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MENDIP TIMES
Spotlight on Riding for the Disabled
HAVING had to stop activities for almost two years under lockdown during the pandemic, the Burcott Riding Centre near Wells has once again reopened its gates to the Riding for the Disabled (RDA). It’s been such a long wait for the very keen members who thrive on being able to With JANE enjoy an activity which gets them outside PATERSON in the fresh air. The interaction with horses and ponies is so therapeutic on many levels such as building confidence, encouraging communication skills, using more muscles than most activities, and improving balance. During term time on Tuesdays, volunteers assemble at Burcott in impressive numbers to enable children and young adults to ride and have instruction in all aspects of horse and pony welfare. The pupils are able to be as involved as their disability allows and according to their levels of confidence, which may be low at first but which gradually increases with their experience. No one has to do anything they are not comfortable with, but gentle and subtle encouragement to push boundaries works wonders, resulting in absolute delight from the young riders who blossom after each session, all smiles and rosy cheeks and with a sense of achievement evident to see. All the volunteers who make the sessions possible undergo thorough training, as well as having to have DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) checks and some Safeguarding training before they are permitted to help. These are definitely the unsung heroes who underpin the whole operation and make it possible for the youngsters to have so much fun. They give up hours of their time not only on the practical side, but also hold regular meetings to ensure they are
Great balance and concentration skills, Wilf!
complying with all the regulations which can put so many people off in these days of mounting Health & Safety rules and regulations. The RDA is a well-established charity which will benefit this year from being the chosen charity of the Badminton Horse Trials to be held from May 4-7th at the home of the Duke of Beaufort. Not only will the money raised be welcomed but also the raising of awareness of what the charity does for so many people. There will be a display from local riders during the event, so please support this if you go, it’s such an inspiration to see what the riders achieve and what hurdles they overcome to make it enjoyable. By the way, a word of warning…for the first time ever there are no ticket sales on the gate this year, it’s advance tickets only, purchased online via the Badminton website. Also only the highlights will be shown on the Sunday on
The Mendip Minis are out again!
Once again the Mounted Games season is upon us and the Mendip Farmers Pony club team has taken part in the first competition held this year by the Wylye Valley branch, at the wonderful venue kindly provided by Angela Yeoman near Frome. Not quite the champions this time, the Mendip team came in second out of seven very competitive teams. With two new members of the team this time, Edward and Eloise Dredge aged six and four respectively, the seasoned Izzy, Charlotte and William joined in to put up a good fight, and are already practising to see if they can get their first place back in the next competition to be held in August. Hats off to the parents who train them despite not necessarily having ever participated in mounted games themselves. It takes hours of patience and innovative ideas to design the courses and help the children to perfect the techniques in order to Mendip Farmers mounted games team get the final results.
PAGE 86 • MENDIP TIMES • MAY 2022
