Park Palace Ponies could have to close and sell its ponies within weeks due to funding crisis

Park Palace Ponies, the L8 charity which has made riding accessible to thousands of children, is facing closure and having to sell its ponies within weeks due to a funding crisis.

The Dingle-based riding school is so low on funds and struggling it could have to close its doors at the end of April.

Now its trustees have launched an appeal for help to allow its much-loved riding sessions to continue and avoid seven resident ponies being sold to new homes.

Park Palace Ponies has a long-term strategy to become sustainable, but it desperately needs donations to keep going until grant bids can be secured.

Karen Scott, Park Palace Ponies CIO Trustee, explains:

“We are working on plans for fundraising, working with sponsors and setting up a new website. This is our objective for longer-term sustainability, but this takes time. We need urgent public help now.

“We are living hand to mouth every month and things really can’t go on this way. 

“What we need is breathing space while we set up our website, so we have an online presence which we’ve never had before, and somewhere to recognise and thank our sponsors and supporters.

“We’re also looking at how we can cut our costs. Our utility bills are almost £1000 a month – they’ve doubled – but because we’re a charity we can cap that so we’ve contacted the council about applying to do that.”

Karen, who was appointed as one of the new trustees in January this year, became involved with the charity when her own daughter rode there and went on to become a volunteer.

She has experience of writing grant applications for higher education and intends to put that to full use to help safeguard Park Palace Ponies future.

Karen adds:

“We have a business development plan written with Sport England because what we’re looking to do is create a secure future through large funding bids.

“We’re the only place like this where children in Toxteth and the surrounding areas can access outdoor space, they can learn to ride – we don’t want it to be considered an elitist sport – and we have equine therapy grooming sessions for adults as well, so people can come and groom the ponies after work. 

“Through our volunteers programme, we also want it to be a place where kids can come, meet new friends, and have some independence in a safe space.”

Karen says the current financial situation isn’t as a result of a lack of demand. Since PPP was set up as a pilot seven years ago on Mill Street in L8 it has been incredibly popular and become a cared-about part of the local community.

“We aren’t down on funds because lessons aren’t being filled, they are, there’s plenty of demand for them but we have to keep the prices at a certain level because we want it to always be accessible, that’s the point. 

“It costs approximately £10,000 to run Park Palace Ponies a month, and while lessons and parties do provide some income since Covid and the loss of funding for schools that used our facilities we are short £6-7,000 a month.

“We’ve been threatened with imminent closure before, and actually closed in September 2024. It was such a shock, my daughter was in tears, and people said then why wasn’t there a crowdfunder to tell everyone we were in dire straits until it was too late – so now we are.

“We’ve launched our Good Hub funding page which is about tiding us over until we’re successful with our funding bids. Obviously we’ll always have it there to accept donations and we’ll be able to use it for more fun campaigns like a fun day or sponsor a pony, but at the moment it’s more of an urgent need, it is a genuine rescue situation.”

To help support Park Palace Ponies, go to the Good Hub.

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