It is the end of the school year for the riders from Woodlands Meed and our RDA volunteers! We have just completed two very successful terms at our new home Tremaines Riding Stables, where we have received a very warm welcome.
As usual the Summer Term has ended with 2 weeks of new experiences for the children to enjoy.
During the two Summer Rally experiences the youngsters from Fox Class and College site groomed and tacked up their ponies. Afterwards, with help of the volunteers and they went for a ride out into the delightful countryside, owned by Tremaines. After a packed lunch together, the children enjoyed playing games, based on all the horse care they have learnt during the term.
The final day of each the two rally sessions was a celebration of all the children have achieved during the year. Their progress is inspirational to see and is a great reward for the coaches and volunteers who help every week. Each child received a lovely rosette and certificate and there were some special awards for …..
The staff from Tremaines, who have been invaluable to us and were thanked and presented with gifts.
The final day of the rally was a celebration of all the children have achieved. Their progress is inspirational to see and is a great reward for the coaches and volunteers who help every week. Each child received a lovely gold rosette celebrating 50 years of the RDA and a certificate. There were some special awards too:
From Fox Class
- Best effort – Abyan
- Most improved – Megan
- Star achiever – Holly
From College site
- Best effort – Charlie
- Most improved – Tara
- Star achiever – Nicole
- Special medals for effort – Max and Elan
From Wednesday group
- Star achiever – Mia
The Star achiever cup is presented in memory of Phil Hatch -a very special volunteer.
Woodlands Meed children entered the RDA South East Region Art and Writing Competition and they were delighted to receive awards for their entries which included some outstanding horse collages.
We could not organise these activities without the kind help and generosity of donations from companies, groups and individuals. This year Haywards Heath Catenian Association has generously donated funds for our Summer Rally.
The volunteers thanked Nigel, the new owner of Tremaines, Jenny, the Stable Manager and the yard girls, who have been invaluable to us and presented them with small gifts as a token of our appreciation. The cup for the Unsung Hero Award was presented to Maggie, who is training to be a coach and volunteers with both Wednesday and Thursday groups. Finally, flowers were presented to Babs and Barry, who work so hard over the year and particularly this year with our move to our new home.