News
This website is available for all Groups in the region to tell everyone about their activities. It's a great way of letting people know what we do and how they can get in touch with us. We welcome input from the all the Groups and we want to hear all your news.
Send in your stories and photos and see them featured HERE! Contact Pat Blackledge (0845 241 6395) with stories or news for this website and the Regional Newsletter.
Download the latest Regional Newsletter here
NEWS FROM THE GROUPS
April 2008 - Birthday celebrations all round the region
Stockeld Park Group’s 35th Birthday celebrations
On Thursday 24th April the Stockeld Park RDA Group held a dinner at the General Tarleton Restaurant in Ferrensby to celebrate the group's 35th birthday. Present were current volunteers together with previous long serving members.
Back: Angela Brooks, Chairman, Sandra Kreutzer-Brett, Liz Ogilvie, Charlotte Bromet
Front: Ann Dorsey, Instructor, Sheila Baines.
Stockeld Park RDA provides rides for children from four local special schools. These are: St. John’s School for the Deaf, West Oaks, Forest School (Knaresborough) and Springwater School (Starbeck, Harrogate). Riding takes place on Tuesdays - now at Sicklinghall Park indoor school.
We will also be celebrating our birthday with the children at our Open Day on Tuesday, 24th June to include the children and those volunteers who were unable to join us earlier.
Princess Anne visits Unicorn Centre
Congratulations to The Unicorn Centre which celebrated its 10th Anniversary, on a cold but sunny 8th April, with a visit from Princess Anne.
During this happy and superbly organised morning they put on displays showing different aspects of RDA, including therapy, working for Grade exams and riding a quadrille. Trustees, volunteers and students who work there were introduced to HRH to give an all-round picture of their activities. Princess Anne presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to rider Susan Wilcox (33), who has ridden at the Centre since it opened, and been an RDA rider since the tender age of two! Susan, a veteran of three Special Olympics games, including representing her country at the World Games in the USA in 1999, was bowled over by the unexpected presentation.
Susan Wilcox riding Murphy II
receives her Lifetime Achievement Award from HRH The Princess Royal
Whilst at the centre, Her Royal Highness also opened their beautiful new iron commemorative gate and cut a magnificent birthday cake which was shared by the two hundred and fifty guests. She later presented rosettes to riders, volunteers, students and staff. This was the highlight of the morning for all. The Princess talked to each person individually, spending time discussing their involvement with the Centre, and demonstrating her knowledge of RDA and the Unicorn Centre in particular. The visit continued with the Princess unveiling a plaque, to commemorate the day, in the Conference Room where she met sponsors, funders and supporters.
Congratulations and thank you to the many who worked to make this day so successful.
Otley & District’s 21st Birthday Ball
Ninety six people travelled from as far away as Wales and Hull to be part of Otley and District Group RDA’s 21st Anniversary celebrations held in Hollins Hall Hotel on Friday 28 March 2008. Anne and Bruce Everall of Acrecliffe Equestrian Centre and Mike Farrell and Ellis Wilkinson of Waitrose Otley were amongst the guests.
Chairman Judy Olby with Ellis Wilkinson of Waitrose
and rider/helper Bernadette Spellman
Toast master Andrew Quarry ensured that everyone had a wonderful evening and that events ran to time. During a delicious meal including spring lamb, the “Close Up” Magician Tony Ward amazed the guests with his special brand of magic at each table.
Following a quick presentation about the group’s activities the guests played Stand up Sit down bingo with the generous prize of a night’s stay and evening meal at the Hotel 53 in central York, kindly donated by Jenny Down and won by a member from Riverside Group. A raffle and an auction raised more funds for the group.
Group Chairman Judy Olby gave a moving speech before guests were invited to dance the night away to music provided by The MLC Band (Mid Life Crisis). Over £2,200 pounds was raised. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the past 21 years and look forward to the future.
Our thanks to Charities officer Carole Dickason who organised the whole evening.
More group news...
Planning Permission for Haworth
Haworth RDA are absolutely delighted that their parish council, Keighley council and Bradford council have given them planning permission for an indoor riding school for use by disabled riders only.
This is a real victory as they had earlier been told they had no chance as they were in the green belt. Haworth RDA only does riding for the disabled and is perched on the side of a hill which is permanently battered by a freezing gale so they do really need an indoor school to be able to keep riding all year round.
The Pennyman Group
The Pennyman Group are now riding on Saturday afternoons at The Unicorn Centre following their merger.
January 2008
Bedale
The dedicated volunteers who help at the weekly sessions at Catterick Saddle Club have been selling raffle tickets since last spring. December 6th was the Prize Draw.
£1,655 was raised to help provide the best for our riders. Prizes included a handmade quilt, a hand-crafted walking stick, a case of wine from the RDA Group Chairman Anne Kitching, a framed print by Middleham artist Jo Stockdale, champagne and some handmade leather gloves. If we can repeat the success of 2007, which culminated in competing at Hartpury, the money raised will come in very handy!
At our final session of the term we held an Open Morning and many parents, teachers, carers and friends came to enjoy a cup of coffee and a mince pie whilst watching the festivities. The event was a great thrill for our riders especially when Father Christmas arrived, bearing gifts. He also presented the end-of-term awards.
Otley & District
Our Christmas Party took an unexpected turn when the dreaded tummy bug struck. Games on Horseback were rapidly replaced with Games Not on Horseback.
Our treasurer, Jean, has offered to video any riders who feel it would help them to improve their technique. Jean hopes to attend, with video camera, once per month on Sundays.
For the second year running, instructor Elaine Goodall’s Hillbro’ Crispin has been awarded The Dales Pony Society’s Lizzie Shield, presented to the veteran Dales Pony who has gained the most points in performance over the year. Several of our riders helped him gain the performance points. Also, Sylvester, our own ‘dressage specialist’ pony, came third in the finals of the BHS Diamond Jubilee competition.
We were one of the local charities benefitting from a donation from the 2007 Ledston Charity Ball. We are very grateful to our volunteer Celia Moran who made us aware of the Ball.
Riverside
Our second Winter Ball - our major fund raising event of the year – took place at Rommell’s Sports Club at Bradford & Bingley Rugby Club’s Ground. (Many thanks for their support for this event.) Last year we had eighty guests; this year we had 120 and a waiting list! There were balloons tied to horseshoes, party poppers, bubbles, sprinkles, sweetie favour boxes and a balloon arch, to come through, all in either pink or silver, our group’s colours.
The room looked so fantastic it was photographed for the venue’s brochure. A champagne reception (pink of course) was followed by a lovely three course dinner. Afterwards, we drew the raffle, had two games of stand up bingo, said thank you to all the people who had helped us over the year and then it was on with the dancing until the early hours. Many have already booked for next year. We raised a fantastic £2,000
The Unicorn Centre
Over 200 cyclists took part in a 30 mile sponsored bike ride last May starting and finishing at Stokesley Co-op and have raised a whopping £7267.50 for our centre. The cheque was presented at a social event at the Dog & Gun, Potto by organiser Paul Mackintosh, who said, “We aimed to raise about £5000 for the Centre, so this amount has completely exceeded our expectations. Everyone had a great time on the day, and we are very grateful to the Co-op for their sponsorship.”
Heidi Hutchinson received the cheque along with Assistant Yard Manager Louise Dowson and volunteer Catherine Bullen, who both took part in the ride. Heidi said, “The cyclists have raised a fantastic amount for us, and we are so grateful for all their efforts. The money will go towards several projects we have planned to improve the services we provide for our riders.”
October 2007
Bedale
We will have a Christmas Open Day on 13th December at the Saddle Club, Catterick. Father Christmas will be there.
Haworth
We are still struggling to get planning permission for a roof over our outdoor schools.
Some of us did the Leeds 10k Run for All dressed as pirates/bad fairies and raised £350. A week later the same group tackled the Oxenhope Straw Race, carrying 1/2 bale of straw around a three mile course. The following day we rode in the Keighley Gala as roman soldiers and won 1st prize for our efforts. All this to feed the horses! And we’ve just purchased a black shetland pony, a dales pony and a Welsh Section ‘A’ 6yr. old grey mare thanks to the Calderdale Local Children’s Foundation.
Three volunteers have gained their NVQ in Horse Care, Levels 1 & 2
We’ve been invited to the Leeds Donkey Sanctuary to promote links with them. Their premises are a delight - superbly set out and cared for.
We celebrated our sixth birthday on 26th August. The mayor of Keighley and other guests were invited.
Otley & District
The week following the National Championships, Kathryn Wheelock was at Hartpury competing in the Para Dressage World Championships where she came 9th in the individual test.
For Kathryn’s diary of the World Championships log on to:
www.para-equestrian.com/news/2007/worlds.htm. Also competing, on loan to the Russians, was Hillbro’ Crispin, temporarily known as ‘The Little Black Russian Horse’.
Marianne Jubb’s local authority agreed to fund her course at The Fortune Centre, Dorset. (see Newsletter article Pg 6)
Sixteen people had a lovely day for a trek from Kilnsey Trekking Centre at the end of August. Siblings (and a parent) were able to ride as a family. We sent out two river rides and one into the hills.
Fifteen riders took and passed their Grade Tests. Ten did Grade 4 (Thanks to Barbara Birchall and Tracy Lopez Moreno for coming to examine them) and five took Grades 1 and 2.
Our 2008 calendar is now out and available for purchase. We usually make about £150 and also donate copies to sponsors.
The Unicorn Centre
Our third annual sponsored ride on the Croft Estate was in September. A minimum of ten miles, the ride has a special two mile circuit for disabled and/or younger riders.
We took two ponies to the Danby Show. Sarnau Prydwen (Misty) competed in the Welsh Section A or B classes in-hand and ridden. Having won her ridden class with Yard Assistant Felicity Evens, she then won the Championship for her classes and was runner up in the Mountain and Moorland Section. Buttons, an 18 year old skewbald cob, came third in the ridden coloured class, again ridden by Felicity. Heidi Hutchinson said, “It’s good to do something different with our RDA horses to keep them from becoming bored and stale.“
Our successful Novice Dressage and Showjumping Winter Series is again running on the third Sunday of each month with the culmination of the Points Championship at the Spring Show (21st May). Some Unicorn Centre riders can compete with able-bodied ones.