PRINCESS Anne flew in to the Borders for a double celebration last week.

Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, officially opened the Ian Stark Equestrian Centre at Greenhill Farm, Selkirk, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

She met with founding members, members and sponsors before making a short speech and opening the centre.

The special ceremony coincided with the 50th birthday of the Ettrickbridge and Dryden branch of Riding for the Disabled Association, which was founded by Jean McAuley - mother of the Olympian’s wife.

Princess Anne, who is the national RDA patron, said: “This is a great chance to offer my congratulations to all of you, the organisation relies on the support of volunteers. To celebrate 50 years is astonishing, the organisation was not in existence when this group started.” And she added: “This centre is a huge complement to the area, I think it will make such a difference, it is a considerable investment, everything they have put into this centre will make a huge difference to people.” Lord-Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale, The Hon Gerald Carew-Maitland, and his wife Rosalind, welcomed Her Royal Highness to the Borders, along with Chief Superintendent Gill Imery, Police Scotland’s area commander; Scottish Borders Council convener Graham Garvie; Selkirk Provost David Anderson; and Deputy Lord-Lieutenant Kirsty Dunlop.

Before Princess Anne cut the ribbon to declare the centre open, Mr Stark, with a nod to the recent referendum, said, to loud cheers: “Princess Anne, I’d like to welcome you to a better together Scotland.

“This centre was originally an idea of my wife Jenny. We hope that it is giving something to the Scottish Borders, an indoor school which can be used in the winter and we promise to try to keep the snow off the roads.” Nine-year-old Lucy Corbett, from Langlee Primary School, presented the Princess with a bouquet of flowers.

And a special cake, made by volunteer Jane Telfer of Yarrowford and iced by Sarah Gorrill, was cut to mark the occasion.

Long service awards were presented to RDA members Caryl Thompson and Majory White and Christopher Janetta was recognised as the charity’s Volunteer of the Year.

Chairperson Lynda Whittaker said: “Christopher is an autistic young man who has made the switch from being a rider member to a volunteer.

“The nature of autism means that he likes to have a structure and routine, but during the year he has tackled many tasks which have taken him out of his comfort zone.

“He gave a presentation to the People’s Postcode Lottery on the difference that Riding for the Disabled has made in his life - and spoke from his experience.” Mrs Whittaker added: “As we watched the displays Princess Anne took great pleasure from the children’s obvious enjoyment of working with horses. The Princess told me that you can never underestimate how much fun and joy a trotting horse can inspire.” For more photographs from the Royal visit, turn over to pages 20 and 21.