February News Letter 2017

South Bucks RDA Newsletter February 2017

Congratulations are in order

Congratulations to Sally for passing her Grade 1 & 2 Tests in Riding and Horse Care. Not only did she pass, but she passed with flying colours.

Sally loves her weekly horse riding, which shows in her immense enthusiasm and the hard work she puts in to achieve and progress. She has a big soft spot for Lambrusco (we can’t blame her) and they are a great Team when working together in the School.

Well done Sally!

Charlie Girl fulfills a lifelong wish

Glenis is 61 and had a stroke in September 2016 which has left her with permanent weakness and lack of coordination down her right hand side. She now has other life threatening conditions.

Glenis has always wanted to ride a horse and came to us here at South Bucks RDA to fulfil that dream. Glenis said “It felt great sitting on Charlie Girl and very emotional doing something that was a lifelong wish.”

Alva and Forrester out and about

Alva, Forrester, Malcolm and the Mahindra Racing Team bear!

Alva’s daddy works for the team and this bear travels the world with the racing team. Last sightings were Las Vegas, Marrakesh and Hong Kong and now of course Fulmer!

Mum said: “Thank you so much to everyone for letting us do this. As Alva said in the car on her way back to school “this was so special” and for me to see Alva on Forester in the sun outside was incredible. Thank you thank you thank you!”

Natasha Baker visit – Autumn term 2016

Last term 10 children from Coteford Junior School, who ride with us on a Wednesday, enjoyed a special treat when they met Paralympian Natasha Baker MBE, who is a five-time Paralympic Champion and former pupil of their School.

In the very early days of her career, she also rode one of South Bucks’ favourite ponies, Forrester, to win her first National Competition. Since then she has enjoyed a remarkable career riding her own horses, which culminated in a further three Paralympic Gold Medals in Rio 2016.

Prior to her visit, each child had been tasked to think of a question to ask her and use their computer skills to research Natasha, so they knew exactly who was coming to visit them. Their questions were excellent and covered many topics, and their faces were a joy to behold as they listened intently to Natasha’s answers.

A photograph of Natasha in Rio had been organised which she autographed for each child to take home. They were thrilled to be able to sit beside her and have their picture taken.

One of the highlights of the visit was definitely being able to see and touch a real Paralympic Gold Medal. They were each able to hold it and shake it to hear the sound. Each of the Rio Medals has a different sound, depending on its colour, so that visually impaired athletes can distinguish between them. Natasha was able to renew her acquaintance with Forrester, who is very special to us all, who came into the Arena to pose with Natasha and the children for a group photo.

It was wonderful to witness the children, who all have different disabilities, relish the opportunity and enjoy such an inspirational visit. Natasha has a lovely way of making them each feel special and at ease with her. In addition to therapy, at South Bucks we also encourage Life Skills through riding, so, at the end of her visit, the children thanked Natasha for coming to see them.

South Bucks RDA carol concert 2016

It was great to see such a good turn out to our concert. Special thanks go to Rev Canon Roger Royle for leading the popular event. Thanks also go to those who gave generously in our collection.

Everyone we spoke to said they enjoyed it immensely. Mandy (Claire’s mum) said “Claire thoroughly enjoyed being King Claire, it made her feel quite important and as you know it didn’t bother her at all being in front of everyone I guess she felt it was just a small step from Princess to King!

Sponsored Woodland Challenge

A massive well done to all Riders who took part in our Sponsored Woodland Challenge, set up by Theresa and Alison. (Thank you ladies!)IMG_2026

Great fun was had by all and many of the parents I spoke to said that their children really enjoyed themselves.

You helped raise an amazing £668 for South Bucks RDA.

Thank you also to all of our wonderful Instructors and Volunteers for helping their riders to take part.

Welcome Harley

harleyHarley has come to us on loan, and joined our wonderful team of horses.

He has already proved himself to be a big hit with those who have ridden him, and we’ve even had to explain to one rider that he couldn’t take him home and keep him in his garden!

Sunday riders update

The young riders on Sunday morning are continuing to develop their skills and aiming to grade test later this year. The adult riders are enjoying the recreation riding gives them with the opportunity to hack out again when the weather improves.

Many thanks to everyone for accommodating the changes that we needed to make to our Sunday ride schedule.

Rider absences

Please can we remind all parents and riders if they are going to be absent from riding to put it in the diary which is situated on the desk on the gallery. Also, if for any reason you are unable to ride on the day please call in as soon as you can on 01753 662796 to let us know, as we sometimes can be short of volunteers and their time could be used elsewhere instead of getting a horse ready for an absent rider. Thank you.

Coaching offer

One of our Saturday Volunteers, Emma Ford, is a qualified career and leadership coach working with students and staff in the academic and corporate sectors. She is offering a 11⁄2 hour coaching conversation to riders and helpers in return for a donation to South Bucks RDA. The coaching sessions will need to be held in the classroom at South Bucks RDA or via phone, and will be on a first come first served basis.

If you are interested, email Emma on emmalford@aol.com and say you are from South Bucks RDA. Emma’s website is www.coaching4careers.co.uk

Trustee news

Three new Trustees have joined the Board to help with the running of the Group:

Elaine Smith – a helper with experience in human resources
Alan Lawrence – a parent of a young rider and a Business Partner with Lawrence Hunter Services
Paul Jenkins – a Commercial Director with experience in commercial, sales and logistics

We extend a warm welcome to our new Trustees and look forward to working together.

A big thank you to N2O
South Bucks RDA would like to extend a special thank you to the company N2O

for their continued support throughout 2016.

N2O kindly looked after all of our printing needs such as Newsletters (including editing), leaflets and Carol Service printing, etc. This really does help us save money and are very grateful for their donation of both time and resources.