RDA NEWSLETTER 45

RIDERS ON DYNAMIC ADVENTURES NUMBER 45 APRIL 2018

WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENTThis is our first newsletter of the year and it’s great to have startedriding. We love seeing the children so excited to be back in the saddleor on their sheepskins! A big thank you to all our parents and caregiverswho sent us lovely messages and Christmas gifts. We really appreciateyour appreciation!Now for some very exciting news. On 20 March HendersonMassey Local Board passed a resolution to grant West AucklandRDA an agreement to lease, new community lease and non-exclusive licence to occupy at the Henderson Valley Park. Thismeans that RDA will have security of tenure going forward andwe can start our covered riding arena project.There is a lot of work ahead and we will keep you posted onprogress.Some more good news! Thanks to the fabulous work of our Treasurer,we have just received confirmation that we shall receive a LotteryCommunity Fund grant. This will help cover some of our operatingexpenses for 2018. We are very grateful to Lotteries for their ongoingsupport of our group.





JAMES RIDER ON DYNAMIC ADVENTURES James has been riding with us for a year. You can always spot James as he turns up every week in his riding boots, jodhpurs and Knight costume. James is currently riding our new horse Major. Mum says, \"He falls in love with whichever horse he is riding but doesn't mind in the least if he has to ride another!\" James is doing well and loves joining in all the activities with the other riders and volunteers. He is currently learning to hold reins correctly and is practising his trotting. Mum says, \"James loves coming to riding. Sitting up on the horse is his happy place. He is very sociable and loves everything about it \" James attends Mount Roskill Primary School and lives at home with mum, dad younger sister Maggie, and Speckles the cat. As well as riding he loves to ride his bike, play soccer & cricket and enjoys his screen time. We certainly love to see James every week dressed up as a very handsome Knight.

FIONA HORSE LEADERFiona has been volunteering with us for four years. It was the horses thatattracted her to RDA as she was keen to learn more about them. She hasalways been an RDA Horse Leader and has always worked with our pony Kai.Every Tuesday Fiona trots down the paddock to fetch Kai in for our rallies. Shebrushes him down, picks out his hooves, feeds him his breakfast and puts onhis gear. She then leads him for our riders.She says, \"I love coming to RDA. I like the volunteers and being around thehorses and I have learnt heaps about caring for them. \"We love to have Fionaon the team as she reliable and willing to learn.She also helps the horse care team in the holidays, when the horses still haveto be cared for but not all the volunteers are available .Fiona lives in Henderson with her daughter. She also volunteers at Kiwi ValleyFarm Park on Wednesdays and Fridays and in her spare time enjoys writingto her pen pals in Germany and Finland.

MISTY OUR NEW PONYWelcome Misty our beautiful new 5 year old pony to West Auckland RDA.Misty is a very cute skewbald mare who is 14 hh. Misty is currently in trainingat RDA is making great progress, she has taken the new ramp in her stride.Misty will be starting out doing RDA sessions on Mondays & Thursdays withthe view to be able to do Tuesday when she is a little older and then she willbe able to do the intense therapy riders like Kai & Eclipse.Misty is very relaxed when you lie all over her while she is walking. She is avery keen walker and this will be great for some of our riders.Originally she was from Waihi and loves the beach. Tracey took herswimming when we went to look at her. She has done trekking and a littleWestern Riding.Tracey is riding her while she settles into life here at RDA & Pony Club

123 4 NEWS APRIL 20181 We have been very fortunate to have Nadia Farina visiting and volunteering with us since the beginning of term. Nadia was looking for travel and work experience in NZ for three months prior to studying social work in her home town of Berlin, Germany. When this RDA opportunity was offered to Nadia, she was a little apprehensive but said to herself, “Lets try!”. The whole experience was new to Nadia but she has thoroughly enjoyed working with the children and seeing the joy they find through riding. “They are so happy when you help them!” she enthused. Nadia said everyone has been very friendly and helpful, especially explaining technique and what is important. Thank you, Nadia – you have been a great help and will be hugely missed. While she has not been with us, Nadia has been volunteering at Waitakere Gardens. Nadia is spending the last two weeks in NZ travelling through the South Island before returning home. Enjoy the rest of your trip, Nadia and keep in touch! Many thanks to Bob, Richard, Chris Furneaux and Terry Griffiths who spend the day clearing our fence lines of2 branches and weeds. Great work guys. THANK YOU!3 After much wet weather the concrete path to the new mounting ramp was finished, in between showers, in time for the start of the year. Huge thanks to Graham Nicholson, John Preston, Jock Barrowman, Sam and Richard Cotteril and Bob Tuffnell who donated lots of hard labour, expertise and equipment. The result is an excellent job at a very low cost. The new mounting ramp is such an improvement. More riders can independently get to the top of the ramp, the horses are much more comfortable and the mounting can be done more quickly giving riders more time in the saddle.4 We were blessed by a lovely warm and sunny morning on 18 March when we were joined by three girl guides from Glen Eden Guides and their enthusiastic leader Rebecca. Ava, Emily and Giselle shovelled and pushed barrows of poo for almost two hours. They did it with smiles and a real interest in the horses and our work at RDA. THANK YOU girls we really appreciate it. We wish you all the best with your Aoraki Badge. Thank you.also to Rebecca for thinking of us and working so hard she broke snapped our poo pick up rake!

KAKOGAWA STUDENT VISITIt was a beautiful, sunny day on 14 February, when we once again welcomedJapanese students with special needs and their teachers from Kakogawa.Kakogawa is Auckland Council’s sister city. Every year Auckland Council hostsa group of children with special needs and arranges various activities forthem.One of these outings is a visit to RDA for horse riding None of the students hadridden before but all of them bravely got on board their mounts andthoroughly enjoyed the trek around the paddocks.It was a pleasure to introduce them all to horses and horse riding. At the endof the morning we were presented with a lovely card and a kind donation.“They had lovely time riding and getting along with the horses. We worried ifthe student with a wheelchair can ride a horse so we were very happy to seehim taking the reigns by himself.” Yuka YorifujiThank you to all the volunteers who helped on the day.

123 4 NEWS APRIL 20181 On Sunday 11 February the family service of Oratia Church was attended by Norma Hayward to thank the congregation for their generous donation of $551 which was raised at their annual Christmas Carol Concert. Norma read out a very moving letter from Devora Busch whose daughter Rheegan attends the RDA programme. Devora explained how much benefit and enjoyment Rheegan got from her riding sessions, not only interacting with her horse but also the patient and understanding volunteers.2 Volunteers Bob, James and Richard unloading a delivery of winter hay. Thanks guys!3 Volunteers, Karyn, Shirley, Manuela, Jenny, Gary, Grace, Norma and Edith, all turned up on a beautiful sunny morning, to help at the Southern Stars Kids Big Day Out on Saturday 10 March at Crystal Mountain. The team spent the morning on the \"goody bag\" production line, packing lunches for all the children. They did a fabulous job. Great to see so many of our riders and families having fun at the event too.4 Norma was invited to speak at the Pt Chevalier Sunshine Club on Wednesday 21 March. She shared a Powerpoint presentation and answered lots of questions about RDA. The audience were very interested and impressed by the work we do and it was interesting to hear some of the stories from the audience. Our lady had ridden horses in Newton Gully when she was a child. Not much chance of that happening now! We would like to thank the Sunshine Club for their donation. It is much appreciated.

EVENTS AUTUMN 2018TERM DATES TERM TWO 2018Starts back week beginning Mon 30 April.Finishes week ending Friday 6 JulyMONDAY 4 JUNE QUEENS BIRTHDAYNo riding.TERM 2&3 COOKIE TIMEGingerbread Horse Campaign coming up!

Thank you so much to all of our 2018 supporters and sponsors CONTACT USFor more information on our services or to volunteer with us.West Auckland RDAPO Box 21-830HendersonAuckland 0650General EnquiriesCall 838 9433Mon, Tues and Thurs mornings or leave a voicemail.Our email is:[email protected] us at:www.facebook.com/WestAucklandRDAVisit us on the web atwww.westaucklandrda.org.nzWest Auckland RDA is held at:Henderson Valley Pony Club201A Henderson Valley Road