Eva’s story
Three years ago, Eva described herself as being ‘in a very dark place’. After graduating from university, she found herself in the covid lockdown in Devon with severe anxiety. While she watched others return to some kind of normality, Eva struggled to find the confidence to leave her house.
Then, Eva saw a website article encouraging women to take part in our ‘This Girl Can Exercise with Equines’ scheme.
‘It was a huge personal challenge’ she says, ‘but once I was there, interacting with horses and feeling a real connection, I didn’t look back. The highlight of my week was visiting the Coombe Park stables and then I began volunteering at Honeysuckle. It was hard, physical work, but I loved every minute.
‘The Sanctuary has a particularly compassionate way of allowing people and equines to be together, with ethical values that resonate with me. Most of these horses and ponies have gone through something difficult in their lives and connecting with them was very powerful. I wanted to give something back to them because they helped me so much when I desperately needed it.
‘When a job came up at the yard, I was nervous about applying but I’m so glad I did. Working at the Sanctuary has completely changed my life. It’s my happy place.’
We’re the place for people who want to make a difference to the lives of horses, ponies and foals. We currently have around 130 members of staff and almost 100 volunteers. Thanks to your support, our staff and volunteers continue to make a difference every day.
