MY first and last experience of a mechanical horse was several years ago at a polo club. The club was immensely wealthy, with a millionaire owner and the 'horse' was there to enable the jockeys to practice their polo swings. It didn't move much, but it did save the hugely valuable ponies from being bashed.

Fast forward and I'm in a converted garage, high above Barnoldswick, at the premises of Pendle Riding for the Disabled (RDA), and this time, instead of a polo player, there's 92-year-old former RAF Flight Lieutenant Brian Finch in the saddle.

"Pride", which cost a lot more than the average car, is also a far more sophisticated machine. It is able to walk, trot and canter, can also do dressage, and is positioned in front of a large screen, showing rolling countryside or an outdoor arena, both on a lovely summer's day, and all synchronised with the horse's movements.

Brian, from Clitheroe, has just returned to riding after the death of his wife. Before she died, he had been her carer for several years and his life had been largely confined to the house. He also has a problem with his back - the result of a mid-air collision while flying a Beaufort Torpedo Strike bomber in the Second World War.

When his wife died, a friend suggested he take up riding again. The couple had first taken up riding in the 1960s when their son was killed while in the Royal Navy. They had loved it and, after his wife died, a return to riding seemed a good idea.

But in his early 90s no riding school was prepared to take the risk. He was then put in touch with Pendle RDA and is now one of its most frequent members. He refers to the instructors and volunteers as his Pendle Popsies - an old RAF term - and could not be more grateful.

"I was determined not to stay in my armchair, and this has literally saved me, both physically and mentally," he says. When he first started with the RDA, he walked with sticks. He still needs a little help mounting and dismounting, but once in the saddle he is upright and moves smoothly and fluidly with the actions of the horse.

Brian visits two or three times a week and rides mostly Pride, but also one of the group's 'real life' horses, 16hh Velvet. "I look forward to my sessions as the high point of my life, having given me inner peace and improved health," he adds. He is also a great fan of the cakes that appear to be on permanent offer at the group.

Pendle RDA, led by Kate Bailey, north-west regional instructor for the RDA, has half a dozen horses and ponies at its disposal - either Kate's own, or on a loan basis by their owners - but it is without doubt the mechanical "Pride' that has enabled the group to grow beyond all expectations.

In 2011 when the group, which has been going since 1977, received lottery funding for the £42,500 horse, it had just six members. The lottery people told them it expected that to increase to 18 within two years.

Within two years, membership was at 88 and it now has 110 riders and 33 volunteers, and it would like to see even more join the happy band.

Amazingly, the group does not charge the people who come to ride. It relies on donations and fundraisers, such as its recent Prideathon, but ends each year on a loss, its biggest expense being insurance.

The Prideathon - a mammoth non-stop session over more than 31 hours which saw members each ride for 30 minutes each, raised around £3,000.

The members range from a two-year-old with cerebral palsy, referred to the group from a hospital, to 92-year-old Brian and include the partially paralysed, those without limbs, the wheelchair bound, autistic people and those with sight problems. Some come dressed up, including a Peter Pan, many bring presents for Pride, and all receive enormous benefit and return again and again.

"I see amazing things every day," says Kate, who clearly enjoys what she does enormously. The group trains its volunteers, and gives instructors additional training in teaching people with disabilities, takes people on work experience and also takes those on Duke of Edinburgh Award schemes. One of its volunteers, Kelly Glynn, came on work experience from Craven College three years ago and stayed.

Pride doesn't spook at imaginary bears in hedges, it'll take riders up to 18 stones and it'll accommodate rider after rider, for hours and hours each day, seven days a week. Pride doesn't need mucking out, feeding or shoeing, and apart from an annual MOT, needs just a polishing off. There are a range of saddles, including western and side saddle, and Pride is not rendered unrideable if its raining, windy or just plain freezing cold.

So, what is Pride like to ride? Craven Herald photographer Stephen Garnett - a holiday rider - mounted up first, and was set off at a steady walk. Almost straight away, Kate spotted a problem with his right shoulder and asked if he carried a heavy bag on that side. He did, of course, his camera equipment bag, and all off one shoulder.

Kate also noticed a weakness in his right leg caused by the same heavy bag and said sessions on Pride would rebalance him and fend off any future problems.

I then had a go. Pride can be operated either manually by the instructor, or by the rider using the reins and pressure points at exactly the right place the proper aids would be made on a real life horse.

I was amazed; Pride was as sensitive to aids as the most well schooled of horses. After walk, trot and canter - sadly Pride can't gallop, and there are jumping mechanical horses, but they cost more - Kate set me off on a two-minute test with a graph at the end which picked up my many faults, such as a tendency to lean to the right, and not the best contact on the reins. I was telling a riding friend this later and her comment was: "well, you have no contact!"

What was fascinating was how real Pride felt and I could see what a useful tool it would be for those wanting to practise those tricky dressage moves. Indeed, one of the money-making schemes Kate has in mind is to hire Pride out to able-bodied riders wanting to do just that.

There are schools who have a mechanical horse for their able-bodied riders, and certainly if dressage is your bag I can see the appeal of perfecting the aids on a pliant machine and without rain lashing your face.

For me, best of all was the music and, of course, it had to be the theme tune to the old Black Beauty television series. I was immediately transported back to my nine-year-old self, sitting on a neighbour's saddle placed over the back of a sofa. Pure bliss.

Anyone interested in getting involved in Pendle RDA as an instructor, as a volunteer, or keen to experience the benefits of Pride, can contact the group on 01282 814856 or via its Facebook page. Donations will also be very gratefully received.