News

Coaching Patchway

RDA has introduced a new Coaching Pathway launched in October 2018 which is designed in modules to improve coaching, horse care and knowledge and improve therapy and medical knowledge. The photo is from the Therapy and Medical Module training day that we held at Wilton on Tuesday 15^th Jan. We had 16 participants and made full use of the new clubroom and 6 of our wonderful equines.

Mid-West was the first region to present the new module training. Every Quarter there will be a training day covering one of the modules. They will move around our region, which is quite large so that everyone can attend one in their area. On February 7^th there is a Coaching Module training day at Avon Riding Centre and on March 2^nd there is a Horse care and Knowledge Module training day at Cotswold RDA at Cheltenham racecourse. In April we start the 3 modules again with the Coaching Module training day on Tuesday 16^th April. Its all quite new but also very exciting.

Showjumping Event

Everyone had a successful day at the showjumping event at the Centre today.

Victoria Cheshire won her event and qualified for the Nationals, Lyn Ford was brilliant on Frodo, coming third. Amalie Robinson came first in her category and Alex Barber came fourth in his. Well done everyone!

RDA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT HARTBURY - 12-14 JULY 2019

Wilton RDA rider, Ben Willdigg riding Alice Pearse's horse called Beth. Ben won the Musical Dressage and came second in the Dressage Championship ID. Congratulations to Ben and his support team. What a fantastic result.

Unfortunately, our other rider, Victoria Cheshire, had a fall riding Noah halfway through her dressage test. We are pleased to report that Victoria is now home and already planning riding at next year's championships.

Thanks must go to everyone involved in supporting our riders to attend the Championships, both on the day and prior to the event.

40 Years at RDA

Di Swanton has been volunteering with Wilton RDA for 40 years. A presentation took place today, 19th July at Wilton RDA. Many thanks to her for all of her hard work.

March Triumphs at Gymkhana

March is enjoying his holiday with Nancy Buchanan He went to a Gymkhana last week and Nancy's granddaughter Maya won a few races!

Celebration Walk

Over 70 people assembled in the Cathedral Close to help celebrate 50 years of RDA National. They were joined by Poppy, the grey pony, who was blessed by the Bishop of Salisbury, the MP John Glen and Salisbury’s Mayor, John Walsh. Everyone then walked along the Old Shaston Drove, past the Racecourse and down Hare Warren to the Pembroke Centre where there were wonderful riding displays by Tom Dyer, Debbie Hounsome and a group of our young riders. It was a thorough great day for everyone involved, helped by the glorious sunshine.

Donation from South Wilts Golf Club

Sandra Ellis, Lady Captain, South Wilts Golf Club presented Karen & Natalie Manning with a cheque for £5250 The Stars appeal also received a cheque for £5250.

A huge thanks you from everyone at Wilton RDA for their incredible generosity.

Presentation

Malcolm Scurrell from the Masonic Lodge came to the Centre this week, to present a cheque for £1,000 to our Chairman, Alex Hill.

A big 'Thank You' for this wonderful donation.

Salisbury Rugby Club Donation

Salisbury Rugby club recently held a dinner which raised £500 for RDA. Karen and Natalie Manning were presented with the cheque on Friday and even managed to meet the Abalere bear.

A huge thank you to everyone at the rugby club

What an amazing Lady!

Katie King is running 12 Marathons, to raise money for us. So far, she has already run 2, so just 10 more to go.....

Please show your support by sponsoring her, by clicking on the link below:-www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-king22

Well done Katie!

Pop-up Shop Opening

We are thrilled to announce that we are opening a pop-up shop. Please come along to The Wilton Shopping Village between Saturday 24th October & Sunday 1st November to buy all your Christmas Cards and other gifts, all being sold to support Wilton RDA. See you there!

Take a look at this video about our very own 'Local Hero' Gilbert, who works tirelessly to support local charities including Wilton RDA. You may even spot another familiar face! Just click on the link below.

https://lovesalisbury.co.uk/2020/12/15/tesco-celebrate-salisbury-community-champion/

The next load of your bottle tops has finally been collected bringing our total weight collected so far to 327 kgs ….. so just 173 kgs to reach our target of 500 kgs.

Do keep saving CLEAN plastic tops with a 2 or a 4 in the embossed triangle inside each lid. Please nothing else thank you

We are launching a Christmas card designed competition open for all ages. The winner's design will be printed and sold as Christmas cards this year to help raise funds.

We are looking for creative designs, you can take inspiration from one of our horses or come up with something completely different. We are looking forward to seeing all your ideas.

Designs must be sent to us by Monday, the 11th of October to:- Pembroke Centre, Home Farm Road, Wilton, Salisbury SP5 8PJ.

SAVE THE DATE

We will be holding our Carol Service on Saturday 18th December 2021 at 11am.

Listen to Claire and some of our volunteers on Radio Wiltshire by downloading the sound file - link below.

Once you have the file saved on your device, open it and it will play.

Check back here regularly to find out what's going on at Wilton Riding for the Disabled Association.

Thank you to Figheldean Working Men’s Club. They present us with a cheque for £303 last night - The Shrewton Brass Band were playing and there was a sing a long!

What a fantastic carol service we had on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who took part as a member of the cast or in the audience to make it such a special day.

We were lucky to have a professional photographer there, Mark Bastick , who has created an online gallery for us all to log into and have a look at the images, the link is :https://www.markbastick.co.uk/clients

You will see the RDA logo, click on the image and then the password to enter when prompted is RDA (Case Sensitive). You can then click on the images and purchase hi resolution downloads. Mark will pass on £6.50 to RDA for every image downloaded.

CALLING ALL STASH ‘YOUR CASH’ CANS

Please can you bring any ‘Stash Your Cash’ cans to the Centre before they get hidden by all your Christmas decorations!

Thank You?

STASH YOUR CASH

Thank you to everyone for your generosity reaching our goal of £2,000!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

The Carol Service this year, will be held on Wednesday 12th December at 11am
Our AGM will be held at the Centre on Wednesday 14th November at 3.30pm
The last riding day this term will be Saturday 15th December
The first riding day next term will be Wednesday 9th January

Millie bakes for Wilton RDA raising over £90!

Millie, one of our Thursday riders, baked cakes and sold them at school on our behalf, raising over £90.

Thank you also, to everyone for your support & generosity.

This week, we were presented with a cheque from David Rowland for £2,284, which was raised by the City Lodge of Salisbury Masons. Thank you for all your efforts.

TINKER

It was with great sadness at the end of August, we had to say farewell to Tinker. He had been unwell for some months.

Tinker came to Wilton RDA in the early Spring 2012. He was already an experienced RDA pony, so was very soon helping with rides and settled in very quickly.

A lovely natured, freindly fellow - he was always willing and forward going with quite a long stride and became a favourite for riders and volunteers alike. He was patient with riders and would stand very still if he felt someone was off balance or was upset and even went to sleep once when a rider decided to lie back on him and not sit up for a few minutes.

Tinker loved being in his stable, as he liked resting his head on the door for a snooze or while watching what was going on around the yard. He loved being groomed and would helpfully pick up his feet, though sometimes he forgot which foot you had just picked out and would pick it up again. However, Tinker was very defensive of his food and any hay in the field. He also had a dislike for the coloured pegs on strings hanging around the indoor school but he would still be brave and walk past them!

A gentle and kind soul - we shall miss him very much.

‘STASH YOUR CASH’ CAN HUNT

Is one of our 500 cans in your home and feeling lonely?

We would love to meet it back at the Centre to reach our target of £2,000.

Thank you.

Luke and Smokey relaxing in the shade today......

Ben Willdigg and Victoria Cheshire took part in The RDA Nationals at Hartpury - Ben came 5th. Well done to them both.

Come and see THE FAIRY HOUSE at the magic circle, in the woods!

SUMMER FETE 2018 - Click here to see some of the wonderful pictures of this year’s Summer Fete

https://philmaclean.pixieset.com/wiltonrdasummerfete2018/

Great Day at the Regionals in Bristol

Everyone had a wonderful day on Monday at the Regoinals. Congratulations to Victoria and Ben, who both qualified for the Nationals and will compete on this coming Sunday. Lucy did very well coming 4th in her class.

The Regional Showjumping and Endurance Competition took place at the Pembroke Centre on Monday. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone had a lovely time.

Badminton Horse Trials

Everyone had a wonderful time at Badminton on Friday. Thank you to Alan Westcott for taking us there in the Mencap minibus.

The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) came to the Pembroke Centre, to present a sports first aid kit and some bottles water.

We would like to thank them for their generosity.

The Joy of the RDA

The joy I feel when I go riding,

All my stress, anxieties and sad thoughts are gone.

I'm so happy, excited and feel in control.

The joy of riding is the highliht of my week.

I feel free from worrying about my health conditions.

I feel confident, relaxed and at peace.

I know on each ride I'm learning something new.

I get such a buzz from horse riding,

I am so proud and honoured to ride with the RDA.

Wow the joy of the Wilton RDA...

Written by Victoria Cheshire (Rider)

Memorial Tree Planting

Last week, three dedicated gardeners Clare Eagle, Jane Pope, Richard Ellis and Jo Pay planted two superb specimens of ornamental Japanese Cherry Trees in the grounds of the RDA Pembroke Centre, as a Memorial to many who have been part of our lives here.

Our grateful thanks to all those at Langford Trees for their help and generous contribution.

Volunteers braved the cold on Monday for a Fire Extinguisher Demo and Training - it looks like they could do with a good fire to keep warm!

Summer Fete - Saturday 2nd June 2018 from 2 - 4.30pm

The Fete will be held this year after a gap of two years, on Saturday 2nd June. Make sure you put the date in your diary and anyone who would like to help out on the day, should contact us at rdawilton@mail.com. See you there!

WHY NOT JOIN OUR LOTTERY?

The 200 Club is our monthly lottery run for the benefit of Wilton RDA. It costs just £5 per month to join and there is a draw each month. With a full membership, 1st Prize is £250, 2nd Prize is £150 and 3rd prize £100. Go on and have a go.....just think what you could do with the prize money!

E-mail Cate Saunsbury at 200club.rdawilton@gmail.com or call 01794 324841 to join or click on 200 Club for an application form.

Skydive - Sunday April 8th

A group of supporters will be carrying out a 10,000ft Tandem Skydive over Salisbury Plain in April. They will all be raising money for the Centre.

If you fancy a challenge this year, then why not joining them? Please contact Alex Thomas - fundraisingwiltonrda@gmail.com if you think you or someone you know might be interested.

.