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EBONY’S BLOG - November 2009
Living with the Herd and People at
The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding (RDA)
November! Gunpowder, Plotting and Guy Fawkes! Bonfire parties and lots of noise! Yes, all of that and more. I hope you enjoy yourselves but, don’t forget us, your animals? We don’t like it so please keep us safe and away from it all…… Welcome back to my loyal reader and following on from that important advertisement I have two memory challenges for you. Do you remember my mentioning a while back the Cross Country Horse and Pony Ride; you do? Well, it turned out a very nice day for all, with sunshine and a pleasant temperature for a ride through the Countryside. A sort of midway stop was organised at Polstead Village Green, where stands the Polstead Cock Public House. Here, both Rider and Horse were able to rest-a-while and refresh themselves supported by our team of stewards. It was within this team that Lyn (The Boss!) decided to place one of her maintenance boys, having been allowed down from the roof repairs, to help handle the horses and I’m pleased to say that, following orders from Jet and Rocky, the horses were very good to him and most let him think he was in charge. In fairness, the Riders were good to him also although not totally convinced of the “Being in Charge” bit. The event also proved a success for the Centre’s Coffers by raising over £1,400 from Sponsorship and Entry Fees; many thanks to all of you! I’d liked to have been part of it myself but, getting a long enough power cable was a problem? Now for the second memory challenge of the day! Do you recall my mentioning Rebecca in the last Blog? You do? Great! I will now relate to you “Rebecca’s Story” a tale of a typical Shelley Rider. Rebecca Page started riding at Shelley in March 1995 when she was 4 ½ years old. She is a Quadriplegic which means that all four limbs are affected by her Cerebral Palsy. Because her trunk muscles were not strong enough to enable her to sit up and balance by herself, she began riding with an able bodied Rider sitting behind her for support. Gradually, as her muscle tone improved, she was able to ride by herself. The walking movement of the various ponies and horses that she rode helped to improve her balance and muscle tone, aided also by 10 minutes before each ride on BABS, another Mechanical Horse (That’s before me and yes, BABS is still here). She achieved Grade 1 in riding and Grade 3 in Horse care, but as her teenage years progressed Rebecca found it increasingly difficult to balance on a moving Horse and to weight-bear or walk on her legs. With the use of the hoist she was nevertheless, able to ride BABS but was delighted when I arrived as she found that I gave her more confidence and balancing was easier. She was also able to pluck up enough courage to ride my smooth canter. The enjoyment of meeting this challenge prompted her to create a picture of me galloping through water, which won 3rd prize at the National Championships Arts & Crafts competition in 2008. Sadly, for me, Rebecca has now stopped coming to ride at Shelley as, following her successful A level results, she has a place at Anglia Ruskin College, Cambridge, to study English. The Herd, as well as the Helpers, will miss her dimpled smile and wonderfully generous personality and we all wish her every success for the future. Thank you, Rebecca, for kindly allowing me to tell my readers your full story. I’m sure it has greatly enhanced their understanding of what the Shelley Centre is about and I will miss you. You’ve nothing to do now, you’re saying? Not so say I! I’ve Hannah, George and Abigail to look after, not to mention the wet weather Riders so must dash…………..back in a month.
 Ebony
Further editions of my blog will be uploaded shortly - make sure you come back soon! Meanwhile, if you want to catch up, ‘back-issues’ can be viewed by clicking HERE.
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