The recent Top of the South Community Foundation grant made to Marlborough Riding for the Disabled enabled the purchase of new helmets and stirrups which was crucial in ensuring Health and Safety compliance for the riders.

Jo Ross, Manager of Marlborough RDA said “A big thanks to our local Community Foundation for their generous grant. It’s always heart-warming to get the support of local funders.

We’ve certainly put the funds to good use and it’s awesome to have new equipment which reassures all of us that we’re keeping our environment as safe as possible for the riders and their families.

“It is a prerequisite that our helmets are replaced every 5 years and we were due for these to be updated as riding helmets deteriorate with age, and we also use specific safety stirrups that are functional for the types of riders we have.”

Jo said that any funding helped them with their goal of increasing the programme that they offer.

“We currently have 60 riders in our programme here at RDA during the school term. We would like to increase this capacity in the near future to 80. We have a waiting list of 20 riders who would very much benefit from therapeutic riding and it is our goal to get them in the riding programme and we can continue with our vision, ‘reaching more riders and changing more lives."

Marlborough Riding for the Disabled was established in 1972 to assist people within the Marlborough region living with a disability and their families to achieve more rewarding lives.

RDA provides therapeutic interaction with horses to develop increased ability, independence, and self-esteem for children and adults with physical, intellectual, emotional, and social changes.

Since 2014 the group has run an “Early Intervention” programme, for children aged from 1 to 8 years with a range of physical, intellectual, and social disabilities and other rare disorders. This ‘Early Intervention’ programme is the only one like it in New Zealand.