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Inside this issue
Training Grades Let’s hear it for...
Fund raising
Pony prattle
Photos
PVG scheme
A wee rider says
My legs are too far away (
Moray Group Riding for the Disabled
Newsletter No 31
Summer 2015
Charity no.SC 010025
Current Committee Members
Chairperson: Charlotte Mountain
07785392785
Treasurer: Gillian Anderson
Secretary: Lorna Castle
Dave Bridgeford
Lesley Hutcheson
Campbell Harris
Lynne Havell
James Younie
Ellen Nock
Hazel Richardson
Jackie Macpherson
Group Organiser
Denise Kelly—contact: 01343 850310
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Autumn term begins:
Training day 26th August
Wednesday 2nd
September
Monday 7th
September
No riding during autumn school
term holidays. October 12th
, 14th,
19th, 21
st
Last Wednesday November 18th
Last Monday November 23rd
Charity no.SC 010025
With thanks to our
Newsletter sponsors
Welcome to Newsletter number 31.
Another busy term has come to an end we hope you
have all enjoyed it.
We have welcomed new riders and also new
volunteers. The group is going from strength to strength
and has a waiting list for riders. That is why it is so
important to keep sending out the word that we are
always looking for new volunteers
www.morayrda.org.uk
Moray Group RDA
RDA Headquarters
www.rda.org.uk
rom our group organiser and instructor Denise Kelly
It has been a busy term for our riders but more so for our dedicated small band of helpers who have
braved the rain, snow and one week sweltering sun. I know I don’t say it enough but thank you and,
really we couldn’t do it without you. A special mention to our newest recruits to Wednesdays.... Liz
Graham, Hayley Wills, who also helps on a Monday with daughter Kate, Deborah Ross, Courtney and
more recently Charlotte, Chelsey, and Rhona.
Training days, no matter how hectic I make them, never really prepare you for the real thing.
I hope you have all extended your vocabulary and now know what a “thingamabob” and a “whatsit”
really mean and when I ask for a lead rein I really mean a front strap!
We really cram a lot into our 10 weeks, and to see the smiles, hear the laughter (-mainly from the
helpers as I trip over a pole or jumpkin when no one thinks to warn me while I’m walking backwards-)
and see the cuddles the ponies get and give. The confidence that grows within our riders as they
communicate with their leaders and ponies fills me with pride, when I think ‘we did that’
It also gives everyone such a boost when some of the riders chat to them in Tesco or Asda when they
have been recognised as ‘from the ponies’
It was lovely to welcome our visitors from Cedarwood as they arrived to watch their buddies ride.
When I asked what they thought of their riding one gentleman replied “they’re just smiling” I did mention
that staying on a pony was hard work!
So what have we been up to this term:-
Training in March was well attended and enjoyed by all.
There is always something new to learn on these days, even for those who have been volunteers for a long time, and of great interest to the new volunteers,
Below is a sample of what was taught and demonstrated:-
AT THE RAMP....THE HORSE.....ROLES OF HELPERS.....MOUNTING
Getting the horse close to the ramp
Leader on outside
Side helper
Each helper should know what their role is...team effort
Volunteers experienced how it felt for a rider mounting for the first time
Methods of mounting i.e. seat first or leg over.
Instances when a rider will mount from the right hand side of the horse were discussed.
RIDERS
Position
Hips square...eye...shoulder ...turn...look ahead
As you sit on your horse you need a straight line from your ear through
your shoulders, hips, to your heels
Neck reining
Role of the leader
Role of the side helper
Leader give warning to rider and side helper when turning
F
Quote from a
little rider.
‘My legs are
too far away’
(Stirrups are too
short) Magic!!
Grade 1 Riding
Grade 2 Riding Grade 3 Riding Grade 1 Horse Care
Katie Herrett Katie Herrett Kyle Sharp
Nathan Craib Nathan Craib Kevin Macpherson
Levi Hird Abbie McGovern Michael Burnett
Charlie George Innis Bell Robert Macpherson
Ross McColm~ Connor Sutherland Rebecca Rose
Emma Louise Mitchell Craig Watkins Callum White
*Owen Simpson Liam Whyte
Jack Paterson Joshua Duncan
Julie Anderson
*Owen is well on his way to Grade 2!
Monday riders have been working on different parts of a handy pony
The Wednesday 9:30 Ride have been working towards their show jumping level
1
Ceiran Gilchrest and his sister Becca, Craig Rae and Heather Roulson are
working toward completing their ASDAN booklets ready for moderation in
September
Kirsten Roulson is working on her Transition Challenge which is also an ASDAN
qualification.
We welcomed two new riders from Millbank for taster sessions in May as told by:- Karen Ramsay Principal Teacher Additional Support Needs Millbank Primary
What a fantastic experience it's been for Cody and Ethan to come to Cranloch every week. First visit; Cody wouldn't even get out of the car and Ethan screamed when we tried to get a riding hat on his head. With support from parents (and visiting grandfather too), guidance from the instructors and patience from the volunteers both boys are now happy to wear their riding hats and have made amazing progress. Ethan is able to tell Tim to stop, then count to ten and walk on. Cody is interacting with his instructor and volunteer to take the ball and put it down the cone. These are essential skills; Ethan is learning to listen, follow instructions and most importantly he is learning to wait. Cody is learning to engage with others and follow instructions. It's wonderful to see them progress and to witness the pride and joy of their parents. A big thank you from Millbank Primary School to Denise and Heather and the RDA volunteers
So thank you all again for your support and however long or short a time you can give to
RDA
It’s what you CAN do that counts
To the best TEAM——-Together Everyone Achieves More
Denise
This Terms Proficiency Grading Certificates
PROFICIENCY TEST GRADING
Apart from the physical benefits the riders get from the lessons we provide they can also work toward 4
levels of proficiency certificate. Our lessons are all geared towards teaching the principals of these tests.
Tests cover both riding and horse care
The Riding Tests range from the basic ability to happily sit on the horse in walk halt and changes of
direction (Grade 1) through to riding independently off the lead rein, demonstrating basic school
movements such as changes of rein circles etc. and trotting over three poles or jumping over a very low
fence (Grade 4)
The Horse Care Tests cover a simple knowledge of the horse and his tack (Grade 1) right up to
knowledge of how to care for and feed a pony, how to catch and tie up correctly and also tack up. (Grade
4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fundraising report
Our fundraising group have been very busy since your last newsletter
INCHBERRY CAR BOOT What a success that was!! We raised a whopping £1189.94!
Thanks to each and every one of you who helped before, during and after (even managed to rope a few
unsuspecting relatives into helping – thank you Rona, Lynne and Kayla )
What a huge boost, not only to our funds, but also to all our helpers after the last two years being a bit
disappointing. Everyone puts so much effort into organising the event and works their socks off on the
day so to get a result like that is so rewarding.
The weather was (mostly!) kind to us and the buyers were out in their droves.
However this success would not have been possible without the many fabulous quality items you are all
so generous in donating to sell – we are a very lucky group to have you all supporting us.
Still on the Inchberry car boot theme, special thanks must go to Inchberry’s John Taylor who gives up his
time every year to help ensure our day runs smoothly. John you are worth every single burger you eat!!!
COFFEE MORNING on Saturday 6th June at the Holy Trinity Church
hall raised another whopping sum of £296.54 Pictured right....Muriel,
Lesley & Mieke, fundraisers in pink!
BOTTLE STALL at the Marafun on
Sunday 7th June raised £330 thanks are
due to you all AGAIN for your
donations of scrummy home bakes for
the coffee morning ..................and for 200 – yes,
TWO HUNDRED!! Bottles for the Marafun stall.
Jackie pictured below waiting for the rush and the rain to stop!
Just a short report this time, but as ever, if you would like to
organise a fundraising event on our behalf PLEASE feel free
to do so like Sheila and Jack did (see the article below )
Our fundraising team are doing a fantastic job, but they do
appreciate any help and ideas that come their way.
ROUND THE WORLD IN 60 SECONDS!
Monday helpers and part time equestrian vaulters, Jack
and Sheila Taylor organised their own fundraising event
on our behalf on the weekend of 9th and 10
th of May.
They challenged Cranloch riders and visitors to take part
in one of their vaulting exercises, to see how many “round
the worlds” we could do in a minute – i.e. burling round a full 360 degrees as many times as possible on
the back of a horse They were kind to us (and the horses!) though and brought along their practice
vaulting horse, instead of subjecting us to a real one!
The event was great fun and loads of folk took up the challenge, with James Younie winning the adult
section with a phenomenal count of 20 – James was last seen spinning across the yard at a rate of knots!!
The Tack Shed in Fochabers and Speyside Glass Engraving in Rothes very generously donated the
winners’ prizes and Sheila and Jack raised a fantastic £87 for us. Everyone who took part thoroughly
enjoyed themselves, so much so that this might become an annual event!
WELL DONE JACK AND SHEILA
******************************************************************
A few words from an awestruck volunteer
Lets hear it for our
Volunteers. . . . We couldn’t do it without them. How often have we heard this, and
how true it is!
However. . . . There is another group of people we rely heavily upon and who we definitely couldn’t do
without no matter how many volunteers turn up.
Those people are our ~~~
NSTRUCTORS!!!!!!!!.
It struck me the other day just how much work they all put into the lessons, how
much planning goes on, how much attention they pay to each and every rider, how attentive they are
to us volunteers. Each rider only has maximum 30 minutes with us and for every minute our instructors,
chiefly Denise and Heather, try to ensure they are provided with a quality experience. Not only that, they
are always looking out for us volunteers, looking out for the horses, looking out for hazards . . . looking
out for cake !!
Yes, our instructors are not volunteers in the sense that they get a nominal payment but they are worth
their weight in gold for all the time and expertise they bring to the group.
Three cheers for our fantastic instructors
I
PONY PRATTLE
Hi folks, Corrie, Tim and Blair here
Phew!! This has been a busy term; we’re working on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays as well as doing our bit for the riding centre at the weekends. But we love it!
This has to be the best job a pony can have getting to work with all you lovely riders. We
love to see your smiley faces when you arrive and it means a lot to us
knowing we’re doing you good in so many ways – physically, mentally and
socially but most of all helping you to have FUN!
We love teaching you how to ride (yes, Denise and the other instructors
think THEY’RE the teachers, but without us they’d be pretty stumped )
but what we really enjoy is when we get to do games and races with you –
we’re all very competitive you know!
We hear that while we are working on Wednesdays, a group of you from
Banff Academy go down and clear the poo from our field and dig out any
ragwort. We really appreciate that because it is not nice having a field full
of poo when we’re trying to eat the juicy grass. And as for the ragwort –
that’s poisonous if we eat it so, although we do our best to avoid it, it’s
always best if it’s dug up out of the way. THANK YOU BANFF
RIDERS
We’re grateful too to the great pony care team who do all the housekeeping for us through the week –
you’re doing a super job and we especially love it when you bring us apples and carrots as a wee treat
We had a visit from the dentist in May (Andy Watson, Global Equine) and we were all very good for him.
He’s a lovely man and so gentle that we hardly realised what he was doing. He
says he’ll come back to give us a check-up in November, just like you humans.
Between that, regular visits from Andy the farrier (Andy Simpson), vet treatment
as soon as we need it (Seafield Vets, Keith), AND getting to work with all you
amazing riders, we consider ourselves very lucky ponies indeed.
Lots of love from a very contented trio
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»
What’s New???? We have welcomed new
riders and new volunteers
and a new pony from
Cranloch. Macy has been a
wee star and settled into her
new role very well. A firm
favourite with the riders and
helpers.
Something else new that has
proved a hit is the new
rugby shirts and here is our
very own Charlotte sporting
the very latest in Moray
Group leisure wear!
Hi I’m Macy
Some photos from the spring term. If, next term, you take any photos and are happy for them to go in the newsletter and would like to write a wee article to go with them or write about your experiences with the Moray Group please email Lynne Havell [email protected]. It is YOUR newsletter and we would like to put stuff in it to interest you. Thanks
Wishing you all a wonderful
summer and hope to see you in
September
IMPORTANT NOTICE Regarding PVG scheme (Protecting
Vulnerable Groups)
Our original helpers (pre 2011) need
to have a PVG which has replaced the original enhanced disclosure.
Please as Charlotte for a form on your return after the summer break