Jacob’s Den opened in August 2023 but its story began long before then. It’s founder, Val Atkin, has been involved with horses all her life and came to appreciate, at a young age, the potential they have in creating mental, emotional and physical wellbeing for everyone, but particularly for children and young people and also for more vulnerable adults in our community.
Val worked in equine centres after leaving school before going into youth work and then then into teaching, both in mainstream and special school. Val continued to work part time with horses, running Pony Clubs and working as a freelance coach in riding schools. Val left mainstream teaching in 2020 to work for Lincolnshire SEND and also began sewing the seeds of Jacob’s Den, adding horses to those she already had, mainly from rescue centres and homes where they could no longer be cared for. Val became the manager of APS Equine Centre in 2021 and, with much welcomed support and encouragement from the owners of APS, the ambition to combine the two paths of her life came together.
The next two years were spent – with the help of volunteers and APS Equine – building the perfect environment and training the horses in readiness for opening.
The need for places where people, particularly the more vulnerable, can feel safe, valued and respected, is very obvious to us all, and was particularly highlighted during Covid. This was felt very personally for Val’s family whose grandson, Jacob, has complex learning needs and autism. The name for our centre was borne from this – Jacob’s Den – where we aim to Develop, Enhance and Nurture wellbeing for all our visitors, giving them a place to be.