Spring Newsletter 2018

Fingers crossed that Spring has finally arrived. It’s been a long Winter, with some very cold spells and we can’t wait for nice sunny days to shine upon us! The ponies did enjoy a play in the snow but we know they would now welcome some warm sun on their backs for a change!
Winter is always a quiet time on the news front but we do have a few things to celebrate and plenty of dates for your diaries!

Thank you Meriel
A huge thank you goes to a Wednesday Helper, Meriel, for putting South Bucks RDA forward to the Chiltern Shakespeare Company to be considered as their nominated charity during their performance of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ last Summer. Meriel put a lot of time and effort into her pitch and did an amazing “hard sell” on our behalf to make sure that South Bucks RDA was chosen. A big thank you also goes out to all of the volunteers and parent helpers who braved the scorching hot weather to help sell programs and serving food and drink during the interval.
Following the Chiltern Shakespeare Company’s AGM in December, they were able to donate a grand total of £4,500! £2000 came from the Chiltern Shakespeare Company and a further £2,500 from the High Wycombe Lions Club who collected donations for South Bucks RDA at the car park entrance.
If you haven’t been to one of the Chiltern Shakespeare Company’s performances before, I would highly recommend it! It was a great success all round!

Congratulations Lucca
Well done Lucca for getting his Endeavour Award this month. Lucca has been helping to introduce Billy to life as an RDA Pony. Billy now knows all about bending and standing still when objects are dropped in buckets. Great job Lucca!

Congratulations to Di Redfern

Congratulations to Di Redfern, Chairman of South Bucks RDA on receiving an award from the Torch Trophy Trust this week, presented by HRH the Duke of Gloucester. Di was nominated by British Dressage for her longstanding support of Paralympic Dressage.
Her horse, Athene Lindebjerg, was the ride for Sophie Christensen in the Rio Olympics winning 3 gold medals, and since then provided a ride for Para dressage rider Julie Payne, helping her achieve European Championship glory. Di is the driving force behind SBRDA and continues to support grass-root RDA as much as enabling the elite riders.

Great results for Jess & Mabel
Jess Phillips braved the artic temperatures last month at Widmer Equestrian Centre competing Mabel in her first Silver Para Summer Qualifiers. The tests were held in the outdoor arena, which is on top of a hill. This is quite a step up from RDA test riding and she did amazingly well gaining 65% and 66%. These scores mean that Jess has gained 7 out of the 10 points needed to qualify for the Summer Regional Championships! We are super proud of her and the impeccably behaved Mabel.

Easy Fundraising update
A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up and is shopping via Easy Fundraising. So far you have helped raise a staggering £935.72. With just a few extra clicks of your mouse you have helped raise an incredible amount of money – just think how much more we could raise if we could get even more people on board! Are you booking your holiday soon? Please book via Easy Fundraising as collectively this could earn us hundreds of pounds in free donations without costing you a penny.
Please find out more and sign up today by visiting www.easyfundraising.org.uk and search for South Bucks Riding for the Disabled. Pass these details onto your friends and family too, as this is a fantastic way to raise funds without putting your hands in your pockets or even having to leave the house! If you are unsure of anything, please give Gina a call or drop her an email:
gina.bailey@southbucksrda.org. Let’s not lose out on free money.

Help raise funds – Slough Together Sponsored Walk
This year the Rotary Club of Slough ‘Slough Together Walk’ will be held on Saturday 5th May
2018 at Upton Court Park, SL3 7LU. The route is a beautiful (and gentle) 5 mile walk, taking
in the banks of the Thames and Jubilee riversides.
The Rotary Club make all the plans and arrangements which allows local charities to join in
and raise funds for themselves.
Get a group together and have fun raising money for South Bucks RDA. We can even arrange
a time to meet up so that RDA families and friends can all walk together! There is a small
entry fee but ALL monies raised by sponsorship are retained by South Bucks RDA.
Keyrings and fridge magnets
We have had great success selling keyrings and fridge magnets of your favourite horse or
pony. We still have a few left and they will be on the gallery and available to buy for just £2
each.
Community lottery
A community lottery has been set up to raise funds for South Bucks RDA. We get 50p from
every ticket that you buy via the South Bucks RDA page on the lottery site.
Please visit: https://www.chilternsouthbuckslottery.co.uk/support/south-bucks-riding-forthe-
disabled-group and have a go! You could be a lucky winner and if everyone had a go it
would raise vital funds. As they say, “You have to be in it, to win it”. Good luck!
Tombola prizes
Running a tombola stall at a local village fair or fun day has always been a great fundraiser
for South Bucks RDA. We plan to have stalls at both the Cookham and Fulmer village events
this year and are in desperate need of more tombola items. If you have any bottles,
toiletries, boxes of chocolates, unwanted gifts etc that you could donate for the tombola it
would be greatly appreciated. In addition, we wish to run a children’s Tombola too, so any
suitable items (bubble bath, toys, books, sweets etc) are also needed. Please ask family and
friends if they would like to contribute too. The more prizes we have, the more money we
can raise!
If anyone would like to help run the tombola stall, please let me
know as we are after a couple of people to cover a shift or two.
Dates for your diary
Countryside Challenge Qualifiers – Saturday 21st April – Sunday 6th May
Slough Together Sponsored Walk – Saturday 5th May (start time between 9am – 1pm)
RDA Regional Show at Wellington – Sunday 20th May
RDA National Championships – Friday 13th – Sunday 15th July
Charity Champagne Reception – Sunday 29th July – All welcome
BBQ / Fun Day – Sunday 16th September (afternoon) – All welcome
South Bucks RDA Carol Concert – Sunday 9th December at 4.30pm
THANK YOU N2O
Last, but not certainly not least, a big THANK YOU to Heather Devany, Amanda Mundy and
Sophie Jones at N2O for supporting South Bucks RDA with the editing and printing of our
newsletters. It is greatly appreciated.