EBONY’S BLOG - August 2010
Living with the Herd and People at
The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding (RDA)

Great, the Summer Holidays are upon us! It will be much quieter at the Centre for a few weeks now as I wont see my Riders for a while, however, work will still continue with maintenance, poo picking etc. so I wont be totally alone. Anyway, it’s time for my annual maintenance and system upgrade so I’ll need time after to chill. Before I move to other things I have an important Parish Notice for you all. We are looking for Tuesday Helpers! Can you spare some time, between 09.30 – 11.00hrs on a Tuesday? You can? Well, please contact us and come along. You don’t have to be a horsey person or hold medical qualifications, just a willingness to help others and gain enjoyment from seeing the rewards from your work. The Herd have assured me they, together with the People, will help you to learn all that is needed; there are many existing and potential Riders out there who, with your help, can have a much more enjoyable and productive life; you may not think it but, it is true; a couple of hours can mean a lot, so do please come and help us to help others. It’s only when you see the difference it makes that you can truly understand why the Herd and our present Helpers and Carers enjoy what they do. Talking of helping others, the Lodge of Virtue and Silence have kindly donated the sum of £2,500 to initiate our new Dressage Training Fund. The ‘Old Queen’s Sports and Social Club’ have also donated £100. Everyone at the Shelley Centre is very grateful and appreciative of their generosity. The new fund has been set up to assist some of our Riders to further their Dressage training and perhaps be among the few who may ultimately move on to the Paralympic squad.  However, the first stage to even consider such an achievement is to enter the RDA Regional and National Competitions, which by their very nature incur costs. To those of you who are not “RDA People” this may appear that we are looking to become an exclusive training centre at the expense of others. This is by no means the case. The purpose of setting up the fund is to open up the opportunity for our Riders who have evolved the skills and have the added ambition to reach such levels of expertise to achieve their dreams; we like to think this demonstrates to able bodied people that just because you have a disability it does not preclude you from being a player in both National and International events. Obviously, this is not for everyone and the Shelley Centre will continue to work hard with both young and mature people to offer them an interesting alternative therapy through horse riding, carriage driving or where not practical by using me and BABS as substitutes; in many circumstances the interaction with horses can have an enormous, beneficial, effect on the individual where other methods fail. Talking of achievements, our team attended the RDA National Championships and 40th Anniversary celebrations at Hartpury on Saturday 10th July, with sponsorship from James Buckle. I’m delighted to say we came away with a trophy and awards in the Dressage Classes.
 

Zoe Talbot, riding Shannon, won Class 32 Senior, the Best Turned out Pony and Rider, supported by her Grooms Lyn and Corinne, being awarded the Catrona-Bramble Trophy; she also came 5th in Class 11 Freestyle. Jackie Gosling, riding Rocky, also received an award by coming second in Class 12 Freestyle. It is only through the new Dressage Training Fund that we can continue to enter this type of competition. From the Herd, Riders, Helpers and Carers at the Centre we say “Well done!” We’re proud of both of you, as well as your support team, for the hard work that has been put into training and preparation. I’ve also just ear wigged that Looey Durling, a Helper at the Centre, ran the London 10K Marathon in 1hour 5 minutes; well done Looey and thanks a lot! Oh! Oh! I see a man has just come into my room with a large brief case and has opened it up. I see it contains a few intricate tools and things; he’s getting out a big screw driver……must be time for my annual check up!

Telephone: 01473.824172
 

Ebony

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