RDA Regional Dressage Day at RT&LH Centre

The Regional Dressage Day was held at the Raymond Terrace & Lower Hunter Centre on 5 July 2009.

The day got off to a good start with the sun shining a little. Cold and brisk but we soon warmed up with activity of getting

horses groomed and ready for the event. We missed our early morning bacon and egg rolls so happily supplied by

Barry Pepperall  in recent years.  We hope he will be back on deck next year!!!!

We had thirteen competitors competing in a range of grades from Walk led to freestyle canter. A few were new to the

day and we were glad to hear reports from their coaches and parents that they would definitely be back next year. All

competitors went away with ribbons - always the highlight of the day.

A number of our seasoned riders were challenged with new horses, new grades and new tests to learn. Always a few

anxious moments from their coaches but all went well !!!  Thanks to our Judge Edna for all her positive and

encouraging comments to our riders.

The highlight of the day for all I think was the pas de deux  performed by Kristy Dalmazzo and Jordan Brown. They

walked down the aisle as bride and groom to be united as husband and wife by celebrant Cath Moss. Of course there

were two reluctant mothers Terri Dalmazzo and Judy Brown escorting them to give away their pride and joy . The

happy couple joined in a celebratory cup of milky coffee and cake after the nuptials.

Well done Kristy and Jordan and their coaches.

A day at RDA is not a success without scrumptious morning tea and a BBQ . Our thanks to all those that helped out,

contributing  to theorganisation and smooth running of the day. Some of our riders will go on to compete in the State

dressage competition so we will keep you posted.

Local Lions Clubs Support RDA

Clarence Town Lions Club

On Saturday 20 June, the Clarence Town Lions Club invited RDA to send a member to their Annual Change Over

Dinner to receive a donation.  Wendy and John Murray live in the area we were only too happy to go along.  The

meal was enjoyable and the company congenial - particularly since one of them was an AFL fan, making John happy.

I gratefully accepted a very welcome cheque for $300 and a jolly good night was had by all.

Congratulations to the Lions Club of such a small community for being so successful and so generous.

It was great to get an invitation from the Maitland Lions Club for someone from RDA to present a talk at one of their

monthly meetings.  They contacted us after one of their members saw our display at Tocal.  Not knowing who we were

or what we did, he was fascinated to learn all about our various programs.  It just goes to show that our volunteers that

man these stalls never know what benefits might come out of putting their time in at these exhibitions.

Malcolm Storey along to the meeting on 27 July and found that of the 40 to 50 attendees virtually none of them had

previously heard of RDA so, if nothing else, we have now spread the word to some very nice people in our catchment

area.  The talk was well received and they have undertaken to make a donation to our Centre.  They also indicated that

they would like some kind of further involvement with us.

We look forward to further contact with the club in the coming months.

RDANSW State Coaching Workshop

The Ballina Centre is just on the outskirts of Ballina. There covered arena used to be a cinema before becoming an

arena to teach people with disabilities to ride horses. We were welcomed with open arms and 80 coaches attended

from a range of RDA Centres such as Narrabri, Kendall, Central Coast, Tweed Valley, Tumut, Tall Timbers and Inverell.

Ballina’s theme for the weekend was Happiness, Harmony and Horses.

The Saturday morning kicked off with early morning registration with coffee and biscuits for breakfast and a meet and

greet coaches from other Centres. The workshop was opened by the Ballina centre. We had a workshop involving

sensory integration and dysfunction by an occupational therapist and a muscle tone workshop by the physiotherapist.

As an interesting point, the physio who presented first learnt how to do Hippotherapy at our RDA Centre back in 2000.

This was followed by a practical session where 4 Ballina riders showed us their skills in their outdoor arena. There was

also a show ‘n’ tell where the other Centres brought along things that they use within their Centre and explained what

they do with each item. There were a number of interesting ideas that came from the show ‘n’ tell table. We then had a

divine lunch provided by the Ballina Centre which consisted of sandwiches, drinks, chips and chocolate.

We had an interesting practical session of trying to work out the horses weight with tape measures. We were all thrown

into the deep end and told to work out eg bell’s weight. There was also a practical session on how to all link each other

together to get a horse out of the arena into another little paddock.

We had the equine touch specialist Jane Clothier, who is coming to our Centre soon for some workshops on equine

touch. She explained about the importance of correct saddle fitting and the correctness of saddles for our RDA horses.

Subway Heatherbrae and Raymond Terrace Sponsored Colouring Competition

Subway Heatherbrae and Raymond Terrace have formed a close association with RDA. The association began when

Michael Murphy, Manager, created a charity day where 10% profits from his stores stores (and that of Thornton) on the

day were donated to our Centre. Michael did this in honour of his mother, Jill Murphy, who was dedicated volunteer

and had recently passed away.

Subway's support continues in 2009. Subway Heatherbrae and Raymond Terrace were proud sponsors of our

Colouring Competition that was held at our Tocal Field Days display from 1 - 3 May.

Subway generously donated winning prizes for one boy and one girl in three age groups:

Under 5's, 5 - 10 year olds and Over 10's.

Each winner received a Certificate, a Footlong Sub complete with one Regular Cup Drink and Two Cookies.

Revised: 20 August, 2009.