Wellington Riding For The Disabled (RDA)
Why did you join?
I have a good friend who suggested I should get into volunteering. That got me thinking. I wanted something with a bit of outdoor activity, something I’d be a little familiar with and importantly gain new experiences. I was around horses and farms growing up but have had very little connection amongst young people with disabilities. I had a small awareness of RDA so with the help of google, everything fell into place.
What tasks do you do on your volunteering days?
There’s always something to do. I could be working with others to set up the stalls, hay and water, getting the gear out for the first ride session before bringing the horses in from the paddocks to groom and tack up. The arena gets laid out with a riding course and activities. Then we’re either working with riders during a ride session or we’re ‘backstage’. Out back we might be prepping gear or horses for the next ride, mixing feeds, on a ‘poo run’ to empty the trailer or might be cleaning the kitchen, putting the horse towels through the wash or up doing some jobs in the paddocks.
Everything gets packed up and put away at the end of the day.
What do you enjoy about volunteering for Wellington RDA?
It’s a great change from the Monday to Friday routine. Volunteering is about helping; I like that RDA Wellington has a great facility and I can do my bit to help keep it in in good order. I enjoy cleaning the stalls when the horses are taken back to the paddocks. I look forward to seeing and chatting with the other volunteers each week and working with the horses.
But the best thing is working with riders and helping toward achieving their RDA goals set by the Coach. It’s great seeing the progress they make and it’s nice to think that I may have helped them make some of that progress.