Edition 21 : March 2011

A warm welcome back to riding everyone.  Also a warm welcome to all our new riders.  We are looking forward to a busy and fun year.

Firstly, many thanks for all the lovely cards and Christmas gifts that families gave to us back in December.  Your kind words and all the tasty treats were very much appreciated.

Riding Dates

Term 1: Monday 7^th February – Tuesday 12^th April.

Term 2: Monday 2^nd May – Tuesday 12 July.

 

Clarion Tour – Young Labour Volunteers

In January we were contacted by Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni MP’s office.  A group of Young Labour supporters were offering their services to voluntary organisations over the summer holidays.  I hastily called our Horse Manager Sandra Lilo and asked if she had any projects that needed doing.  A fence needed building, so Angus Hodgson and Shona Jowett of Young Labour joined us for the afternoon and we built a fence in the orchard paddock.  And boy did it rain!  However we finished the job, built the fence of recycled timbers and old jumps that were not needed anymore.  Many thanks Shona and Angus and the Lilo Family who provided three strong and skilled builders, Fu, Jo and Pim to lead the project.

J & J Laughton Shredding Services

We had a wonderful Christmas present from J&J Laughton of Glendene in December.  Several cubic metres of shredded rubber was delivered for us to top up our open arena.  Many thanks again Jim and Janene, we really appreciate it.

Kawagawa Students of Japan

We once again hosted the special needs students from Japan.  They came along and enjoyed a very sunny ride on our first day of term.  It was great to see them all enjoying the experience so much.  Thanks to all the volunteers who stayed after the rally to help.

Volunteer Training Day – Friday 25 March

We are hosting a Volunteer Training Day on Friday 25 March for the Auckland region’s RDA groups.  This course is for all those who are new to RDA.  Topics covered include side-walking, leading, emergency dismounts and general health & safety.  It should be a fun and informative day.  Thank you to all our new volunteers who are going to attend.

 

NZ Lottery Funded Training

Last year NZRDA National Office secured funding from the National Lottery Grant Board to provide Leader and Side Walker training to all groups throughout NZ. This was great news and our group benefitted by sending volunteers to all sessions.

This year there will be three more programmes Mounting & Dismounting, the RDA Horse and  Medical Conditions.  Good training is so important to help ensure that we offer a safe and effective service.  Thank you everyone who has volunteered to attend the training and develop your skills for our group.

New Volunteers

Many thanks to Jenny Clifford for organising advertisements for new volunteers in both the Western Leader and The Titirangi Tatler.   We have had a great response and here are seven of our new recruits.  We welcome you all warmly and hope that you find your time with us rewarding and enjoyable.

Please note that you won’t see so much of Coral out in the paddock.  She is going to be helping our Secretary Shirley Boumeester with the background committee and admin duties.  Coral will be coming along mostly on Tuesdays.  Thanks Coral for offering to help out in this way.

Coaching

As most of you will be aware by now, Pia Saxton is no longer coaching on Mondays.  Pia has got a new job and is now with us on Tuesdays only.  We were very sorry to lose Pia on Mondays but are grateful to have her still on Tuesdays.

Monday rallies are now being coached by Lynn Radford and Glynis Edmunds.  Both have lots of great coaching and teaching skills and are doing a fine job for us.

 

Committee Meeting Dates

Please note that everyone is welcome at our committee meetings.  They are held on the first Tuesday of each month (term time only) after the rally.  We would welcome new people to get involved in the committee.  We discuss all the issues related to the running the group and new ideas and perspectives are welcome.

Annual General Meeting – Tues 12 April 2011

This will held after rally on Tuesday 12 April in the clubroom at Pony Club. Start time 1pm.  We shall be putting on a light lunch and hope that as many of you as possible will stay and support our AGM.

Please note – to vote at the AGM, volunteers or other supporters need to be financial members of our group.  Our subscription is $5. Please give your subscriptions to Norma or Coral and they will give you a receipt.

Covered Arena Project

In July we were very disappointed to hear that our application for funding for a feasibility study from the NZ Lottery Grant Board had been declined.  The reason they gave was that there were limited funds with many organisations seeking money.   They also stated that the lottery funds are not usually used for the purchase of land.    However, we have revised our application and put it in again this year so fingers crossed!

The committee is carefully considering further options to progress the covered arena project and we will keep you posted.  A letter has gone to Auckland Council to see whether there is any possibility of Council providing somewhere for us with a long term lease.

Talks to the Community

Norma has been out and about spreading the message about the work we do.  She was invited to speak at the Titirangi Ladies Probus Club in Blockhouse Bay in March.  The talk went well with over forty attending.  Many thanks to Titirangi Ladies Probus for your donation.

Norma will also be going to speak to the Catholic Women’s League next week.

If anyone knows of a group who would like to hear about the work we do at RDA please let Norma know.

Trading Table

Everyone please continue to support our trading table.  We would appreciate any spare produce from the garden, books or DVDs, small plants etc.     Prices are marked or by donation.

Contact Details

General Enquiries: richnorm@slingshot.co.nz or 813 3030

www.hendersonrda.org.nz