A lesson in carriage-driving

Hi. My name’s Terry Linehan and I’m one of the Insight Directors. 

I’ve been with Insight for over 20 years, running training events, coaching and mentoring, and working with organisations to get the best out of their staff.

Having consultants scattered throughout the UK means that Insight is a virtual team, but about three times a year the Directors get together to review and plan our business strategy.

Our most recent Directors’ meeting was held at Chariots of Fire, in Lockerbie.  Chariots run ‘Sports-driving Unlimited’, an amazing charity that Insight supports, who provide life-changing experiences for disabled people through carriage driving.

I was privileged to be able to watch Rachel, one of the visitors to Chariots, having a lesson with Amanda Saville, a highly experienced carriage driver and the key Service Provider for Sports Driving Unlimited.

Rachel is in her twenties and has profound disabilities which make both movement and communication a challenge. However, as the name suggests, at Sports-driving unlimited this is no barrier!

Rachel has been coming to lessons since the Summer, and shows a clear enthusiasm for driving her carriage around the arena at the highest possible speed!

Throughout the lesson Amanda ensures that Rachel is in the driving seat (literally), using the abilities she has to communicate with and control the actions of Benny, her horse. This includes deciding when to move the carriage forward, when to stop, and most importantly how fast to go!

As part of the lesson additional challenges stretch Rachel’s concentration and physical skills, getting her to place selected objects in a series of variously shaped containers around the arena. This creates great hilarity, but is also clearly designed to encourage Rachel to use and extend her movement.

As a spectator, it is easy to see why this lesson is the high spot of Rachel’s week. She is empowered to be in control; she is supported and positively stretched; it’s fun, and there’s definitely an element of risk!

As a management trainer  and coach I can appreciate the positive environment Amanda and the whole team at Chariots create, and how the energy, motivation and self-belief generated in this carriage driving lesson might have an impact for Rachel long after the lesson has ended. I wonder how often we create this level of impact in the workplace?