Hoofprint Gaddesden Place RDA Newsletter December 2015 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

More Rides!

This year we have more rides at Gaddesden Place RDA than ever before. This is a great achievement which is down to the

dedicated support of our volunteers, coaches and staff.

However, each ride is subsidised by 45%. Despite the increased

numbers of riders, we will have to find £36,000 through fundraising, grants and donations to continue to provide our current number of rides. This challenge requires a huge fundraising effort! You can see how Gaddesden is funded (we receive no regular government funding) on page 2. Please see Connections on page 4 to find out how you can help.

Thank you all - Cathy Bolshaw, Chairman

Louise was assistant yard manager at Moulton College and is already a qualified equestrian coach. I hope you will all give her your support as she settles in and trains to be RDAGC (Riding for the Disabled Association Group Coach) over the coming months. With hundreds of people visiting Gaddesden each week she will have plenty of names to learn so please introduce yourself!

Also new to the Gaddesden staff is part time groom Laura Frazer who is working on Saturdays as well as Wednesday and Friday mornings. Louise – Centre Manager Laura – Groom She joins yard manager Juliet Godfrey and grooms Mel and Beaky who fill in when cover is needed.

At the beginning of October we said farewell to Jess, our Centre Manager, who has left to train as a Child Counsellor. As well as coaching riders, Jess re-organised our admin and systems over the last two years and leaves us in very good shape. She hopes to return as a volunteer when studies permit. Taking over from Jess is Louise Lumsden (BHS UKCC Stage 2) Juliet - Yard Manager Mel - Groom Beaky - Groom

Easy As Pie

Gaddesden Place RDA Centre is a registered charity and relies on fundraising activities, grants and donations as well as rider income. How much do you think it costs to run our Centre? (For the answer see our Pie chart below)

We also rely on over 100 volunteers (most of our coaches are volunteers) and 8 management trustees. They volunteer for many reasons:

• Helping to make a difference • To keep active and healthy • For when a rider smiles at the end of a session • To be part of a friendly team • Love of horses Summer Cleaning team • Margaret’s cakes! Thank you to our summer cleaning team who spent two days jet washing the Whatever the reason, we are very grateful that they stables and stable mats – a very smelly donate many hours of their free time. However we have 6 ponies to feed and care for, utility bills, job! I’m sure the ponies would give their insurance and members of staff to pay. Ponies must accommodation a 5 star rating on Trip be mucked out, fed and watered 365 days a year Advisor now! Thanks are also due to the and premises maintained. So while you are tucking kitchen, hat and boot cleaners. into your turkey this Christmas, spare a thought for the staff who will be making sure our ponies get their Christmas dinner too!

Here is a breakdown of where our income comes from:

Congratulations to the following riders on their Proficiency Awards ;

Grade One Riding and Horse Care Luke, Adam, Chiltern School

Grade Two Riding and Horse Care Bradley

Grade Three Riding and Horse Care Georgia, Grace Answer: ASDAN Certificates (It will cost £79,200 to run our Centre this year. We Bramingham School pupils worked incredibly hard to receive no regular government funding) receive their ASDAN certificates at the end of the summer term. Quiz Night The examiner at RDA National Office said: "Just a Many thanks to quizmaster Margaret Kelly Swann quick note to let you know that I’ve been through the and her team comprising Helen, Anna, Sue and children’s Animal Care projects – they are absolutely Karen who organised another very enjoyable quiz brilliant! The chicken/horse project really made us night at Potten End Village Hall on Saturday 10 th smile here in the office. Please do pass on my October. comments to the school and to the riders involved, as you can really tell how much fun they had putting the The editor would like to apologise for the number of projects together. They were simple and clear, yet raffle prizes won by her lucky guests but they did covered everything they needed to in a really buy a lot of tickets. Honest! Total funds raised were attractive and imaginative way. I loved the photos, too. £769 and a good time was had by all. It’s always lovely to put faces to names. Well done!"

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Thursday 26 th November Gaddesden Place RDA Centre AGM at Hazel Ridge,

Shootersway,Berkhamsted 7.30pm

Sat 12 th December Last RDA session before Christmas

Sat 9 th January 2016 First RDA session of the year (weather permitting!)

14 th February to 20 th February Half term 2016 inclusive

Sunday 22 nd May 2016 RDA Regional Competition at Oaklands College, St Albans, Herts

th th Fri 15 to Sun 17 July 2016 RDA National Championships

th Fri 7 October 2016 Gaddesden Golf Day at Stocks £70 per person Contact Jackie Boulter 01442 873870 or Karen Gosen [email protected],uk for more information

Dog Walk A team of Gaddesden Place RDA Trustees organised our third Sponsored Dog Walk at National Trust Estate on Sunday June 7th. The weather was glorious and over 60 dogs and their walkers took part. They completed either the 5- mile ramble though the forest or a 1-mile route around Meadley’s Meadow by the Visitor Centre. Our suppliers, TC Feeds of Dovehouse Farm, Kensworth, provided generous doggy bags full of treats and every dog taking part was also presented with a rosette. Walkers were given free refreshments Rob our Treasurer with Molly the Springer at our marquee. This was our major fundraiser of the Spaniel and the rest of Team Jennings. year and raised over £9,000.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped to organise the event on the day, to everyone who took part in the walk and especially to those who Toby- one of our riders sponsored the doggies. A special thank you to our and a big fundraiser for top young fundraisers, Toby and Abbie. We plan to the dog walk, on his run our 4th Sponsored Dog Walk in 2017. trike.

Wrong Way Molly!

Susan takes a breather in front of GPRDA Field HQ next to the monument at Ashridge. Meanwhile, Harvey wants his treats!

Connections Eckoh Work Party

Do any of you have any connections with local businesses that could help us with our fundraising? Do they run any corporate fundraising days that we could be involved with? Or would they be willing to sponsor one of our special ponies?

Auction prizes needed We are looking for auction items/experiences for our Golf Day on Friday 7th October 2016. Can you help us please? This is a Staff from local company Eckoh volunteer at very significant part of the Gaddesden Place RDA fundraising and will help us to On the 11th September a team of volunteers from Eckoh exceed last year’s target. came to Gaddesden Place RDA to paint the indoor riding school. The day had been arranged and coordinated by Prepare for a Do-si-do! Cindy Withey at Connect Dacorum. Joanne Truscott from Eckoh wanted a volunteering opportunity for their staff We are hoping to organise a Barn and we had a job on our projects list that fitted the bill Dance next year. What we need is perfectly. At a site visit, the details of the volunteering a huge barn or similar venue in the were arranged and it was full steam ahead! local area with a floor suitable for Thankfully, the day was bright and sunny. The team from dancing, and people to help with Eckoh turned up full of enthusiasm and with paintbrushes catering. So not much………. and pots in hand We already have a band and caller! (donated generously by the Dulux Centre in Hemel) All suggestions, recommendations they got started straight away. Trevor, Margaret, and and offers of help gratefully Jess kept the volunteers topped up with plenty of tea and cake and soon the work was complete. A great job done received. Please contact Karen if which will keep the school weathered for at least 5 years. you can help with any of these fundraising events: Thank you to the Eckoh Team!

[email protected]

As many of you know, Stan has been offered retirement at the Horse’s Trust in Speen and will leave us on 25 th November. His fans will be able to visit him - see the Horses Trust website www.horsetrust.org.uk for opening times. Stan goes with a “pension fund” donation from volunteers and riders to help support the work of The Horse’s Trust.

Stan does the Countryside Challenge

Stan’s original owner bought him as a three year old off a wet Welsh hillside. He had been backed only days before but the dealer’s children climbed on board and trotted him back to the yard on a head collar. For thirteen year old Gabi it was love at first sight! They had a lot of fun together and had a go at just about everything, including Pony Club and Dressage competitions. When Gabi grew up she took him to university with her. Later, while working for a professional Dressage Stan loves a mud bath! yard she had to put Stan on loan.

Gabi had originally learned to ride at Wormwood Scrubs RDA and had mentioned to Christina that her old pony would have been perfect for RDA. Then Gabi went travelling but it transpired she had loaned Stan out to a very unsuitable person and was in desperate need of finding somewhere that would care for him properly. Gabi immediately thought of Gaddesden. Christina says “I arrived to find a rather skinny grey pony, fully tacked up and waiting patiently in the middle of the outdoor school completely unattended! I watched Gabi ride him and then, while I gasped, she stood up on his back like Frankie Dettori and did a backward somersault to dismount. I couldn’t follow that but I was persuaded to dismount backwards. I slithered off very clumsily and he did not move a muscle. The day Christina first saw Stan- Gabi Our trustees agreed he would probably cope with our work! He was demonstrates his good nature in poor condition when he arrived and his mane and tail hair was so brittle that it just snapped in my hand.” However, as you may have noticed, yard manager Juliet, can put condition on any pony! In the 9 years Stan has spent with Gaddesden Place RDA he has been a very important member of the team. He has attended the RDA Regional competitions at Oaklands College, participated in joint shows with Flamstead Pony Club and competed at Dressage Anywhere, qualifying for the Championship class and coming 6 th in the National finals. He has helped hundreds of disabled riders to experience their first trot while some have experienced their first canter.

Stan at the Regional Competition at Oaklands College

Until recently, his party piece was a lovely medium trot -a testament to some correct dressage training! He has been an exciting ride for our more able riders but quiet and biddable with the less able, both on and off the lead rein. Children love his gentleness. He has always been happy to wear fancy dress for parties though one year we had to remove his pirate beard as he had started to eat it! Juliet’s gran even knitted him a Watford Football Club supporter hat and scarf. We all have a favourite Stan story and everyone at Gaddesden Place RDA would like to pay tribute to a top notch RDA pony.

Stan gets ready for the We wish our old gentleman a well- earned and happy Christmas party retirement! The grass really is greener in Speen!

We have two new ponies since our last newsletter.

Breeze is a younger version of Stan and some people have had trouble telling them apart.

He is a 17 year old , 15.2hh Arab cross with a high wither. He was used in a riding school for 7 years where he also did some RDA work and came highly recommended by his previous RDA group.

Breeze Toto is a Skewbald (aka brown and white pony).

He is 19 years old and 13.2hh. We found him through Saturday coach Julie Wilcox who has known him for some time and thought he would be ideal for us. He is used to visiting Gaddesden Place RDA Centre and working in

the indoor school with the Pony Club. Toto

Congratulations to RDA Welcome to Trainee Coach Group Coach Susanna Fagg Chris Grant who received his logbook on Who was presented with her badge and th certificate at the Instructors Meeting on 28 May 2nd October

The team

Abseiling team report

On a bright sunny day in September, at the Tori Olympic park in London, 10 intrepid volunteers and friends of GPRDA scaled new heights to abseil down the ArcelorMittal Orbit - the UK's tallest sculpture and at 262ft the highest freefall abseil. Some fared better than others at the top – one couple even had time for a smile and a wave!

The worst part for all was walking back over the edge - but once over the top, the views of East London were amazing. But forget the views, the best part of the abseil was that the team in total raised an incredible £6,080 Diane, Adrian and Ian from their Just Giving sites. A great team effort – thank you to all involved. Diane, Adrian and Ian Diane, Adrian and Ian

Some were happy to repeat the feat - whilst others suggested a sponsored silence for our next fundraiser!

Will

Adrian

Dressage

Anywhere

Congratulations to

Judith Taylor and

Codey, who qualified for

the Dressage Anywhere

Championship earlier

this year and then went

on to win a bronze

medal in the Grade Two

Dressage Anywhere

Championship Class.

Judith wearing her medal with coach Christina From left to right Cathy Bolshaw, Julie Wilcox and Georgia Anderton

Kiwi Cup Many Congratulations to Kiwi Cup winner- Saturday rider Georgia Anderton. Georgia was nominated by her coach, Julie Wilcox. In her nomination, Julie said “Georgia has moved on a long way. Diane (Saturday coach) did really well at gaining her enough confidence to move her to my 11 o'clock ride. She is now nearly through her Grade 3 Proficiency syllabus, riding Codey off the lead and she is loving every moment of riding. She constantly gives lovely feedback to others who are doing well. She grows in self esteem weekly. In making their decision the judges considered not only the progress Georgia had made but also the support she gave to the other riders in her session. Georgia has now achieved her Grade Three proficiency. Also nominated by their coaches for their progress were Saturday rider Bradley, Tuesday riders Reggie from Chiltern School and Darren, Thursday rider Beth from Watling View and Friday rider Richard. Well done everyone!

Halloween Week

Halloween lasted all week at Gaddesden with dangling skeletons, black and orange decorations and riders playing games such as collecting

disgusting things like slippery bats to put into a witches cauldron.

Volunteers joined in with some weird and wonderful outfits and even the ponies had a special Halloween look!

Following a three way partnership with the British Horse Society (BHS) and the Gaddesden Estate, Gaddesden Place RDA provided marshalls for a series of BHS Park n Rides during the summer. Despite wet weather the rides were a great success with waiting lists for each date. The revenue generated will help to keep the Estate accessible to both BHS and RDA riders. The final BHS Park n Ride of the summer was organised as a charity ride with proceeds split between Gaddesden Place RDA and St John’s Church. We organised a sponsored ride for ten of our Saturday riders on a slightly shorter course at the end of the day when most of the BHS riders had found their way home, though we did meet a few stragglers who were busy chatting and had missed some of the route markers! The first five RDA riders rode from Gaddesden Place RDA yard along the Gaddesden Estate Ride to .

This is the home of our landlords, the Halsey family, who greeted us on arrival along with the rider’s parents who were delighted to see them looking so happy. This was by far their longest ride and a big adventure in open country. The riders then swapped with a new set of RDA riders who returned via a different route back to the yard. The weather was glorious, the estate was looking beautiful and our ponies were positively angelic with just a small indiscretion from Angus who couldn’t resist a quick bush snack!