A big hearted mum-of-three is facing an uphill struggle in her bid to raise funds for Equi-Power, the charity planning to build a new Riding for the Disabled (RDA) centre in Stirling.
Amanda Namey from Cornton is aiming to climb Dumyat, the 418 foot peak in the Ochil Hills, no fewer than 100 times between March 1 and Easter Sunday, which this year falls on April 17.
The challenge is the equivalent of climbing to the top of the Wallace Monument 383 times.
“It means doing the climb two or three times every day for the 48 days,” said Amanda, “and that takes into account the fact that I’ll have to have a break to attend a wedding.”
During her multiple ascents Amanda, who is in charge of development of the Equi-Power project, will be accompanied by a support team and Dana, Laddie and Angel, soft toy replicas of three of the RDA’s popular horses. She hopes the trio will become the mascots of the many supporters who will be taking on a range of challenges over the spring and summer.
Marathon runners, parachutists, cyclists and triathletes are being sought to make Equi-Power their chosen charity during the year and Amanda is hoping that other groups, such as the Scout movement and the fire service, will join her on her Dumyat climbs or come up with fundraising projects of their own. Riding schools and centres across the country have also been approached to support the effort.
Equi-Power has to raise at least £140,000 by crowdfunding before they can apply for major grants to meet the £2 million cost of the state-of-the-art project.
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Thanks to support from Stirling Council the charity has already identified an ideal site for the new centre at Kildean and talks on leasing it are said to be progressing well.
The Kildean centre will replace one at Bannockburn, which was forced to close down in 2015 after a bitter dispute between the RDA and a new owner of the land. It was a huge blow to around 300 young riders and carriage drivers who depended on it.
Amanda’s ups and downs of Dumyat can be followed online at https://bit.ly/3JNUJ97, where people can also find more information or can donate.
