FOR nearly four decades Festina Lente, a charitable organisation that offers equine therapy, has been transforming lives with its unique blend of horses and healing. Dr Jill Carey, its CEO, is leading the charge in an exciting new chapter for the organisation as it undertakes a major expansion with a new facility aimed at increasing its capacity and improving its services.

The core of Festina Lente’s mission has always been to provide a therapeutic environment where people with disabilities can benefit from the healing connection between humans and horses. Now, with its imminent move to a larger, purpose-built site around Belfield House in Kilpeddar, Co Wicklow, the organisation is about to take that mission to new heights.

Founded in 1988, Festina Lente started as a small project that relied heavily on European Union funding and various grants. Originally operating in a small location, the organisation eventually moved to its current site in Old Connaught Avenue in Bray in 1996, which was also funded through EU grants.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s, when Dr Carey took over as CEO, that the organisation began to prioritise financial stability. Under her leadership, Festina Lente grew from just 10 staff members to nearly 65. Over the last two decades, its budget has expanded correspondingly, and the organisation has seen impressive growth in both its equestrian and horticultural programmes.

“Unless you’ve got stability, you can’t even kind of look beyond that,” Dr Carey said. “So, when I started my priority was to stabilise the funding so we could start looking at developing the organisation. What we have achieved over the past 20 years has been an expansion of both the equestrian assistive services and the horticultural initiatives under the banner of social and therapeutic horticulture. And then we have another third arm, which is the HSE-funded services, which also grows every year. These services are around community inclusion, employment, engagement and citizenship.”

However, Dr Carey explains that with the growth, the organisation had reached a crossroads. The current site, while cherished, was not fit for purpose, and, more critically, the land had been zoned for residential use.

“As urbanisation increased, the land was being primed for residential development, which meant that sooner or later, we would have to move.”

New facility

The push for a new facility grew out of necessity. “We could no longer operate in the current location, given the zoning changes. We were on leased land, which was shared with two separate landlords,” Dr Carey said. “One owns the actual area where we have offices and classrooms and stables, and then the other landlord is the Christian Brothers, and they have all the lands used for grazing, yes. The overriding reality is that all the lands have been zoned residential. So, it was inevitable, regardless of leases, that we actually had to move to find a permanent home for Festina. So that was the impetus, apart from the growth we have had.

“We began to look at sites and trying to find a site went on for five or six years, because we have to find somewhere which was accessible for a lot of our service users, who wouldn’t ordinarily have a lot of resources by virtue of their disability - there’s quite strong correlation between disability and limited resources. Then we also had to find a place where we’re going to have land for horses. So, to find somewhere near bus networks and farm lands that weren’t residentially zoned was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“We eventually found this site in Kilpeddar, which is already accessible by bus, and then every year, as urbanisation spreads and mushrooms, it’ll become even more accessible. And we also then had the land which was zoned agricultural, so that those two combined then led us to look for the funds to buy the site. So we got the planning, we bought the site, and there’s three phases to the project.

“One was the relocation of the existing avenue off the N11 to a new avenue, which sounds very simple, but it was incredibly expensive. Phase two is the cut and fill of the 44-acre site which finished last week.

Festina Lente has plans to relocate to a large new facility in Ballyronan Kilquade Co Wicklow \ Tom Clarke

Then phase three will be when the contractors start on site and we are expecting tender documents back within two to three weeks. Aspirationally, we would like to think that we will start building before the end of the year, and it’ll be about an 18-month build.”

But the decision to relocate wasn’t only driven by the lease issue. The growing demand for services, alongside the desire to create a space truly designed to cater to the needs of both people and horses, made it clear that a new, purpose-built site was necessary. The existing facility was never designed to accommodate the complex needs of an equine therapy organisation, and the limitations of the space became increasingly apparent as Festina Lente’s services expanded.

“Over the years, we’ve developed a model where horses are an essential part of the therapy process, but the current infrastructure just isn’t ideal. We needed something designed with our specific needs in mind,” says Dr Carey.

The vision

With the site secured, the next step was to plan the design of the new facility. Dr Carey emphasises that the design process was guided by three core principles: it had to be good for people, good for horses, and good for the land. These pillars served as the foundation for every aspect of the new site’s design.

One of the standout features of the new facility will be its focus on accessibility and inclusion. “Everything has been designed to accommodate the diverse needs of our service users. The new site will have a range of spaces for people to engage with nature, whether they want social interaction or a quiet space for personal reflection,” Dr Carey explained.

The sensory garden, which will be a focal point of the new site, is a perfect example of this. The garden is designed with a U-shape layout and will cover a third of an acre. On one side will be a restaurant that can seat 80 people, while on the other side will be learning rooms that are accessible to people with diverse learning needs. The garden itself will offer a therapeutic space where individuals can interact with nature, decompress and self-regulate.

While the human side of the facility is carefully thought out, the needs of the horses are just as important. Currently, the horses at Festina Lente are stabled, which, as Dr Carey points out, isn’t always ideal.

The new facility will incorporate a unique sustainable system called the ‘empty track’ system, designed to give the horses the opportunity to live outdoors. “The horses will live out at night, and during the day, they’ll come in to work with the therapeutic riders. This model ensures that they have space to move and interact naturally, but it also allows for the safe interaction needed for therapy.”

The new site will also feature an indoor riding arena, designed to cater to individuals with disabilities who require a controlled environment for riding therapy. The arena will have a water feature at one end, adding an extra sensory experience for riders, particularly those with sensory processing issues.

A key feature of the horse facilities will be the riding track system, which will be integrated into the land’s natural contours. This system will provide sensory input for riders, while also allowing the horses to interact with the natural terrain. The space will be designed to be as natural as possible, with no sharp corners, rounded loops and paddock areas for smaller ponies.

Perhaps one of the most unique features of the new site will be its purpose-built vaulting arena. Vaulting is an important part of Festina Lente’s therapeutic offering, and the new arena will ensure that the horses and riders have the space and facilities they need.

“No system is ever going to be perfect, because the perfect utopian system is that horses live out on acres and acres, but that’s just not feasible any more,” Dr Carey said.

“But the horses here will now have shelter areas, rolling areas, water areas, feeding station and they’ll all be out on quite a large site. And on the periphery of that will be a riding track system for people to ride out, where we will have a whole series of serpentine loops - there’s no corners in this site - so all the turnout areas are all rounded too, which is good for horses and good for people. It’s also got lovely gradients going up and down, so you get that kind of safe sensation and riders need for that sensory input.

“The other thing we’re doing is really nicely constructed wetlands, so that therapeutic riders can cross over the different cells and you’ll have different pontoon areas where people can sit and watch the natural wildlife. So, not only is it going to serve the purpose of wetlands, but it will also have all those educational, therapeutic and recreational areas within that as well.

Education

“The new location will certainly increase our capacity, but will also assist with the education arm. At the moment, we offer a Level 6 educational programme, which is QQI accredited, for therapeutic riding and for equine assisted learning. We have a purpose-built area for Equine Assisted Learning done with a grant from the dormant accounts fund and another group called Different Stays. Equine assisted learning is an area which we really would like to do more of, but we’re very strapped on facilities here. We’re talking to the University of Limerick about bringing our therapeutic coaching programme to a level seven and then there’s also coaching - we have plans to start a diploma in mainstream coaching, so it’s very exciting.

“There is a beautiful house on the land, built in 1790, so we’re discussing with an architect and builders about how we can repurpose that as an accommodation site for people who want to use it either for short-term respite and/ or for the programmes that we’re going to be offering. We don’t, at the moment, have the facilities to support residential weekends, but we certainly would have when we repurpose the house.”

Funding and expansion

The project is ambitious and, with a total cost in the millions, fundraising has been an ongoing challenge. Dr Carey is quick to point out that they were fortunate to secure some funding through a combination of reserves, donor support, and the Immigrant Investor Programme, which has provided 70% of the funding needed for the project. However, there is still a shortfall of nearly €2 million.

To bridge this gap, the organisation is continuing its fundraising efforts, including a unique initiative to create a gallery of donated pieces from famous equestrians. The Peter Sullivan Foundation, named after the late broadcaster and racing industry figure, made the first donation to this gallery, and Dr Carey is hopeful that more donations will follow.

Beyond the construction costs, Festina Lente is also focusing on its ongoing operational needs. While the core funding for the organisation is stable, the expansion will require new revenue streams to support the increased capacity. Some of the services offered, such as riding lessons and equine-assisted learning, generate income, but much of the funding comes from external grants and donations.

The future

As the organisation prepares to break ground on the new facility, the future of Festina Lente looks incredibly promising. Dr Carey and her team are committed to creating a space that is truly designed to support the needs of both people and horses, ensuring that the therapeutic potential of equine-assisted therapy can reach even more individuals.

For Dr Carey, it’s not just about the horses or the facility - it’s about the people. “At the heart of what we do is the belief that the horse-human connection is transformative. That’s why we’re so dedicated to creating a facility that will allow us to expand our services and help even more people,” she says.

Festina Lente’s expansion is not just about bricks and mortar - it’s about growing the reach of an organisation that has already made such a significant impact on so many lives. As the new facility takes shape, it promises to usher in a new era of growth, healing and opportunity for both people and horses.

The next few years will undoubtedly be a defining time for Festina Lente and, with Dr Carey at the helm, the future of this remarkable organisation is bright.