Health & Wellbeing Education & Young People
2025 Free
Ride High

Impact Report 2025

Ride High is a children's charity based in Milton Keynes using the unique connection between children and horses to effect lasting change in the wellbeing, confidence and life prospects of disadvantaged young people. In 2025 — its 17th year — the charity transformed 374 young lives. 100% of participants increased their physical activity, 56% showed improved school attendance and 95% said they felt able to talk about their troubles. 70% of participants faced mental health challenges and 33% lived in the city's most deprived areas. Ride High works as a trusted referral partner with CAMHS and Children Looked After services. The charity launched Aim High, a new Alternative Education Provision in partnership with Haddon Training, offering accredited qualifications in Horse Care for young people with EHCPs. A new site in Chester was announced to double the charity's charitable impact. Treacle, the charity's beloved 27-year-old pony, won the British Horse Society's Equine Personality of the Year.

View Report
Report snapshot
100 Views

About

Horse riding and horsemanship programme; groundwork and sensory sessions (including SEN provision); clubroom projects (arts and crafts, science and nature); group counselling (62 children); individual counselling (15 children); school referral partnerships (71 referring agencies, 12 schools in Schools Programme); Activities4u activities; free minibus transport; Aim High Alternative Education Provision (launching Spring 2026 with Haddon Training — Level 1 and 2 in Horse Care and Animal Care); Ride High Equestrian Centre social enterprise; new Chester site announced Custom geography from upload: Milton Keynes

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 374 young lives transformed in 2025; 100% of participants made progress in one or more target areas including emotional resilience, communication, self-esteem, relationships and self-awareness
Key Metric 2 97% of children look forward to coming to Ride High; 95% said they felt able to talk about their troubles; 99% achieved the Ride High Award; 56% showed improved school attendance after joining
Key Metric 3 100% of 2025 participants increased their physical activity; 70% faced mental health struggles; 33% lived in Milton Keynes' most deprived areas; 89% relied on the free Ride High minibus to attend

Key Outcomes

  • Aim High Alternative Education Provision launched in partnership with Haddon Training — delivering accredited qualifications in Horse Care and Animal Care for young people aged 14-25 with an EHCP; first intake starting Spring 2026; new site announced in Chester to double charitable impact
  • Treacle, Ride High's 27-year-old pony, awarded the British Horse Society's Equine Personality of the Year award for the horse that does the most for people; first-ever Volunteer Manager appointed April 2025; 100% of volunteers report Ride High has a positive impact on their own wellbeing
  • Social value of £3,500 per year per young person riding weekly (British Equestrian 'Power of Horses' research); fully self-funded through fundraising events, corporate partnerships and donations; £12,000 raised through Big Give Christmas Challenge match funding; 17 years of operation in 2025

Geography

Other

Related reports

All Health & Wellbeing reports →
DEBRA UK

Impact — Winter 2026

2026 Enhanced
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Health & Wellbeing Disability
Read report
The Royal British Legion

Impact Report 2025

2025 Enhanced
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Health & Wellbeing Dementia
Read report
Blind Veterans UK

Our Impact 2024-25

2025 Enhanced
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Health & Wellbeing Wellbeing
Read report
Diabetes UK

Annual Report and Accounts 2024

2024 Enhanced
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022
Health & Wellbeing Research
Read report