A mere 10 of the many reasons to thank our RDA Volunteers 


1: It wouldn't happen without you! 

2: You don't think twice about thinking outside the box or         ignoring it completely

3: You willingly give up other things to be there for our riding & training sessions 

4: You stay cheery in all sessions & weathers! 

5: You focus on the "can's ", not the "cant's"

6: Your waiting patiently for the great restart

7: You are excited to share the experience with others 

8: You have almost certainly cleared up horse poo with a smile on your face! 

9: You're often there for the important moments and appreciate how important they are

10: Your always willing to turn your hand to anything 

All volunteers were encourage to take part in RDA e- learning.
​This is the link       www.rda-learning.org.uk

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

At the beginning of each term we have a practical training session where we practice the important aspects of: mounting, leading, side walking and dismounting.
 
Volunteers  would benefit from RDA e-learning training courses.
http://rda-learning.org.uk
If you would like to complete one or some of the courses and then print off the certificate for our vice chairman to keep in her record's, the courses are very informative and helpful towards the sessions.
 

Our training for our volunteers has three purposes:

1. Ensuring our volunteers feel confident about what they are doing so that they can enjoy it as much as possible
   
   
2. Ensuring that our practice is as good as it can be so that our riders get all the  benefits of riding in the safest possible environment.
   
   
3. Ensuring that all we do is compliant with the regulations and requirements laid down by the Riding for Disabled Association and relevant legislation.
   
   

Before volunteers can begin to work with the children and ponies they have a short basic training programme which covers the essentials for the safety of helpers, riders and ponies. When this training is completed their training record card is sent to RDA National where the volunteer is logged on the register and receives a Volunteer Certificate and number.  During this period DBS (criminal records) checks are made as part of the Child Protection process.

At the beginning of each term we have a volunteer training session which includes:

• information about the riders for the term and their disabilities and how we can support  them;
  
  
• either practical and/or theoretical training which can include aspects of manual handling, safeguarding vulnerable people, leading ponies, side-walking,  pony welfare, mounting and dismounting, hat fitting and anything else identified as a training need.
  
  

In addition to the training outlined above volunteers have the opportunity to undertake further training in First Aid and can, if they wish, train to be Coaches (Instructors)

Our training sessions cover all the basics of a riding session – all the way from correctly fitting our special pony tack to dismounting the riders and returning them safely from the arena. 

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