Heather View resident revisits her hay-day

Home news

Apr 05, 2017

A Heather View resident was given the chance to reconnect with her lifelong hobby when she visited a local stables.

Rosie Speight, a resident at Heather View was born in Yorkshire and grew up in Ripon during the war years. Throughout her childhood, Rosie was surrounded with many animals which eventually led to her great love of horses.

Having developed this interest at a young age, Rosie would often ask friends in her village for a ride on their ponies. When she was older, Rosie was finally able to have her own horse, and after she moved to the countryside she bought many more.  Rosie went on to become a brilliant rider and passed many high level riding exams, particularly in dressage.

Rosie was a hardworking young lady, and thanks to her own merits secured a place at Bristol University to read History.  After graduating, Rosie went on to become a dedicated teacher at all levels from pre-school to grammar school, and was described as ‘always patient’ and ‘encouraging of her students’.

Her husband, John, was an army officer in the Royal Engineers, and Rosie and her family moved to Hong Kong with the army during the 1970s.  During her time there, Rosie was able to spend most of her days with horses. She also joined a riding club and would often compete in three day events, representing Hong Kong around countries in Asia.

In 1992, Rosie had a serious accident where she fell off her horse while crossing a road, suffering serious injuries. Despite this, her love of horses never diminished, and over time her condition improved and she continued to ride and judge local competitions. 

Having heard Rosie and her relatives often talk about her passion for horses, the team members at Heather View arranged a special trip to visit a local stables. Although Rosie’s communication had been limited, while at the stables she became much more animated. After she was introduced to the horses, she had the opportunity to help feed them and asked a lot of different questions about them.

Trish Banks, home manager at Heather View commented: “During her time at the stables, we saw just how much the horses brightened up Rosie’s day, so since then we have arrange for some local ponies, Pebbles and Sooty, to visit her at the home. As the first visit was such a success, we are already planning another visit back to the stables in spring and hope this will become a regular trip for Rosie.

Heather View has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides full time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as short term respite and day care.