Handmade hobby horses and silly hats for Sidcup care home celebrating Royal Ascot

It’s a day for silly hats, posh frocks and millions spent on fizz.

Residents of a care home at least tried to match the silly hats to celebrate Royal Ascot.

They also rode handmade hobby horses around the garden, all under the glorious British sunshine.

Residents at Care UK’s Smyth Lodge, on Frognal Avenue, Sidcup, enjoyed their very own ‘Ascot Day’ – cheering on team members and residents dressed taking the role of the ‘jockeys’ as they rode handmade hobby horses around the garden.

As part of the event, residents placed ‘bets’ on their favourites and created signs to support the team members through different heats, with the grand final taking place in the afternoon.

The day was celebrated in style with residents enjoying prosecco in the sunshine while wearing their finest outfits and hats.

Tracey Cheeseman, Home Manager at Smyth Lodge, said: “We all enjoyed hosting our very own ’day at the races’ – especially under the glorious sunshine.

“Everyone got into the spirit of the day, wearing their finest outfits and fanciest hats.

“The races brought smiles to everyone’s faces, and residents really enjoyed making their own signs and cheering on the team members.

“Here at Smyth Lodge, we encourage residents to live active and fulfilling lives, and Royal Ascot is a popular event among residents.

“We have some keen punters at the home, so this was a perfect opportunity not to be missed!

“We have lots more outdoor activities planned for residents in the coming months, so that we can continue to make the most of the sunshine in our wonderful grounds.

“The team members who organised the event did an incredible job, and we’re looking forward to doing this again next year.”

Smyth Lodge has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives.

The state-of-the-art care home, which opened in 2019, provides full-time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, and features a cinema, hair salon and activities room.