Riding for the disabled (RDA)

I love animals, especially ones with four legs, but my all – time favourite animal has to be without a doubt the horse. Riding is definitely one of the highlights of my week. I loves to tell my friends all about my riding, it has been really good for my confidence and self-esteem to take part in something so special.

I go horse riding every Saturday at the South Bucks RDA HQ at Fulmer, so I can learn to ride really well, it helps me with my disability and helps me to work my weaker left side hard so that the muscles become stronger on that side of my body, I also have a lot of fun too and I might even enter competitions when I’m a bit older and become more confident.

All the horses are really good natured and gentle at Fulmer, and they’re also very well trained and groomed, so they look beautiful as well, the sables are really amazing where some the horses are kept, it is like a 5 star hotel for horses. The people are nice too, and very professional, I guess they all have been horse riding, and around horses for most of their lives. I am only new compared to them.
We have four instructors Theresa, Sharon, Emma and Susan, and they all do things slightly differently, which is good so you have to be alert to keep up with what is going on. We mainly use the purpose built indoor school Menage or arena, which was opened by Mr. Richard Pitman Vice President of the RDA on 18th October 1998, it is huge, and has a working area of 40 metres by 20 metres, so there is plenty of room it is useful when it is raining, so you don´t have to get wet while riding, you can concentrate on what you are being taught, instead of how wet you are getting! The area is marked out by letters which are standard and always appear in the same place, I have created a layout of the South Bucks RDA indoor arena so you can see where the letters are.

I am helped and lead by one of the may volunteers usually Louise, Carol or Heather, and they make sure I don´t fall off my horse or do anything wrong, mind you I still fell off the other week when I was trotting around the arena, which was quite a shock for me and the horse too he looked a little surprised, but fortunately no harm was done.
There is also a much larger outdoor riding arena which has an all weather surface which is good for the horses, ponies and humans as well. We sometimes go into the woods on trail rides which is fun too, you have to be more careful riding there because of all the obstacles and overhanging branches and things that are in the path, but it feels more like an adventure which I like.

Medical professionals recognise that there are also significant therapeutic benefits for the disabled rider. The warmth and three dimensional movement of the horse is transmitted through the rider’s body, gradually making it more relaxed and supple, reducing spasms and improving balance, posture and co-ordination.
My Dad says he has only ridden two types of horses the ones that spend most of their time trying to shake him off, and the ones who won´t move whatever you do to them. I am glad the horses the horses I ride are not like those.

On Sunday 31st May 2009, we had the RDA Southern Region Show, and I came second in the Country-side challenge, I was only half a point behind the winner, so this July I will be going to the 2009 RDA National Championships at Hartpury in Gloucestershire this July, which will be very exciting as it will be my first big competition.