It’s what you can do that counts! That’s the rallying call of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) and here at Belvoir Vale RDA we believe in enriching lives through horses. We welcome anyone with physical and learning disabilities or autism and other neurodiverse conditions and of any age.
We’re an independent charity, proud to be a member group of the Riding for the Disabled Association and committed to bringing the therapy, achievement and fun of horses to as many people as we can – and we’d like to ask for your help!
The group is moving to a fantastic new purpose built facility at Cropwell Bishop, thanks to the vision of our Chair, Lesley Davies. With indoor and outdoor arenas, 14 super modern stables and acres of paddock space we’ll offer equestrian activities and therapies to many more riders, of all ages and backgrounds – no previous equestrian experience necessary! And it’s not just riding, we plan to offer sessions grooming, leading, carriage driving or having tea with a pony, and simply enjoying the benefits of being in contact with our beautiful ponies and all their adorable, gentle, if occasionally mischievous, personalities!
To get the most from our site, and run as many sessions as possible, we are looking for volunteers to help! With plenty of hands needed there are many ways to get involved and make a difference. As well as supporting riders and working with the ponies we need volunteer helpers to get involved in planning and maintaining our gardens, young woodland areas and paddocks, supporting fundraising or helping with administration to name a few! If you can spare some time, especially (but not only) on weekdays, we’d love to hear from you.
You can call Lesley on 07595 734409 or email at [email protected], and you can also find out more about us at www.belvoirvalerda.co.uk.
As a volunteer who joined the group last summer, I have absolutely loved being part of the team, enjoying time outdoors and learning new skills, not to mention relaxing with a well-deserved cuppa when the lessons are finished, the tack is clean and the ponies are fed and watered! I’ve made new friends (with both two and four legs!) and it’s always a genuine privilege to see the positive impact that time spent with horses can have on our riders and their families and carers.
We are also developing fundraising plans to underpin our ambition; we don’t receive any central funding so we’re entirely dependent on fund raising and voluntary contributions to support the ponies and riders and thus continue our work. If you would like to make a donation please check out our website; to discuss sponsorship, undertaking a fundraising activity on our behalf or learn about other funding opportunities, please contact Lesley directly for more information. We’ll be enormously grateful and any and each donation will help us fully establish our new centre and increase the number of people who can access equine therapy.
Written by Carol Honeybun-Kelly, Volunteer at Belvoir RDA