. 

February: word had spread fast, the local community and a growing band of volunteers meant increased momentum. Over £200,000 had been raised, but a miracle was needed with time fast running out. And then Park Lane’s story went national with an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, featuring local celebrity supporter Rob Brydon. The total shot up to just over £500,000 with one week to go. 

Then on 18 February BBC Breakfast covered Park Lane’s plight. Viewers across the country wept. Donations flooded in. In the two hours that followed the total soared past the £1million target with a week to spare. By the 25 February deadline 32,000 people had donated £1.3million. 

May: in a twist nobody saw coming, three months of negotiations still failed to secure the sale. Natalie and the team tearfully left Teddington for nearby Petersham, offered a temporary home by the owner of Manor Farm Stables. Riding for the Disabled activities resumed, whilst behind the scenes negotiations continued unabated, with apparent progress followed for months by demoralising setbacks. 

September: Park Lane Stables was awarded Best Health Charity in The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards. In a glittering ceremony Natalie rubbed shoulders with HRH Prince William and David Beckham. 

October: Park Lane Stables finally announced that the Teddington sale had been agreed, and it was now ‘just’ a case of the lawyers resolving a few technical issues before they could exchange. 

November: the Park Lane Stables team were guests at Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews, an invitation extended by HRH Queen Elizabeth in recognition of the charity’s fundraising efforts and work with the RDA. 

16 December: Park Lane Stables completed on its home in Teddington, and the BBC Breakfast crew were back for live interviews and to film Natalie opening the gates she’d closed in tears back in May. “This time nobody can take our home away from us” said a beaming Natalie. 

Just as Natalie might have assumed that 2021 had delivered all its bombshells, a letter arrived informing her that she was being awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list ‘For services to disabled people and the community in Teddington’. When asked how she reacted, Natalie said: 

“I thought it was one of my friends playing a joke. There was a phone number in case of questions, so I called and asked if it was a mistake. ‘No, it’s definitely real, just enjoy it’ was the answer.” 

And has the news sunk in now? Enough to say the following in an interview with BBC Breakfast: 

“This award is really for all of us, for the invisible army behind me who’ve never faltered in their belief in what we could achieve. I’m just an ordinary girl from Birmingham who followed what felt right. This award is dedicated to my dad, who gave up his career to bring me up after my mother died. Despite not sharing my passion for horses, he has quietly supported me in everything I’ve done over the years.” 

– Natalie O’Rourke MBE, Proprietor of Park Lane Stables 

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You can find out more about our journey in 2021 on our News page. If you’d like to find out what 2022 has in store for Natalie and Park Lane Stables, do sign up to our Pony Express newsletter and/or follow us on social media. It’s sure to be an exciting ride!

If you are moved by what you read, would you consider a donation? Every penny helps us to provide the services we do for all those who rely on us, and keep our magical ponies healthy, fed and watered. Thank you.

For further information: 

Paul Bursche on paulbursche1@gmail.com

Winner of Who Cares Wins Best Charity 2021 

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