Hoofprint Gaddesden Place RDA Newsletter Spring 2017 www.gaddesdenplacerda.org.uk Enquiries Tel: 01442 246924

Published by Gaddesden Place RDA Centre - Briden's Camp, , HP2 6EX A Private Limited Company Registered in and Wales No: 7512961 Registered Charity No: 1140330

All Change at Gaddesden Place RDA!

We are delighted to welcome David Sapte as our new Treasurer. David comes with a wealth of knowledge of treasurer roles as well as fundraising and grant applications. Rob Jennings will be gradually handing over the reins to David and will be staying on as a trustee for some months to ensure all runs smoothly. We are very grateful for Rob's many years of careful stewardship of our finances. He has been a hard working colleague and a good friend to all of us.

Spring has sprung and there are more changes to come as we begin our biggest ever renovation project. Thanks to St Mary’s Church, Redbourn, who nominated us as their charity for 2016 we have been able to replace our ailing quad bike with a more versatile maintenance vehicle. The £16,000 they raised has purchased not only Mary the Mule but also a much needed new shed to house her! A Mule is halfway between a quad bike and a tractor and was recommended to handle the major changes we had planned for our Indoor School.

Thanks to the generosity of Consort Medical, our planned improvements are now full steam ahead! As soon as sessions finished for the

Easter break, volunteers cleared the school of equipment and work began to remove the old irrigation system including the water tank and the two foot thick concrete base it sat on! Then the rusty roof struts were rubbed down and painted prior to the old riding surface

being removed and a new modern dust free surface being laid. This new surface will need no irrigation and will improve the working environment for our riders, vaulters, volunteers and ponies.

Teams Teams of ofvolunteers volunteers will will be be working working with with staff staff over over Easter Easter to toensure ensure we we are are all all up up and and runningrunning to toopen open again again on on Tuesday Tuesday April April 25 25th . thAll. All very very exciting exciting times! times!

(Coming(Coming next next issue issue - Before- Before and and After After photos!) photos!)

The Gaddesden Vaulting team have been busy. On 7 th January, Louise, Karen and Christina visited the Contessa Vaulting Club in Ware on a fact finding mission. It was firmly suggested they participate and they soon found themselves warming up and performing on the barrels and even cantering on the horse without holding on! They were working alongside the much younger and more supple junior vaulting team but they brought back plenty of new ideas for our own sessions. Then Karen and Louise attended a RDA Vaulting Training Day and Louise was a delegate at BEV Conference in Cambridge. Prior to that we had taken three teenage gymnast volunteers, Maya, Lucy and Charlotte to Cambridge Vaulting Club to gain more experience in Vaulting moves. You can see them in the photos dressed all in black on the chesnut horse. Coaching them are Jade Rouchy and Lizzie Bennet who are both on RDA National Vaulting Committee. They are more used to our 14.1hh cob rather than a 17hh vaulting horse but all of them enjoyed the experience and picked up some skills which they could use when working with our younger vaulters. On Saturday 1 st April Chris, Karen and Christina attended Cambridge Vaulting Club competition to gather more hints and tips of what constitutes a good routine. Our favourite from the day was Douglas the Highland pony seen here with his team.

We were delighted to receive a small grant from the Ethel Bayes fund which is administered by RDA National Office and is to be used in the East Region. This has enabled us to purchase more vaulting equipment and will help us to expand our team.

If you are interested in having a go at Vaulting please ask Louise if you can come for a trial session. It is great fun, builds strength, suppleness and coordination, involves close contact with the horse and builds trust and confidence through teamwork.

And we do it all to music!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Term Dates Tuesday 25 th April to Summer Term th Saturday 15 July

Tuesday 27 th May Half term to Sunday 2nd June Inclusive

Saturday 9 th September Autumn Term th to Saturday 9 December

th Sunday 20 October Half Term to Monday 30 th October

Inclusive

Other Dates for your Diary!

Sat 29 th April Barn Dance

Sun 30 th April BHS Park n Ride on Gaddesden Estate

Wed 24 th May In house Volunteer Training Day

Sun 28 th May RDA East Region Competition at College of West Anglia, Landbeach Road, Milton, Cambridge CB24 6DB

Sat 10 th June Riverside Shopping Centre Event, Hemel Hempstead

Sun 11th June Caddington Show

Sun 25 th June BHS Sponsored Ride on Gaddesden Estate

Fri 14 th – Sun 16 th July RDA National Championships

Sun 30 th July BHS Park n Ride on Gaddesden Estate

Sun 27 th Aug BHS Park n Ride on Gaddesden Estate

Sun 24 th Sept BHS Sponsored Ride on Gaddesden Estate

Sun 1 st Oct Sponsored Dog Walk on Estate

Training Day Delegates enjoying a picnic Photo caption in the Spring Sunshine at competition Gaddesden Place RD A This snap was taken of Margaret and Christina demonstrating the therapeutic use of the “Peanuts” prior to riding! We thought this could be our photo caption competition for this issue. Captions to [email protected] Winners to be announced in next issue.

Eas t Region Training Day

On Monday 27th March Gaddesden Place RDA hosted the Herts Regional Training Day for 74 delegates from groups all over the county. The Theme was “Promoting the Independence of our Riders”. We would like to thank two of our young riders, Felicity and Stanley for kindly coming to demonstrate how they have been working on riding a Dressage test in their normal group session. There were also demonstrations of the Three stages of leading for Showjumping, discussions on how to work as a team in group sessions and the use of special equipment to assist independence. Feedback Thank you to James and the team at was all very positive with many complements about Flat Frog Films for our new film our facilities. This was particularly gratifying for the featuring our amazing riders, cleaning squad of volunteers who had toiled over volunteers, staff and of course our several days to make everything spic and span! ponies! To view the film see our Thank you! website www.gaddesdenplacerda.org.uk

Regional Competition Sunday 28 th May 2017 ….. at College of West Anglia, Landbeach Road, Milton Cambridge CB24 6DB. Volunteers are needed to set up on Saturday and help with the competition on Sunday. RDA groups from Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Essex, and Cambridge will be there competing in Dressage qualifiers for the RDA National Championships, the Introductory East Region classes, the Countryside Challenge as well as Tack and Turnout. If you would like to be part of this exciting day out please call Gay Redman – Chairman of RDA East Region on 01223 290807 to offer your assistance. Spectators are also very welcome!

Trevor’s 8oth Birthday! Double celebration for stalwart volunteer - Trevor Mills. There was a week of celebrations at the yard in February as Trevor celebrated his 80th birthday and also 25 years of volunteering at RDA. TrevorTrevor took took redundancy redundancy and and early early retirement retirement in inlate late 1991 1991 after after a careera career in in banking.banking. He He wanted wanted to tofind find something something constructive constructive to tfillo fill his his time time and and decided to try volunteering. decided to try volunteering. After a visit to the volunteer centre which was then located in Hemel Old Town he started volunteering with Meals on Wheels which he continued until the service was taken over by the county. Luckily for Gaddesden Place Trevor went back to the volunteer centre and was recommended RDA. He had no knowledge of horses or disabilities but felt it would be a challenge. Trevor started volunteering one session per week which quickly became two....and most of the week! He became very keen on carriage driving and got involved stewarding at competitions. Trina Hall who ran Gaddesden Place back then taught Trevor the basics of driving and he was soon hooked – he bought his first pony and carriage and qualified to accompany disabled drivers under RDA conditions. By now Trevor was spending considerable time at the stables and involved more and more with the organisation and running of the charity.. He was persuaded to join the Committee and has undertaken the important roles of treasurer, chairman, general handyman and the reprise role of Father Christmas over the years. Trevor says " I have seen Gaddesden Place change from a branch of national RDA to a separate Charity and more recently to become a limited company. I still enjoy the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at Gaddesden Place and seeing the progress of riders". Trevor has also just celebrated his 80th Birthday and is still coming up to help at the centre 3 or 4 times a week. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Trevor for his unstinting dedication to RDA over the last 25 years and for all that he continues to do.

I am George… Storm Doris I yawn…It’s morning. Storm Doris left a trail of damage. The Wearily I wake up, ready for the day. Cricket field paddock fence blew I lift my head And shake off my sleep. down, the roof of the field shelter and I stand up and think of my friends. stabling was damaged. The paddock

They are waiting for me. fence has been replaced and other

My helper comes in to get me ready. repairs are under way. She brushes my hair and cleans my feet. My breakfast is prepared And left out for me. I eat it and think of my friends TheyPhoto are waiting of William for Meachemme. on George

I go out of the door and into the field.

I can hear the wind rustling in the trees. The faint scent of the flowers

Tickles my nose I smell it and think of my friends. Christmas Celebrations- They are waiting for me. As you can see Gaddesden Place It’s time to work and I’m really keen. riders and volunteers made the most I have got the bit between my teeth. of the seasonal opportunity to have Slowly, I walk through the gates fun and wear silly hats! Here is and into the school. I turn my head and see my friends, Volunteer Val as The Human They have waited for me. Christmas tree. It is a fun game

which reinforces riding skills The children are there, jumping for joy. (steering and halting) and helps to Sophie, with her frail body, clambers on my back. As we walk, she giggles and strokes my mane. improve manual dexterity and hand Then, I eagerly await whoever will ride me next. eye coordination. I am George, an RDA horse. I am proud these riders are my friends.

By William Meachem

William is one of our Saturday riders and has ridden at Gaddesden Place RDA for many years. He currently rides George.

Endurance!

Gaddesden Place RDA has now registered as an Endurance Group. We

have access to the wonderful Gaddesden Estate and can offer rides of greater distance than those hacks possible in a usual weekly session. The

Summer sponsored rides for example cover a route of several miles for each relay. Apart from the adventure of hacking for a greater distance, off road

but on well signposted and maintained paths, riders can learn more about their pony’s care and fitness.

We have just taken a new delivery of the very popular Gaddesden Place RDA teatowels. Order yours before they sell out! All profits go to Gaddesden Place RDA Centre. Please fill out the order form below and send with a cheque made payable to Gaddesden Place RDA to; Karen Gosen c/o Gaddesden Place RDA Centre Red Lion Lane Bridens Camp Nr Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 6EX or put in an envelope and post it in the grey box in the office at the yard Cut here;

Please reserve me ------tea towels @£5 each. I enclose a cheque for £------

(Please make payable to Gaddesden Place RDA.) Tea towels will be available for collection at the yard.

Name: …………………………………………………. Address: ………………………………………………. Postcode: ……………………………………………… Phone Number: ……………………...... Email address: …………………………………………

Stanley had some visitors at his retirement

home! Juliet, Trevor and Libet had an outing to the Horse Trust in Speen to see Stan and Gemma who are obviously

thriving.

Say Hello to the New Member of the Team-Charlie the New Forest pony!

Charlie is 13.1hh and incredibly cute with a soft fluffy winter coat which he is losing rapidly as the temperature rises! He has had a busy life as a children’s pony and is settling in well to his new life with us.

First RDA Dressage Conference

On Sunday 12 th March Christina Grieve and Judith Taylor a Grade 5 independent RDA rider, who is a member of Gaddesden Place RDA but now rides at her local riding stable, attended the first ever RDA Dressage Conference at Scropton RDA in Derbyshire.

Judith now competes in able bodied dressage competitions on a horse called Galaxy. They are listening to a presentation by Ruth Chappell of Dressage Anywhere.

Dressage Anywhere allows coaches to film riders performing a dressage test at home. They can then upload the video to the Dressage Anywhere website where it is judged by a top RDA judge. Those scoring high percentages are invited to compete in the Championship Class in March and the winners are invited to the RDA National Championships to collect their medals. A few years ago Judith was a bronze medallist in her class riding Codey.

Dacorum Dragon’s Apprentice Challenge Gaddesden Place RDA joined the Dacorum Dragons Apprentice Challenge for the 2nd year. This year we were partnered with a team from JFK School in Hemel Hempstead and David Robinson from The Riverside Shopping Centre also in Hemel. The challenge set for all teams was to organise fundraising events to turn an initial £100 capital into a profit for their charity. The JFK team’s (aka Team Sigma) fundraising events included a very successful tombola stall at the Riverside Christmas lights switch on, a photo shoot at the school and a Krispy Kreme donut sale which all raised a fantastic

total of £1,021 The team's business ad visor David Robinson comme nted “It has been a real pleasure working with the students from JFK and to see how much their confidence grew during the challenge. They were motivated from the outset, worked well as a team and came up with a number of good fundraising ideas. I’ve watched them become more confident as the challenge progressed. I was especially pleased with the way they dealt with the public during the tombola held at Riverside. They have carried out the challenge with professionalism and have gained valuable skills and knowledge which will help in future years”. Karen Gosen who worked with the students said ” Team Sigma have been a pleasure to work with - being polite, professional and focused on their end target of £1,000 throughout this challenge. They were totally engaged with us as their charity from the start, organising a visit to the stables to learn about the benefits of riding and understanding how their fundraising would make a difference. They also understood the value of raising awareness and local presence for RDA too and were confident to talk about the benefits of riding when asked. The significant amount raised will mean that we can subsidise 9 riders for a whole term – thank you team Sigma!”

RDA National Championships Friday 14 th to Sunday 16 th July

The RDA National Championships is RDA’s flagship event, bringing together hundreds of competitors of all abilities in events including Carriage Driving, Countryside Challenge, Dressage, Showjumping, Vaulting and Showing. The Championships has grown year on year and is now bigger than the Paralympics and Para World Championships combined. In previous years it has proved a springboard for the Paralympics, with many of the current Team GB having competed at The Championships. Since 2002, the RDA National Championships have been held at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire. RDA participants from all over the country compete at the Championships and come away with a sense of achievement, great confidence, new friends – not to mention the odd rosette! The competition runs over three days from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th July. This year, for the first time, we are hoping to take some of our young vaulters and Codey our Vaulting Pony! They have been busy working on their freestyle to music routines. The Vaulting classes will be held on Saturday 15th July 2017 and will be in an indoor arena but there will be plenty of other activities to watch. There are restaurants and refreshment stands at the venue but many people bring a picnic and hope to enjoy some good weather. For more information on the venue please see Hartpury C ollege website -www.hartpury

Wanted! Volunteers for Gaddesden Place RDA Centre

Do you have a free morning or afternoon and want to do something worthwhile? Come and volunteer with us! Our volunteers are very important as they work 1-2-1 with our riders or vaulters relaying the information from the coach and assisting with the task. You don’t need to know anything about horses as we can teach you all you need to know. In fact our next Volunteer Training is Wed 24th May. We have morning sessions during term time from Tuesday to Sat and afternoon sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as Vaulting on Wednesday evening.

Maybe you already volunteer with us? Then please spread the word and bring a like-minded friend along!