Young horse riders were presented with rosettes and Easter eggs after they raised more than £800 for a Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) group.

Twenty youngsters took part in the second annual Big Pony Pub Plod in Furneux Pelham, riding ponies from the stables at Brook Cottage Farm, home of the RDA group, and taking in the Brewery Tap.

Last September, Princess Anne visited Brook Cottage Farm to officially open its RDA group. Over the last three years, the team have run weekly riding sessions for children and young people with a disability, and for several months they have been preparing to expand to offer carriage driving lessons for disabled adults.

Caroline Yarrien, one of the new RDA carriage driving coaches, said: “We were delighted to pass our assessment. This means we can allow many adults and children the opportunity to enjoy nature and contact with horses through this wonderful activity.”

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Fellow coach Hester Tingey, who lives in Windhill, Bishop’s Stortford, said: “Our Pub Plod participants work so hard. This year several riders each raised more than £100 in sponsorship.

“The ponies were not technically ‘plodding’ the first time round. They were stepping out and enjoying the spring weather!”

Cllr Colin Woodward, a former mayor of Stortford and a member of the county, district and town councils, had a go at driving the carriage. He then presented the riders and drivers with goodies – those who had raised most money were given enormous Easter eggs.

The money raised will be spent on the next stages of construction of a half-mile driving and riding track, which will be lined with honeysuckle, jasmine and wild flowers to provide a stimulating sensory experience for the RDA group’s disabled riders and drivers.