Park Lane opens its doors – and a pony returns briefly to the cuddle door

Our open day in Teddington on Saturday 8 June was such a huge milestone! For the first time some of our neighbours and supporters got to see inside the new stables.

Natalie admits: “I was quite anxious about the open day as I wanted the public to love what we had done with the stables as much as we did. I felt like I’d been holding my breath for three years. A man came up to me and asked me what was wrong. When I told him, he simply said: Natalie, you have given it back to the community and it is beautiful. At that point I exhaled and began to relax. 

Everyone loved it and lots of wheelchair users came along to test the access and we passed with flying colours! It was such a joyful day, all that was missing was a pony but we did not want to overwhelm them.” 

The new building is starting to claim its place in the community. There’s a steady stream of visitors coming to see if they can spot their brick in the outside wall. My personal favourite is the brick that simply says ‘You’re loved’, gifted by a supporter who chose this rather than their name.

Last week we brought ponies Spotty and Jack along to see how they reacted, and they took everything in their stride so completely that they went to sleep in the brand new stables.

If you’d walked along Park Lane last Saturday you’d have seen a pony returned to the ‘cuddle door’ that we set up during the first lockdown. That door had been closed for three years, but last week you’d have been able to give the gorgeous Spotty a cuddle. Soon there will be one of our ponies in that stable every day.

Here are some of the lovely comments left by some visitors to our open day. They have made us very happy so we wanted to share them.

‘It is fantastic to see Park Lane Stables back in the heart of the community of Teddington!’

‘We have lived next door for 43 years and remember the Stables in many different forms. Good luck with the new life.’

‘Fantastic re-build and lovely to see all the names in the bricks of the outside wall.’

‘What an excellent refurbishment. So very pleased for you all. It will make such a difference to so many people.’

‘We look forward to welcoming the horses back to their home here.’

‘The stables look absolutely amazing. It’s fantastic to see it in real life at last after following the progress online.’

‘We can’t wait to see the horses return!’

 ‘I think the new stables are amazing and I can’t wait to make many more memories. [heart symbol]’

‘Congratulations, what an achievement! It’s hard to believe that you all lived in the house that is now just one stable!’

The most frequent question we’re being asked is ‘why haven’t you moved back in yet?’ Because there are so many people and ponies affected by this move, we need to plan carefully. Read Return to Teddington, what happens now? to find out more. Follow our updates in our Pony Express newsletter and on social media.

Thank you to Rob Addis for the photographs in this article. Find out more at www.robaddis.com, or follow robaddisphotography on Facebook and Instagram.

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