Amy’s Trust is a charitable trust set up in memory of Amy Duffield who sadly passed away in 2013 from acute viral myocarditis. After her death mum Sharon set up Amy’s Trust through which friends and family raised considerable funds to give back to the community, keep Amy’s values alive and continue her legacy. Further information on Amy’s Trust can be found here.

Amy grew up riding and caring for horses in Nottinghamshire and had a close bond with them throughout her life. Experiencing first-hand the positive influence horses had on her wellbeing, she wished to enable others to experience the same. Particularly children disadvantaged by our societal structures with limited access to such opportunities.

After initially raising funds for the Queen’s Medical Centre Critical Care Unit, who cared for Amy during her illness, the trust turned its attention to actioning Amy’s wish to help young people in this way.

Whilst Amy’s Trust was taking form, Ruby was carving her own path exploring the therapeutic interface between horses and people. Ruby’s interests and further training led her to create Horse & Human and provide an Equine Facilitated Learning service to support child and adolescent mental health. This work involves developing emotional awareness, self-esteem and relational confidence through interactions with horses held in a safe space of unconditional acceptance.

Amy’s Trust and Horse & Human continued along their respective paths for some time before crossing, however they were not unknown to each other – Ruby, Amy and Holly (Amy’s best friend and key member of Amy’s Trust) had spent their childhood years at the stables together!

In 2022, it was becoming clear that a collaboration between Amy’s Trust and Horse & Human would bring together the components needed for the set-up of a specialist provision, facilitating Sharon’s wish to create a legacy in memory of Amy. The pieces began to fall into place upon the foundation of lifelong friendships rooted in a love for horses. The stage was set!

Since then, the wheels have been turning starting with the purchase of a very special plot of land in Redmile, Nottinghamshire in 2022. With planning permission in progress and horses settling into their new home, momentum is steadily building.
To hear about our progress and find out more about the work we will be offering stay tuned – we’ll update the webpage along the way!