Archives for "RDA"

Many of you will know of this Association, and I certainly had heard of it, I think my mother was a volunteer at some stage. However it was only four weeks ago that I actually visited a centre when I took an autistic boy to a session. For those of you who don’t know of RAD, here is the history…

The Association was founded in 1965 as the Advisory Council on Riding for the Disabled with 9 Member Groups. It became Riding for the Disabled Association in 1969 when membership had grown to 80 member groups. The president at that time was Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk with HRH The Princess Anne as Patron.

In 1975 saw the introduction of Carriage Driving as an activity and RDA drivers took part in the first World Driving Championships in 2002.

In 1986 HRH the Princess Royal took over as President.

The first National RDA Dressage Championships took place in 1981 and were expanded to include all RDA disciplines with the First RDA National Championships.

1981 also saw the launch of the Association’s in-house magazine, RDA News, which is circulated three times a year.

The Association became a Federation of Member Groups in 1999 and RDA National became an incorporated body in 2004.

2007 saw the National Office move from Stoneligh Park to it’s current location in Warwick.

The Association now has over 500 Member groups which cater for more than 23,000 Riders and carriage drivers.

I arrived at the centre where there was a riding hat waiting for us. Once that had been fitted we were taken into the covered yard where a pony and three helpers were waiting. One volunteer led the pony while the other two walked either side holding onto the young rider’s legs. There were lots of activities to do while on the pony. Small hoops needed to be placed over cones and balls placed in cups. These sorts of activities help communication and listening skills, which are hugely helpful for the little boy I take. While at the sessions I have chatted to other parents of children who are benefiting from the experience. For one little boy the balancing on a pony is helping develop muscle tone and confidence. Most of the people benefiting from RDA are referred from the medical profession. All these sessions rely on volunteers to turn up regularly, and today it was very cold. For those of us who benefit from RDA we are enormously grateful to those who give their time week after week.

If you visit the RDA website there are many case studies of those who benefited.

Here is their website   www.riding-for-disabled.org.uk