Seventy-six riders team up with their horse buddies at Riding for the Disabled (RDA) in Richmond each week, but those horses eat a lot and poo a lot and somebody has to pick it up.
It takes a lot of volunteers to run the charity on Champion Rd and though it already has 34 helping out with the horses and their riders, it needs more.
Until recently, head coach Tina Angus says they had the ‘lads of the land’ who were a bunch of retired, mainly gents, who picked up dung from the paddocks daily to turn into compost and sell at the gate. But time has seen them pass away or get beyond the physical demands of the chore, and now there’s just one of their spouses doing the job as the ‘queen of the land’.
“They were mostly ex-farmers who had their own stories of horses and a lot of them liked the physical activity and being part of a team.”
Now, the charity is calling for more volunteers, not just for picking up poo, but helping with horses as well.
“Volunteers don’t have to have a horse background – it’s useful, but not essential.There’s always a need.”
The charity’s administrator in Richmond, Jenny Stebbings, says they always need more volunteers because people come and go. Nowadays, fewer people have the time to volunteer, and she says like many charities, they end up with less volunteers doing more work.
“We have that core group who are ready to step up and do an extra morning when someone calls up sick.”
One of her tasks is finding funding for the charity which includes the high costs of buying suitable horses and ponies, and buying feed for them. Last year, expenses added up to $225,000 which she says is mostly covered by grants that she constantly seeks.
The charity has 12 horses and ponies, and Jenny says they are always on the lookout for replacements and the right one will cost several thousand dollars.
Riders pay a term fee and ride the horses for a whole host of reasons that include therapy, education, and sport and recreation. Riders can be assisted out of wheelchairs or have a range of challenges, and Tina says many of the younger riders come via recommendations from schools to help with confidence, anxiety or physical rehabilitation. She says it’s often about bonding with a horse.
“It’s that love of horses and the bond they have for that first horse they’ve been with.”
Aliah Pengelly, 14, was riding the Percheron-cross Opal last week, with a bareback pad during her weekly class and enjoying the time together.
“I like bonding with the horses and clearing my mind to focus on one thing.”
Likewise, Maci Rameka-Iti, 12, liked the time out on Rocky.
“I can escape from the real world.”
