Tuesday 21 March was Down Syndrome Awareness Day, and to mark this and Mothering Sunday, the Sunday Times recently visited Park Lane Stables to interview Natalie, Woody and Prodney.

The feature starts with Natalie’s fight to bring Woody into the world, ‘when my inner tiger mum kicked in’, and takes us up to the present day with ‘Woody the Duracell bunny with no off-switch’. Which partly explains why he has become a huge presence at his beloved Brentford FC. Big sister Alice, just 16 months older, has been his constant throughout. ‘She taught Woody all he knows. She’s his everything, but also his shadow’, says Natalie.

This is a no-holds-barred read about what it’s like to juggle being mother to a child with Down Syndrome, while also working 6 days a week running one of the UK’s best loved stables.

Two early readers’ comments include: ‘This is the best Mothers’ Day article ever’, and ‘I would pay the [Times Online] subscription for a thousand years for the joy of reading only this story.’

Read the feature in the Sunday Times

And to mark Down Syndrome Day

Woody, Natalie and Park Lane Stables had a busy Tuesday! It started with a planting ceremony in Teddington for the tree given to Park Lane Stables when we won a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) in 2022. Attending in the spring sunshine were some of the Park Lane Team, Jack the pony, and local dignitaries and friends. We’d have loved to have planted the tree at the Stables in Teddington, but realised this wasn’t practical as one of the horses might have eaten it, which would have been very disrespectful to the late Queen Elizabeth.

Meanwhile Natalie and Woody started their day on the sofa with Phil and Holly for a live feature about Down Syndrome aired on This Morning. Multiple stops in and around Teddington after this included Kingston Hospital, where a midwife asked Natalie how to talk to mums-to-be about Down Syndrome, and a lady with a new born baby said “thank you for taking the fear away”. The generous Playmobil gift given to Woody by the This Morning team was shared with young patients.

An exciting day full of positivity and high fives culminated in attending the National Charity Film Awards in Leicester Square, to which Woody was invited. (Check out the gold jacket and the hat!)

“I’m shy when it comes to corporate events”, said Natalie, “but I learned today that I just need to take Woody with me. He’s always himself, and everybody loves him.”

The RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) exists to provide opportunities for children and adults with additional needs. Find out more on our RDA page.

Read more about our QAVS award: A tree, an award, a very special legacy