'It's a Christmas miracle' - disabled riding school returns to original home

An urban riding school specialising in giving opportunities to people with disabilities has returned to stables it was controversially evicted from earlier this year, a move those involved have emotionally described as a "Christmas miracle".

Park Lane Stables in Teddington, south west London, was forced out in May when its lease expired, despite exceeding the £1 million fundraising target set by its landlord to buy the premises when £1.3m was raised in a much-publicised campaign in February this year.

While initially unsuccessful, the campaign picked up vast national coverage, including from the BBC, while celebrities such as Rob Brydon and prominent racing figures, including Racing TV's Nick Luck, lent their support.

Having been based at temporary stables in nearby Richmond for seven months, they picked up the keys to their original and historic premises on Wednesday as outright owners, securing its long-term future following a year of uncertainty.

Natalie O'Rourke, who was at the centre of the fundraising campaign and is now the owner of Park Lane Stables, said: "It's a Christmas miracle! It's been quite a complicated legal wrangle but we got there in the end, which is all that matters. It's disbelief really that we've got it back, I felt like I was in shock at first.

'I can't quite take it in that it's ours forever and nobody can ever take it off of us'

"I can't quite take it in that it's ours forever and nobody can ever take it off us. I'm going to have to let it settle in my mind, because we became so used to the threat of losing it. I'm sure after a couple of nights of sleep it'll sink in."

O'Rourke described the period at a temporary home as the lowest point in the stable's history.

"We hit rock-bottom. We cried so many tears, but just had to keep going," she added. "We were offered a temporary home by a lovely man and the best bit was we could carry on the service and there was no break in it for our people who needed it.

"We all stuck together and kept going, but it's been a challenge. There was a lot of negotiating and then the solicitors eventually agreed a deal. It took much longer than we hoped, but it doesn't matter now we're back."

O'Rourke also paid tribute to the role the racing community played in raising money and awareness of their plight, and around £500,000 was raised from people within the sport.

The Park Lane Stables could not have done it without the racing community, according to their owner Natalie O'Rourke

She said: "We could never have done this without the racing community because they got behind us from day one – even before the BBC got involved. We're different to racing in many ways, but we all came together for the love of horses.

"We've got an enormous debt of gratitude to those people. If you're at Sandown and Kempton one day, please come along and say hi so we can thank you personally."

While the moving-in process has begun again, Park Lane Stables is not expecting to be able to offer its full services until the new year, with the yard set to be redesigned and updated.

O'Rourke added: "It's a really old building in London, but we've got a lovely architect who'll redesign it to make the most of the space we've got and keep horse welfare at its best.

"We're here forever so we'll give it a lot of love and attention."

Read more on this story:

'We're heartbroken' – disabled riding school evicted despite fundraising drive

'It's like winning the Grand National' – £1 million raised to save riding school

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a three-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday