20 Wairarapa Midweek FEATURE SUPPLEMENT Wednesday, March 13, 2024
CELEBRATING
Do you enjoy horses and have spare time? We need volunteers for the Wairarapa branch of Riding for the Disabled We meet every Thursday and Friday during the school term between 8am and 1pm. Training is provided and a good support network is available for the volunteers.
of Riding for the Disabled in Masterton
To find out more, please call Dianne Gates 027 224 7381 wairda@xtra.co.nz
Wairarapa Riding for the Disabled (RDA) has been actively involved in supporting people with disabilities or challenging needs for 50 years. It provides life-changing opportunities through therapeutic interactions with horses, improving the wellbeing and health outcomes of physically, intellectually, and neurologically disabled children and adults. Next week, a remarkable 50 years of voluntary contributions to RDA will be acknowledged and celebrated. These contributions have come from the founders, the children of the founders, the sponsors of horses, the many volunteers, and people whose donations help keep the enterprise thriving. Activities will be taking place on 22 and 23 March from RDA’s base in the idyllic Te Whiti Road grounds in Masterton, tucked right behind the AFC football club. Drive on down as if you’re going to the football club, then drive a bit further to arrive at RDA’s ample parking.
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What RDA does
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216 High Street, Solway Masterton Ph 06 370 8216
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Cnr Wrigley & Chapel streets Masterton Ph 06 378 8114
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119 Lincoln Road, Masterton
0800 651 444
Nationally, RDA provides more than 3000 children and adults with lifechanging opportunities every year. In Wairarapa, up to 28 children are currently accepted each year for a programme of activities with currently, eight horses. Each rider is always accompanied by at least two volunteers. The ‘leader’ or handler focuses on the horse: its attitude, movement, and behaviour. The sidewalkers focus on the rider: supporting them physically, emotionally, and with their exercises. The RDA complex has up to four coaches who develop individualised programmes tailored to the needs and conditions of each rider, covering therapeutic, education, and sport and recrelation elements. “The children learn confidence and can become more relaxed and less anxious as they ride their horses,” says Ian Bruce, son of Wairarapa’s
RDA founders Logan and Ysabel Bruce. Sitting on a sheepskin rug or in a saddle, depending on the degree of support required, the rocking motion moves through the rider’s body. For people who usually sit in wheelchairs, being able to get up high and off the ground is a liberating experience. “Riders can tone their core strength, and improve their respiration, coordination, flexibility, mobility, and also their balance, through riding,” Ian says. Some of the exercises for flexibility involve activities like leaning across the horse’s neck and putting a hoop over a pole, or placing a can or peg on it, throwing a ball into a net, or stretching out to hug the horse. One rider initially needed two sidewalkers to hold him upright on his horse. After a year of these exercises, he could ride in a saddle without support, the sidewalker strolling alongside. “And the riders’ attention span, their ability to focus, also improves,” says Marilyn Palmer, Ian’s sister. “A bond grows between
WAIRARAPA RDA RIDERS, WITH THEIR SIDEWALKERS AND LEADERS
the riders and their horses, which improves rider wellbeing. They gain social and communication skills, too, along with a sense of independence.” Some even start to speak for the first time. Alongside individual riding, group classes are held so the riders are involved in a team sport. The indoor arena contains hoof ball, which the horses can kick along, changing their gait and mixing things up. The arena is lined with art, much of it provided by students from Makoura College, St Matthews Collegiate, and King Street Artworks. As well as the indoor and two outdoor arenas, the RDA grounds have walking trails through native
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