Welcome to Term 2 everyone. Term 1 has gone very well with wonderful weather for all the rallies.
Another friendly reminder that children need to be wearing long pants and strong shoes for riding. Also, the weather is getting wetter and colder, so a waterproof coat too. Please come to riding unless you get a call or text to advise you that we have cancelled.
Thanks to all the families who have paid their donations for Term 2. This pot of money is vital and goes towards the care of our horses. To make life easier for our hardworking and dedicated treasurer Shirley Furneaux may we politely request that donations are paid in the first two weeks of term.
Riding Dates
We started riding on Monday 19thApril and our last day of riding this term will be Tuesday 29th June.
RDA Awareness Week
A huge thank you to our volunteers Sandra, Libby, Annette, Karen, and Gaylene who pounded Queen Street and raised over $660!
Also during Awareness Week, Norma did a presentation to the residents of Metlife Care Powley in Green Bay. The kind folks there, gave us a wonderful donation of $80.
Letter form Lynne Pillay MP
Please take time to read the letter from Lynne Pillay acknowledging the work of our group during RDA Awareness Week. It’s in our new scrap book of news clippings etc.
Also we are expecting another visit from Lynne Pillay on Monday 14th June, along with MP Carmel Sepuloni. Lynne is coming down to introduce Carmel to us and to watch a rally.
Jack Field – Henderson RDA Life Member
I hope you all know our longest serving volunteer Jack Field who is now 88! He was one of the founding members of our group and still comes along to help with odd jobs around the place and to contribute to our committee meetings.
Last week he was honoured by the Rotary Club of Henderson for his massive contribution and 36 years of service to RDA. Jack attended a dinner with Shirley Furneaux, Dave Brooks and Felicity Mead to receive the award. Jack read out a lovely poem and gave an entertaining and heartwarming speech.
The Henderson Rotary Club also gave us a very generous donation of $500 for which we are very grateful.
So well done Jack, you truly deserve your award. We think you are fabulous. And thank you to Henderson Rotary for acknowledging our dear friend Jack.
AGM
Our AGM was held on Wednesday 21 April. Many thanks to everyone who came along and nominated members and voted. It is going to be another busy year and the work of our active committee is much appreciated. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and we depend on a practical and committed committee! The following members were voted onto committee:
- Norma Hayward – President
- Lynn Radford – Vice President
- Shirley Boumeester – Secretary
- Shirley Furneaux – Treasurer
- Sandra Lilo – Horse Manager
- Pia Saxton- Head Coach
- David Brooks – Social Secretary
- Erika Bouwmeester
- Jenny Clifford
Please take a few moments to read the President’s Report for 2010. There is a hard copy on the table under our message board.
Training
A big thank you to Pia and Sandra who arranged the leader and side walker training in the Easter holidays. Thanks to all the children who came along and rode the horses for us too.
This training is crucial for us to deliver a safe and effective service. It helps us all do things correctly, therefore ensuring the safety of our riders, horses and volunteers. It is also a huge help for the children if volunteers understand their roles and carry them out effectively.
Please be aware that many of us need to update our First Aid Certificates. Shirley B is organising the training. Please let her know if you wish to attend.
Norma and Shirley F attended a morning’s training on Governance and Board Management. It was a very worthwhile session covering such topics as the roles and responsibilities of boards, what can go wrong and how to build a well functioning committee.
Trading Table
Our trading table is a great way to share what we have and raise some funds at the same time. Please continue to support our trading table. Funds raised so far have been over $100.
Rider Profile
Emily Brown has been riding with us for two years and has made fantastic progress. When she first arrived she had fairly poor balance and needed two side walkers to help her on the horse. Now Emily has joined our Monday riders and can ride on her own down the length of the arena and steer her pony.
Emily loves to come riding and gets most upset during term 3 when riding is cancelled due to the weather! Mum Rosie says “riding has done so much for Emily’s confidence and posture. She just loves it.”
Emily attends Oratia school and lives with mum, dad and baby brother Lochlan in Oratia. Emily loves her new baby brother, who is 6 months old, and helping mum to look after him. She also loves being outdoors playing with her three dogs or helping dad with the mowing.
At school Emily loves Jump-jam and dancing. She also attends dancing classes at the Waitakere City School of Dance. This is another activity that has done great things for Emily’s confidence and posture.
The Aucklander Newspaper
We had a visit from The Aucklander newspaper on 4 May. They were keen to hear about our plans to expand our service and build a covered arena. A journalist and photographer came down on the 4 May and spent some time talking to volunteers and Vicki Dunn of Arohanui School about the benefits of riding. The article was in The Aucklander on Thurs 13 May. Please see a copy on the table under the message board.
Volunteer Profile – Norma Hayward
Norma has been a volunteer for nearly seven years and President of the group for two years. She lives in Oratia with Richard and their two girls Molly and Edith.
Norma joined RDA when she gave up full time work to have her two girls. Both Molly and Edith were brought down to the rallies every week and were looked after by Dorothy whilst Norma was out helping the children in the paddock. Now the girls are at school and kindy.
Norma had a career in management and business development before leaving work to be a full time mum. She also loves horses and used to ride endurance horses in Woodhill Forest before the girls arrived. However, the birth of her girls has meant she has lost the confidence to ride and she hasn’t been on a horse for over six years!
Now Norma is President she is enjoying the role of helping to run the group. She says “I love to see the children enjoying their rides and making so much progress, whether it is with their balance, behaviour or confidence. I find it so satisfying when the parents come up to me and say what a difference it has made to their children.
I also enjoy working with such a great group of volunteers who give so much so that these children can benefit from riding therapy. I am really keen to get a covered arena built so that we can extend our service and the children can ride all year round.”
Norma is also a presenter for the children’s charity the Brainwave Trust and has a particular interest in children’s emotional and social development. In her spare time of which there is little she enjoys veggie gardening, books and just spending time with her family and friends.
NZRDA President’s Weekend 22 – 23 May
Shirley Furneaux and Norma Hayward attended the weekend in Wellington on behalf of the group.
It was a fantastic opportunity to network with other groups, meet Head Office staff and listen to some excellent speakers. Topics included Fundraising, Improving Communication, Governance, NZRDA Going Forward, Managing Meetings and Managing RDA Standards.
Both Shirley and Norma have come back keen to implement some of their learning, so watch out!
RDA Newsletter Distribution
We have decided to distribute our newsletter by email wherever possible. The reason for this is printing cost and it is, of course, better for the environment. If you are not receiving the newsletter by email and you want it by email please let us know and we shall add you to the list.
There will also be a couple of hard copies available to read whilst you are here at RDA but please leave them behind so that others can see them too.