Many thanks for the Pendant, it is lovely and the perfect gift for RDA Instructor Sarah.
Sarah has been at Wakefield RDA for 19years and has helped so many disabled people improve their lives and the lives of their families. She has taken riders and horses to compete successfully at the RDA National Championships held at Hartbury College every July, winning the Best Turned Out nearly every year and has been involved at Regional level as well.
The role of an RDA Instructor is so varied and not just about teaching riding and therapy. RDA Instructors are mentors to young people who join the group to volunteer (from the age of 14), seeing them develop through to college, university and some become Instructors themselves. Sarah has also mentored and trained disaffected young people who have come to us on education programmes, steering them back to education and finding their way in life through horses.
As you can imagine her contribution to Wakefield RDA has been huge in her 19 years of service and to celebrate this a horse related gift seemed perfect.
Maisie was born at Wakefield RDA in May 2006 after newly acquired Amber was found to be in foal! Sarah had Maisie for a short while when she was weaned, she then went on to a private home as keeping her at RDA until she matured was not practical. However, at 5 years old Maisie was offered back to our group as her owner was getting married and planning to start a family. Since then Maisie has become a key horse to our group as our weight carrier and works every day, providing riding and therapy sessions for adults and young people as well as being lunged and exercised by our volunteers and staff. Sarah always maintained contact with Maisie's owners and now, to keep Maisie sweet and happy, she schools, exercises and hackes her out and generally pampers her as if she were her own. So the pendant had to be that of Maisie's hair.
Although Sarah is finishing her paid work at RDA she is going to continue to be involved as a Volunteer Instructor and, of course, ride and pamper Maisie.
More details of our group can be found at www.facebook.com/WakefieldRDA
Carol, September 2016
