The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding 2013 From the Chairman- December 2012 Dear Supporters, Well, what an amazing year! We started with a drought and ended up with the wettest, coldest summer! We’ve had two events that most of us will never see again in our lifetime – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the most awe-inspiring London Olympics and Paralympics. This was followed by Murray winning the tennis, our golfers triumphant at the Ryder Cup, and we’ve had the first ever ‘Brit’ win the Tour de France. Records were being broken here, there and everywhere! Although we’ve been through a recession, these events have uplifted the country - they’ve brought out what puts the ‘Great’ in Great Britain and highlighted what we’re best at. For the Jubilee, it was our skill at pageantry, our military precision and organisational ability, our patriotism and stoicism to our weather! Then with the Olympics and Paralympics the eyes of the world were on us again. You can add to the list our sporting prowess and what our builders, architects, gardeners, directors, dancers, musicians and entertainers had to offer. And didn’t we pull it off!! This spirit has rubbed off for us here at the Shelley Centre, too. Our hard work at raising our profile is paying off with many more people becoming aware of what we do, realizing how valuable it is, and coming on board to support us. We have been overwhelmed at the generosity and support for all of our fund-raising events, and for the enthusiasm of our supporters to put on events themselves to raise money on our behalf. As well as the many individuals (too many to mention here!) we’ve had record amounts raised at the Ball, the Sponsored Ride, and at Stratford Hills Horse Trials. We thank each and every one of these many people (I hope you are all reading this) from the bottom of our hearts because, as I frequently and genuinely say, without this support we would struggle to provide the wonderful therapy of horse-riding to so many. Our last annual census recorded 126 riders having a total of 2,244 rides and drives, with just 93 volunteers doing all the work! We can’t rest on our laurels, however; the fund-raising must continue (a lot like the painting of the Forth Bridge!) as our running costs are over £60,000 a year. As well as the publicity we always need more volunteers (we’re still very short on some days – if anyone is interested in helping for a few hours!). With the whole country wrapped up in such a feel-good and happy atmosphere, the Paralympics seem to have transformed the way people think about the disabled and, just as importantly, the way the disabled think about themselves, about what they can achieve, and what is possible. A fantastic example is Sophie Christiansen who won three more Gold Medals for dressage. She started at a centre like ours and famously says that “Riding didn’t change my life, it gave me a life”. Long may it continue and let us hope we can ride on this wave of positivity to achieve much more for our riders, and for them so see how much they can achieve for themselves. Many thanks for your continued and invaluable support, and I send my best wishes to you all. JAN DERBYSHIRE Chairman Just one sad note – we have recently and unexpectedly lost our wonderful Shannon after eight happy years with us. I would like to pay tribute to her – she will be sorely missed by everyone as she was very special and, like all our horses, was an important part of the Shelley Centre ‘family’. Front Cover- The Shetland Ponies waiting to lead the procession to the Church for the Card Service ♦2 Sponsor a Pony

Hi – I’m Charlie, a relatively ‘new kid on the block’, so it’s quite an honour for me to be asked to write about the Sponsor a Pony Scheme. Contributions received to towards feed, shoeing, the dentist and vet, rugs (I’ve already established quite a wardrobe), and bedding for me, Holly, Jet, Parys, Rocky, Fleur, Camilla, and Squidgy (the cute Shetlands who come as a pair in the Scheme). There are three others in the Shelley equine family, but they are not available for sponsorship yet. It’s a great way to help us financially, and we only request a donation of £25 for 12 months’ membership (of course, you could send more if you like!!). Auntie Di, on 01473 658552, will send you a form, and then you will receive a photo of your chosen one, a pony story, and your name will be proudly displayed at the Centre. We help our special riders and carriage drivers so much and…..without boasting…..I’ve heard the humans say that we are special too!

Hoping we will hear from you soon! Love, CHARLIE AND THE GANG

♦3 Fundraising

It has been another active and successful year of varied fund raising, and our thanks go to all those who work so hard on our behalf, organising and supporting events. Events in 2012 included the Hadleigh Show, Stratford Hills Horse Trials, a sponsored walk and sponsored long-distance Ride, a Bridge Lunch, the Ball at Le Talbooth, a clay pigeon shoot, The Long Distance Ride - The Watering Hole murder-mystery evening, and ‘Mike’s Sing-a-long’. In addition, three Marathon runners ran in aid of the Centre – Adam Bensusan, Steve Horsley and Fabian Wilness. We applaud their efforts and determination, and thank them for their support. The Bridge Lunch took place in a lovely setting, combining a day of challenge and fun. The Ball, held once again at Le Talbooth, proved to be a popular and successful occasion, providing great enjoyment for those who attended. The Long-Distance Ride attracted a good number of entries for what was a beautiful day out riding. Our last main event of the year was the Murder-Mystery evening – a chance for people to pit their wits against each other as they strove to solve the mystery. As always, we extend our grateful thanks to all who support fund raising in any way for the Centre. In particular, we thank the teams who work so hard to put on events and to make them successful. This is a constant, on-going task, and we are grateful for the dedication and hard work of the Fund Raising Committee. PATRICIA BAZLEY WHITE Chairman, Fund Raising Committee

The Long Distance Ride “Tally Ho!” ♦4 Bridge Lunch

The Ball

♦5 The Shelley Centre’s very own BRONZE AWARD WINNERS!

What a year it has been for two of our Wednesday afternoon riders. Rowan and Nathaniel Haste (known affectionately as ‘the Twins’) passed the RDA Bronze Proficiency Test in Horse Care; something we believe is a first at the Shelley Centre. Below is an article, written for the National RDA Newsletter, by their Examiner, Sally Campbell Gray. I was asked to examine Nathaniel and Rowan Haste for the Horse Care section of the Bronze Proficiency Test. Sue Diggins came along as an observer/examiner and we spent a happy and very fruitful afternoon, each of them achieving very The ‘Bronze Twins’ at the Shelley Centre high marks. Nathaniel and Rowan are 15 and have been riding at the Centre for some time. They passed both sections of Grade 4 in 2010. Their Instructor, Anne MacWillson, had taught them well. We were interested in the folders they produced for us to see. They each had a list of the syllabus and, as well as practical help and practice at the Centre, they had researched on the internet all that was required and added their findings to their folders for future reference. These were most impressive and the Education Committee at National has copies of them. We hope to encourage others to do the same. Sally Campbell Gray, RDASI, Proficiency Test Examiner

We received these lovely letters from the twins on their last day at the Shelley Centre. Sadly, school work has become a priority and they have been unable to return to their riding, but hopefully they will ride again in the future …. possible Equestrian Paralympians? To read the letters in full, please visit the Shelley website and find them in the ‘Apply to Ride’ section.

♦6 RDA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS COMPETITION

Talented woodcarver David Turner, aged 14, entered an excellent carving of a horse’s head, entitled “My Olympic Gold”, in the RDA National Arts & Crafts Competition. Although not Gold, David did achieve Bronze, and we are all delighted that he won 3rd prize in the competition judged at the National Championships in Hartpury. Well done, David! Devin Cullen also had his picture sent to Hartpury for judging. Two riders from the Monday afternoon group received rosettes for entering their great pictures

David Turner and his wood carving and Devin Cullen with his picture Jessica Clarke and Martine Cassidy

IN-HOUSE TRAINING DAY Held at the Shelley Centre, November 2012

Training days on many different subjects are organized throughout the Eastern Region and beyond during the year. At the Shelley Centre, we try to have our own training day once a term, as we have so many helpers who may find it difficult to attend those further afield. On our last training day our retired paediatric physiotherapist, Fiona Cranston, talked us through cerebral palsy - well, as much as she could in a short time and without losing us with her medical knowledge! We all benefited immensely from listening to how other instructors and helpers progress and enjoy their lessons; we were able to encourage and enthuse each other with new thoughts and ideas, and a great way to welcome new helpers.

♦7 THE SHELLEY SHOW - 24 JUNE 2012

The 2012 Shelley Show had a record number of entries – an exciting challenge for 32 riders aged from 5 to 50+, competing in the Dressage and the Countryside Challenge classes. The first challenge was the weather. It started off wet and windy, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the dressage riders, who performed admirably in the morning. Dressage Judges Isabelle & Shirley Green The Countryside Challenge was receiving ‘Thank you’ flowers relocated from the field to the arena for safety reasons, and so the slightly altered course was new to all the riders. However, they showed how adaptable they are and negotiated the obstacles with great skill. The course was designed to test their riding skills and their ponies’ obedience, as well as the challenge of balance and hand-eye co-ordination involved with posting a letter, picking apples, collecting eggs at the hen house, circling the duck pond, and opening the gate, where they had to remember to thank the ’farmer’ before leaving the arena!

Oliver Morley riding Squidgy with helpers Sarah, Sally & Chloe Fletcher Telling steering Charlie through the poles

Kim Rice riding Rocky

♦8 The incentive to do well in these classes was Our AMAZING collection of cups heightened by the glittering array of cups and rosettes set out on the table in the yard, ready for the winners. The Shelley Centre is most grateful for the generosity of our supporters who have provided the Perpetual cups to be presented annually for each class: Lady Gill Aldous, John and Val Cadman, Carole Lawrence, Mike and Jane Crowe, Felicity Reynolds, Mr Murray, Paton & Lee Veterinary Practice, Diana Sneezum, and Bob Derbyshire. There were also trophies for the Best Dressed Rider and the Rider with the Biggest Smile, and all the riders taking part in the Show received a rosette. Awards went to the Junior and Senior riders who had made outstanding progress within their group over the past year and, again, these Perpetual cups had been donated by Leslie Dixon, and in memory of Liz Greene, together with a cup for special achievement in riding progress on the mechanical horse. The ‘Tea Ladies’ Marion & Camilla A full list of the Show results and ongoing Shelley news is available on our website, www.rda-east.org.uk/shelley.html.

Jackie Gosling & Julia Gemm

Val Cadman with Thomas Marelle with his Rosette for 3rd Place in Dressage Walk Test

♦9 THE 2012

Our Equestrian Riders’ and Teams’ most successful Games to date!

For those lucky enough to watch the Dressage competitions held at the fantastic location of Greenwich Park in London, a treat was in store.

Greenwich Park On most days the weather was glorious, a little chilly, but wall-to-wall sunshine. Our Gold Medal winning Team emphatically beat Germany into Silver Medal place, with a score of 468.817 over Germany’s 440.143. Sophie Christiansen achieved an amazing individual score of over 82.

Gold Medal winning Team – Sophie Christiansen, , Natasha Baker and

♦10 Watching those beautiful horses and incredible riders made it very hard to comprehend how they were able to carry out such complex and accurate dressage tests with, in some cases, so little mobility. Sophie, aged 24, was born with cerebral palsy and has had health problems including jaundice, blood poisoning, a heart attack and collapsed lung. She started riding at the age of six at her local Riding for the Disabled stables, and what had begun as physiotherapy became her life’s passion. An inspiration to us all, Sophie won two Gold Medals at the Beijing Games on a different horse, but has struck up a wonderful partnership with Janeiro, a 15-year old Rheinlander gelding. Natasha, another member of the Gold Medal team, contracted traverse myelitis when she was 14 months old. She was Belgian Rider: Barbara Minneci encouraged to ride to try to relieve the constant pain in her back. At the age of 10 she declared she wanted to go to the Paralympics and win a gold medal. In fact, she won two at Greenwich Park! The night before a competition, Natasha admits to a ‘cheeky’ McDonald’s, to which she attributes her success! Natasha’s message to our riders – “Follow your heart and follow your dreams and don’t let anything hold you back” - a message the whole Team would agree with! We must salute these, and so many other, courageous competitors, from many different countries, for their determination and self-belief. How could we not be inspired to look for those 2016 riders within our own groups? Together we could make it happen - Watch This Space!

♦11 DRIVING REPORT

2012 was an eventful year for the Driving Group. With the prospect of taking on Charlie, we managed to recruit two new helpers: John Boreham has always shown a keen interest and is wonderful with our wheelchair drivers, and in August, Linda Twitchen, who has her own driving ponies, was successfully assessed as our third RDA Whip. Charlie went for training at Mike Daniell’s yard in Sutton, and Eunice, Mim and Linda went twice to have some hand-on experience with this. Back at Shelley, he was making wonderful progress before disappointingly becoming unfit to drive. We began the year in April with two disabled drivers and, having sorted out harness and the Bellcrown four-wheeled carriage for Charlie (it has a brake!), we began using the two-wheeled Bennington with Jet. This gave Bob Meyer more body motion in his wheelchair and he loved it. We carried on through the summer holidays, making use of the good weather, and Bob achieved his Grade 1 certificate and Blue Badge before going on holiday to St Petersburg. His health then began to fail, but he enjoyed five more wonderful drives up to two weeks before he died on 2nd October. We shall miss our brave Ben Hur! Sheila Frampton was our only disabled driver for the remainder of the year; she is growing in confidence and we hope to widen her horizons in 2013. We plan to start driving again after Easter with two fit horses, and maybe trying out another. We would also welcome some new recruits to experience the thrill of Carriage Driving. RDA Whips – Eunice Binder, Howard Nuttall, Linda Twitchen Helpers – Margaret Nuttall, Mim Dutton, John Boreham

♦12 SPECIAL NEEDS, SPECIAL HORSES The Shelley Centre is often heard asking around for any suitable horses or ponies that we could borrow, buy or loan, to join our Yard. This is sometimes taken as a call to ‘bring out your lame and infirm’. Not surprisingly, this is not what we are looking for! The equine stars that join our ‘happy herd’ have very special qualities. Some do not always arrive with those qualities, but they usually (not always!) develop into caring, kind and understanding friends we can use for this very special job. There are many stories of horses with uncanny intuition to be able to understand the needs of their precious riders. Horses seem to react differently to a disabled rider – as many of our able-bodied riders will confirm when riding them out. No horse rider needs much convincing that there is something uniquely sensitive and intelligent about their mount. They are able to provide the therapy so needed by our riders through their movement, giving a fairly comprehensive workout for the rider. This is why a balanced and sound horse is so important. Shannon, who was kindly loaned to us for eight years by Nikki from Holland-on-Sea, was one of these ‘special horses’. A beautiful mare with soft, gentle eyes, she was a much loved member of our equine team, giving enjoyment and therapy to all who rode her. Her claim to fame was taking one of our riders riding side-saddle, to the RDA National Championships, winning the tack-and-turnout class two years running, and coming home with a huge trophy along with lots of rosettes. She will be sorely missed by all, especially by her able-bodied rider Corinne, who enjoyed many happy hacks and long-distance rides with her.

♦13 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN RDA INSTRUCTOR

It’s 6 a.m and the alarm buzzes; it’s cold and pretty dark and, for a moment, I groan and wonder - “Why am I doing this?”. With robot reactions I’m up to get a few chores done before arriving at the Shelley Centre - where I’m the Instructor for Tuesday mornings – by 9 a.m. I walk the dog, mentally planning my lessons, eat a hearty breakfast and set off, by now very awake and looking forward to the morning’s adventures. On arrival, Lyn, the stable manager, and I exchange hasty bits of news whilst getting ponies in and feeding. Then it’s time for organising pony-leader and side-walker allocation, and activity levels suddenly ‘rev’ up a few gears as helpers arrive and get to work around the yard. The phone rings – often! Sometimes it’s a helper unable to come so lesson plans have to be re-arranged. New helpers may need some admin completed or assistance. Clients start arriving amongst much jolly banter and greeting; activity levels build again with grooming and pony preparation; helpers scurry to and fro tacking up, and perhaps making a few last-minute tack alterations. The yard is buzzing, but the teamwork is cheery and amazing, and by 10 a.m clients are mounted and we’re in the arena – phew! I’m a fairly new instructor and have noticed the more experienced don’t seem to mention this weekly acrobatic ‘time and motion study’ workout – I am in awe! For me, the learning curve continues! Our first class is a group of four adults who have all been committed clients for about 20 years. Since I started teaching we have been encouraging more independent riding for this group, with greater variety of pace and activity. The lesson starts and I notice during our exercises that one of the riders moves more easily, responds more actively, stretches further than previously – how exciting! We ride on, and I might notice greater response to an instruction, an improved seat, or more effective use of the reins – small but significant developments. Each confirms for me the absolute value of our efforts. All those pre-lesson tribulations just melt away, and I am suffused with inner delight. All too quickly it’s time to dismount and prepare for lesson two. We need to groom and tack-up four more ponies, as this is a class of four small boys between 4 and 7 years old, so it’s another period of concentrated, busy team activity against the clock! Each of the boys has a diagnosis of autism, and all started riding with us 18 months ago. At first, they were extremely fearful of this new experience and, indeed, of the ponies. At times, we even wondered if riding would ever become a beneficial therapy for these boys – they have proved us so wrong! They now ride with obvious enjoyment and enthusiasm, even independently. Today we even managed a few steps of trot! What a joy, what a privilege to watch the courageous progress of these boys, and to see their smiles of pleasure at new achievements. Lesson time just seems to race away. So …… all too soon the morning is over, clients have left, and my tremendous team of helpers and I – coffee in hand – retire to the club room to rest and reflect. We hear each other’s anecdotal accounts, swap ideas, and discuss new directions. We are all aware that it’s been a strenuous, demanding, challenging and hectic morning, but it’s also been so special and so hugely inspirational that, after a good lunch and, if we are lucky, a quiet afternoon, we’ll definitely be ready and looking forward to next Tuesday! Sally Nielson, Instructor, Tuesday group

I think all of our volunteer helpers will recognize all or part of Sally’s diary entry! - Anne MacWillson

♦14 Committee & Instructors Hon. President Val Cadman Chairman #* Jan Derbyshire Vice-Chairman #* Margaret Fowler Secretary #* Wendy Toogood Publicity Manager Treasurer #* Marion Lindsey Smith Membership Secretary Elaine Smith Fund Raising Chairman Patricia Bazley White Fund Raising Treasurer Chris Southgate Stable Manager * Lyn Bensusan Sponsorship Secretary Sally Boreham Gift Aid Secretary Phil Edwards Sponsor A Pony Representative #* Diane Godfrey Health & Safety Officer Marion Lindsey Smith Child Protection Officer/Holiday & Riders Representative #* Ruth Snowling Company Secretary #* Jenny Aldir

Instructors Lyn Bensusan Patricia Bazley White #* John Boreham Fiona Cranston Jan Derbyshire Margaret Fowler Marion Lindsey Smith Jan McKillop #* Anne MacWillson Laura McMahon #* Kate Sands Sally Nielson

Management Committee Member Cherry Crawford

Driving AB Whips Eunice Binder Linda Twitchen Howard Nuttall

* Management Committee members # Trustees

Data Protection Act If you have received this booklet by post, The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding has your name and address stored on computer. This is solely for the purpose of sending you information about our activities.

However, should you wish your name and address to be deleted from our database, please write to Mrs Elaine Smith at the Shelley Centre address.

Please be assured details of your name and address will not be sold or otherwise passed on to other parties.

♦15 Shannon 1990 - 2012

The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding Layham Road, Shelley, Ipswich Suffolk IP7 5QY Tel: 01473 824172 or 0845 450 6919 Email: [email protected] website: www.rda-east.org.uk/shelley.html

The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding Reg. Charity No. 1113636 Company No. 5668971 A member of Riding for the Disabled Association incorporating Carriage Driving Reg. Charity No. 244108