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RDA East Region Newsletter No. 11 Spring 2014

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elcome to the 11th edition of the RDA East

Region newsletter.

After the terribly wet spring, the situation

improved and it was a lovely day for the East Region

Dressage and Countryside Challenge Qualifier and East

Region Dressage at Oaklands, Sarah Moreland has been

an absolute star organizing this for us together with Sue

Jenkins and others. Sue is now retiring and I would like

to thank her for her wonderful help. Our riders

thoroughly enjoyed the day, and all the effort the groups

put into getting their riders and ponies there, is well

worthwhile. It is pleasure for everyone. Perhaps some

new groups might feel inspired to come. This year it is

on the Sunday 11th May, 2014. Sometimes it is possible

to hire ponies from the Groups stables for the day . All

the riders come away with prizes or rosettes, it really

boosts their self esteem, and many go on to Hartpury for

the National Championships.

Some groups put on one day holiday camps and some

like the Buckenham House Group go to Clwyd in North

Wales, some to National holidays. I cannot tell you how

much our riders enjoy these outings. It is a feat of

organisation and many helpers are needed. So I would

like to thank all our volunteers for giving up their time

to help, and those who put in that extra effort for events

like these, it is rewarding to see the happiness it gives

them.

In July we were lent a lovely marquee in a beautiful

garden at Paxton and held a Fund Raising Event for the

East Region. It was a very successful day and Alex

Rushmer, a master chef did a cooking demonstration for

us, I see he has now been awarded 2 AA rosettes, so we

were lucky to have him and it was a fun day.

I went to the coaching conference for the first time in

Moreton Morell. It was excellent and Kath Hatwell gave

a talk and demonstration on Asdan. She was then

presented with the Volunteer of the Region Award,

which was well deserved. Well Done Kath.

Let me know if you are putting anything special on, as I

would love to come and watch, every group is so

different, it is always interesting to see. Also perhaps

some people are due for Awards.

On MONDAY 20th OCTOBER 2014 We are hosting the

EAST SUPRA REGIONAL CONFERENCE. It is going to

be held at HOUGHTON HALL EQUESTRIAN, Nr.

Huntingdon Cambs. PE28 2DY. This is an amazing new

centre and we will have a day of exciting

demonstrations and an Olympic rider, so we hope as

many of you as possible will be able to come.

With Best Wishes to you all,

Gay Redman.

Cover photo: Sadie Ellis - Oaklands College Presentation, by Andrew Gourlay.

In This Issue: Page 3 Sadie Meets Lee Pearson

Ipswich RDA 25th Party Page 4 New 'equine' for Digswell Place! £1300 Donation For Barrow Farm Page 5 Norfolk Colouring Competition Blickling Hall Garden Party

Barrow Farm Dog Show Page 6 Elisabeth Curtis One Day Camp 'War Horse' Visits West Tofts Page 7 East Suffolk Group at Newton Hall Gay Redman's Annual Report

Page 8 Oaklands College 2013 Photo Gallery Page 12 Norfolk County Fun Day Barrow Farm Golf Day Page 13 Training News in the East Page 14 Kasey's Camp Page 15 Jet's Retirement

Cambridgeshire College Report

W

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Sadie meets Lee Pearson

In January 2014 multiple Paralympic gold medallist Lee

Pearson came to Braeside Equestrian Centre in

Thundersley, Essex to instruct a selected group of riders.

Sadie and I went along to watch and learn.

Lee, very graciously, allowed Sadie to put on his 2012

gold medal for a picture and autographed her picture of

him competing.

We had a delicious lunch and chat with Lee and watched

him skilfully putting several riders through their paces.

It was a lovely day and Sadie and I would like to thank

Lee and everyone at Braeside Equestrian Centre for

making us feel so welcome.

Last words from Sadie “Meeting Lee has made me even

more determined to become a Paralympic rider”.

Janet Abbott.

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Ipswich RDA 25th Party My daughter Louise and I set up the Ipswich Group of RDA on 3rd February

1989 and so, 25 years later on February 3rd 2014, I decided to have a lunchtime

drinks party to celebrate this achievement. The idea was most enthusiastically

received by all involved. 30 people, including past and present Trustees and

helpers, celebrated in the very room in Folly Orchard that the inaugural

meeting was held, with the gracious Lady Hilda Swann in the chair. Present

were 3 previous chairmen, 2 treasurers and 3 instructresses including Lauren,

our present one. There was a celebratory cake made in the catering

department where Louise now works with the Disabled.

I was absolutely delighted to be presented with the Silver Jubilee Award

certificate in recognition of 25 years service to the RDA and also to receive a

beautiful bouquet of flowers from the current Trustees. A toast was drunk to the success of the group during the next

25 years.

During the past six months we have also had another reason to celebrate. One of our helpers who works for Lloyds Bank

put forward the name of our group to be in contention to receive a £3,000 grant. After completing many detailed

application forms, we became one of the four organisations chosen in the Babergh area and the final decision would be

by a public vote. All our helpers asked all their friends and contacts to vote, horse organisations were encouraged to

vote for us and I was lucky enough to be given airtime on Radio Suffolk to talk about our group and the benefits horse

riding gives to the disabled, and I am sure many of them voted.

There is a buzz around the group and we feel optimistic about the future. Mary Woods

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New 'equine' for

Digswell Place!

Introducing Woody, magnificent 14 hand bay gelding!

Earlier in the year I asked my Sunday maintenance team

if they could fix me up something like an oil drum on

legs that I could pad so that we would have something

that some of our riders could practise mounting on.

They said they thought they could do better than that

and so Woody (show name Timber) was born. As you

can see from the photos he has greatly exceeded an oil

drum on legs and is an extremely handsome specimen.

He is about 14 hands and extremely sturdy although

fairly easily moveable. As well as for practising

mounting, he will also be useful for teaching riders and

helpers the basics of tacking up, helping riders get the

rhythm of rising trot and making classroom sessions in

bad weather more interactive. In fact, we keep thinking

of potential new uses for him.

And what do our existing ponies think of him? He must

be lifelike as you will see from the pictures he gets

exactly the same greeting a real new pony would get!

Sue Jenkins

........................................................................ Barrow Farm's Generous Donation

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Norfolk County 2013

Colouring in Competition

We had an excellent response to our

competition this year in numbers and the

quality of the work.

Twenty four riders from five Norfolk groups

participated. All the entrants received a

rosette, with special ones given to those who

were placed in the first six.

Raistlin Grant–Dean of Mid Norfolk won the

competition with the picture shown.

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Norfolk County Garden Party at Blickling Hall

On the 11th June 2013 Norfolk County RDA held a fund raising Garden Party at the National Trustʼs Blickling Hall, with

all hundred tickets sold.

We were lucky to have lovely weather; the gardeners took groups on fascinating tours of the gardens before we returned

to the hall for a delicious cream and strawberry tea. There was a raffle with generous prizes, all donated; with ʻguess the

weight of the bucket of horseshoesʼ and ʼguess the name of the ponyʼ, over £1000 was raised for East Region RDA.

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ONE DAY CAMP AT ELISABETH CURTIS CENTRE - SATURDAY, 31 AUGUST 2013

We only had 8 fit ponies so thought it prudent to offer places to 7 riders so leaving one pony in reserve. Unfortunately one rider cancelled the day before so we had 6 riders on the day.

At 9.00 volunteers and leaders arrived and were briefed by Liz Riding on safety, helping, points to watch out for etc. They were given a handout with more details.

At 9.30 the riders arrived, were greeted, told who their helpers were, put their bags in the school and went to tack up the ponies. Each rider’s leader went into the stable and put a headcollar on the pony, tied him up and then the rider, accompanied by one or two helpers as necessary went into the stable and groomed their pony, helped to tack him up. They then returned to the seating area whilst the leader brought the ponies out and gave them a walk round.

Riders then mounted, took a turn around the school to make sure they were comfortable. The girths were checked again and they went off for a hack round the grounds. The distance had been checked beforehand and they completed a 1.5k ride, stopping half way for a drink as it was very hot.

On return they untacked their ponies, checked their water and gave them some hay and applies under very careful supervision.

We then had a scavenger hunt (smallest blue flower, thinnest twig etc). The spoils were then brought into the seating area of the school and we all voted which was the smallest, thinnest, longest etc. Points were awarded and at the end trophies etc were given out.

It was then time for everyone to have a seat and eat their packed lunch, Some were happy to sit for a while but some were a little restless and played games which Liz had brought.

Then it was time to tack up again and prepare for the afternoon when their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, aunts and uncles and everyone arrived for gymkhana type games.

These were played in teams and individually and much fun and laughter was had by all – the visitors mainly as they chortled nicely at Eileen forgetting which games were individual and which were team and which coloured stickers to give out. These stickers were numbered, 1 for first, 2 for second etc. The points added up at the end and the one with the least was the winner, and down to 6th.

Then it was time for tea (or orange juice) and biscuits which was appreciated by all. Everyone then collected their bags etc and went off home. They all had a good time as indicated by the thanks given by everyone.

Thanks go to everyone who turned up on the day to help in any capacity as their efforts were much appreciated.

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The Mid Norfolk Group of RDA had a very special visit to their fund-raising stall at the Household

Cavalry open weekend at West Tofts. It was none other than 'War Horse'. He had a good look in our

Lucky Dip bucket but didn't win!

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East Suffolk Group at Newton Hall Newton Hall kindly allowed us to use the NH Arena on the morning of June 20th 2013 so that our seven

riders from the Wednesday and Thursday groups could demonstrate their riding skills & all round abilities

to parents, relations, carers and teachers, and to show how well they have progressed in their time with

us. The morning began with tea and coffee, provided by ESG and served by Sue in the Arena Café,

followed by the demonstrations.

The Thursday ride began the day with Nicki, Olivia and their willing team showing the routines they use to

get the riders enthused and enjoying themselves with the exercises and the banter. The smiles and

expressions on the riders and spectators’ faces and the enthusiastic applause said everything about how

well things went – many congratulations!!!!

The Wednesday ride, coached by Sue Allison, demonstrated the quadrilles they have been practising for

many weeks and the riders showed how not only their horsemanship, but also their communication skills

and confidence have improved immensely through their participation in RDA activities – a huge credit to

Sue and her helpers and of course the riders, their families and carers.

After events in the arena, all then enjoyed a superb buffet lunch, also provided by Sue who did a

wonderful job and we shall certainly wish to use her catering skills again!

Grateful thanks to Rossie and all her staff for everything they did to help us put on the event (not

forgetting the work they do on riding days!) – but don’t get complacent as we hope to be back soon for

more social events.

Gay Redmans's Annual Report

The East Region has had a very busy successful spring/summer.

It started off on the first fine day for a wonderful visit by the Princess Royal to the Hollesley Group, this is

an amazing centre superbly run by Shirley Green, she and Moya Luddington were presented with 35 year

long term awards. Sue Diggins Regional instructor and Liz Riding Bedforshire county instructor, both

invaluable were presented with the President's Award, many congratulations to them.

The Regional championships at Oaklands went smoothly, riders and parents love this competition. For

the first time Cambs College group had 4 finalists and went on to Hartpury, having not been before, we

were amazed at the set up. It was one of the hottest days of the year but had a friendly and relaxed

atmosphere, the riders did not have to wear jackets, so enjoyed their experience and did well being highly

placed. We thought the judges were extremely good. North Herts, Elisabeth Curtis, Barrow Farm and

Oaklands were also represented.

Norfolk had its annual gymkhana, which was much enjoyed by everyone and had a fundraiser tea at

Blickling Hall.

Cambridgeshire had its annual one day holiday camp at Chippenham,which they loved despite the heat!

Gaddesden Place did extremely well as one of its riders qualified for the Dressage Anywhere competition

and came 6th.

Also one of their volunteers won the Guardian prize which means their animated film is now on the

National website.

They did well fund raising with a sponsored dog walk. A golf day was held in Hertfordshire which was a

success.

The East region had a cooking demonstration by a master chef with lunch in a beautiful marquee and

garden. It was a lovely day and it gave a boost to the regions funds.

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Norfolk County Fun Day - Tuesday 14th May 2013

Croft Farm Riding Centre, the home of East Norfolk RDA, was the venue for the county’s Fun Day.

Twenty two riders from five groups in the county made the

journey to Filby. Everyone took part in three different

gymkhana games in the indoor arena. Then, a real treat for

most of our riders, a ride in the country in the outside arena

with obstacles; a mini countryside challenge.

Finally, everyone returned to the inside arena to compete for

the county shield. A rider from each group played musical

poles with Becky from Mid Norfolk pipping everyone to the

post and carrying home the trophy.

Our thanks go to Heather Cook and everyone at Croft Farm,

East Norfolk RDA, all the volunteers on the day and all the

groups who attended. We had a really fun day!

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GOLF DAY FOR BARROW FARM GOES WITH A SWING!

July 11th saw one our out hottest days of the summer and an enthusiastic bunch of golfers arriving at

Chelmsford Golf Club to support the Barrow Farm Charity Golf Day.

We had 39 golfers of varying abilities – some were virtual professionals whilst others were at the

maximum handicap – however, all were there to support Barrow Farm and raise as much money as

possible.

It was refreshing to see so many people who were not directly connected with Barrow Farm, thus bringing

the charity to the attention of new people.

Our total raised was just under £1,200 and was a very successful day for us. The feedback from the

players was very complimentary and many went home with gift s and prizes well worth having.

Chelmsford Golf Club provided us with a great course, delightful facilities and a delicious meal at the end

of the day. Thanks must go to Helen Warren and Tracy Mann who helped gather the prizes and to

Matthew Scales for his advice and help on the day.

Thanks to the days organiser Sally D for all her work.

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TRAINING NEWS IN THE EAST REGION Another good year for training in our Region. As has been our aim in recent years, the 2013

training days were planned to present similar themes in each County. We are a very large

Region and the idea behind this is for training to be more accessible to our volunteer workforce

with travel kept to a minimum. Our 2013 theme was ‘Effective Communication’ and this ran

through the importance of passing on information from National and communicating with riders

with Learning Difficulties. The importance of working as a Team, involving good communication,

within a Group Session was also emphasised. All the sessions were interactive and kept the

delegates ‘on their feet’!! Unfortunately the one in Suffolk had to be cancelled due to the illness

of one of the speakers and the one planned for Bedfordshire did not receive enough interest to

make it viable. All the others were extremely well attended with at least 50 or more interested

participants 99% of whom, from their comments sheets, found the days interesting and

informative.

We also had a Regional Training Day at Wood Green which included talks by an Alexander

Technique professional; training to Olympic standards by Clive Milkins and a very necessary

presentation for us all on hat fitting from a BETA Specialist. This day was, as usual,

oversubscribed and we do urge Groups to please pass on the dates and the fliers as soon as

they receive them and to get their applications in as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

There is growing interest in the UKCC Qualifications and we how have quite a few successful

candidates from all levels. Sue and I do urge people to think of starting at Level 1 which is a

very interesting and useful progress towards the RDAGI/C qualification. The Level 2 works

towards the RDAI/C. There is plenty of information on the RDA Website on UKCC (if you can

find it) or please do ask Sue Diggins or me – or Anne Mitchell at Barrow Farm who is a Coach

Educator for UKCC. Well done to everyone who now has this qualification.

The theme of our Training Days in 2014 is Innovation and New Challenges in RDA. The

emphasis is on good practice in every area of training and delivery and includes Therapy,

Endurance, Show jumping and Accessibility Mark. Details of all, except Therapy, may be found

on the RDA Website. Hertfordshire have already had their day which was very well received by

nearly 60 delegates. We hope that the next four or five will be similarly beneficial. We urge

anyone and everyone to apply to attend one of these days. Your Group Correspondent will have

a copy of the flier.

I would end by saying that we are well aware that not everyone, nor every Group, is able to

spare time to attend Training Days and we understand and are grateful to every single volunteer

who gives their time so freely to RDA. There is the option to ask Sue Diggins or me or your

County Instructor, or even your Regional Physiotherapist, to pay a visit to your Group to do an

in house training day of your choice. So please don’t forget that. We are always very happy to

tailor these sessions to your Group.

Finally, we are not having a Regional Training Day this year so as to concentrate interest and

effort towards our Supra Regional Conference at Houghton Hall Equestrian Centre, Houghton,

Cambs. PE28 2DY on 20th October which will include many interesting themes, we hope, and we

look forward to seeing as many as possible from your Groups at this major event.

Sally C-G

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asey Ellis of Mid-Essex Group on Janet Abbott's Hafflinger, Kirsch, at Essex Union South Pony

Club Junior Camp, July 2013 (with Simon Harding, who lead/ran/jumped all week)!

K

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The Cambridgeshire College Group

We had another exciting year, this year we had 5 riders who qualified for Hartpury. Apart from Jenny Campbell Phillips who is affiliated to our group and went the year before with Judith Walker, none of us from our Group had been to Hartpury. This was quite something, Gillian Newsumn drove our 2 horses down in her trailer towed with her new car and Kathryn and Tara McGennity met us down there. We are very grateful to Gillian and Kathryn who have put a lot of work in, to get our riders to this stage and the riders parents for getting them to Hartpury. It was the hottest weekend of the year, we all nearly melted, but luckily they decided it was too hot for jackets so we were all allowed to wear shirts, so the feeling was relaxed and happy. It is an amazing place, wonderful facilities, but we did seem to walk miles! Tara was up early plaiting and the horses looked wonderful and behaved beautifully, but the really exciting thing was that our riders did so well, all being highly placed. Jodie Williamson coming 2nd in the Countryside Challenge, and Eleanor Currington came 4th in the National Dressage which was a real achievement. Two of our riders went on National holidays and loved it. The College of West Anglia put on a dressage competition in February for us to practise for this year, There was a howling gale and luckily they were allowed to ride in the indoor arena and all went well As we ride from 4-6 p.m. we have some young volunteers, which is a great help, and Mavis is a marvellous secretary, so it really is a team spirit Gay Redman

That’s all for this year folks!

Please remember to send us lots of articles and photos for next year’s issue.

If you’re in doubt as to our preferred formats please email sdiggins@rda-east.org.uk