Congratulations to John-James Entwistle who was presented with the Rachel Plumbe Cup on 6th June by South Region Chair, Frances Lochrane. The Rachel Plumbe Cup is awarded once a year to a participant who has achieved much, despite challenging and difficult conditions.
John-James Entwistle who has rare genetic disease that resulted in sight loss at the age of 12, an ongoing progressive loss of hearing and with other issues associated with the condition. JJ started riding with Andover RDA in January 2022 at the age of 27. Despite no previous riding experience, only being able to ride once a fortnight and being coached in a group situation he has made huge progress due to his positive outlook and ‘can do’ approach to everything; his answer to anything you ask him to do is ‘I’ll give it a go’ or ‘I’ll try’. He can now mount and dismount with minimal help and is starting to ride more independently.