News & Gallery

RDA sessions and times with effect from Tuesday September 12th 2023

MONDAY	11.00–11.45 Individuals	12.00 12.30 Individuals	13.00-13.45 Northumberland PRU	14.00–14.45 Collingwood School
TUESDAY	10.15–11.00 Parkside School	11.00–12.00 Dales School	13.00–13.45 Individuals	13.45–14.30 Castle School
WEDNESDAY	NO LESSONS
THURSDAY	10.15–11.00 Gibside School	11.30–12.15 Tynedale	13.00–13.45 Northumberland PRU	13.45–14.30 Castle School
FRIDAY	10.15–11.00 Parkside School	11.30–12.15 Hexham Priory	13.00–13.30 Individuals	13.45–14.30 Collingwood School

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North East Sight Matters

Last week we welcomed North East Sight Matters to Kirkley for horse care and riding sessions. As the riders were all visually impaired everything was specifically tailored to meet their needs and all of our volunteers ensured that the experience for the riders was maximised using sensory equipment and clear riding instructions. The smiles on the riders faces says it all.

Our two Co-op volunteers Lynsey & Claire with Penny Danes from NESM

We were extremely pleased to welcome two volunteers to the session from Ponteland Co-op who came along to experience exactly how our sessions work, (they support us through the Co-op local community fund), and we are happy to say that they have both said that they will be back for some more volunteering with us.

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A Generous Donation

We would like to thank Christine Berney who when retiring her own horse thought about Morpeth RDA and decided to donate all of the rugs, fly sheets, fly masks and numnahs that she no longer needed to us. Not only that but when we arrived to collect them she had also persuaded her friend Christine, who had sadly lost her horse last year, to donate all of her excess kit too!
Thank you to both Christines

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The Lord Lieutenants Annual Garden Party

The Duchess of Northumberland, in her capacity as Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland, hosted a Garden Party in The Alnwick Garden on Thursday 8th of June. This was to celebrate the huge contribution made by volunteers, unpaid carers and unsung heroes in our local community.
Morpeth RDA Trustees nominated Fiona Krzyzosiak and Michelle Macauley and their plus one’s to be our group representatives at this event. As most of you know they have both been volunteering for the Morpeth RDA group for a long time and so we felt they both really deserved an invite. As the photos below show it was a lovely afternoon with plenty of tea & cake on offer!

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RDA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Please help us raise money for our Championship Fund. This year seven of our riders have qualified for the RDA National Championships taking place at Hartpury College in Gloucester on 14-16 July. We will be transporting 3 of our ponies down to Gloucester for this event, accompanied by our volunteers. The Championship Fund will cover the costs of entry fees for our riders, transportation and stabling costs for our ponies, and other associated costs.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/championshipfundmorpethrda?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=one_page&utm_content=campaign/championshipfundmorpethrda&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=e4ea068bb3b6462aa2b592cdadb20db0

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Morpeth Group Riding For The Disabled and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.

Thank you for your support!

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RDA Northern Regional Championships – Results

Our riders achieved some fantastic results and we send our congratulations to all of them.

Rider	Horse	Class	Result
Val Argent	Baz	Dressage	1st
Jordan Hartley	Baz	Dressage	1^st
Elizabeth Cockburn	Gypsy	Dressage	1^st
Derek Cleminson,	Gypsy	Dressage	2^nd
Tom Leach	Gypsy	Dressage	3^rd
Morgan Place	Flag	Dressage	1^st
Kaelin Fairgrieve	Flag	Dressage	1^st
Derek Cleminson	Gypsy	Countryside Challenge	1^st
Tom Leach	Gypsy	Countryside Challenge	2^nd
Elizabeth Cockburn	Flag	Countryside Challenge	3^rd
Jordan Hartley	Baz	Countyside Challenge	4^th
Kaelin Fairgrieve	Flag	Countryside Challenge	1^st
Morgan Place	Flag	Showjumping	1st

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Morpeth RDA Coronation Champions in the News

The Hexham Courant AND The Northumberland Gazette both ran articles on our very own Coronation Champions you can read the articles by following the links below
https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/…/23495721.morpeth…/
AND
https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/…/morpeth-rda…

We are very pleased to announce that Carole Peters-Jones & Jonathan Peters-Jones are two of just 500 Coronation Champions. Unbeknown to them they were nominated by another of our volunteers due to their outstanding commitment to Morpeth RDA and volunteering.

The entry standard was incredibly high and nearly 5000 nominations were received. Together with Her Majesty The Queen Consort, the Coronation Champion Awards were launched by the Royal Voluntary Service to celebrate extraordinary volunteers who go the extra mile to improve the lives of others.

Proudly supported by category sponsors Sky, PetPlan and Simply Health the awards recognise volunteers from all corners of the UK and a range of causes.

It is a great honour for Carole & Johnathan and, in turn, Morpeth RDA as a whole and we are immensely proud of them.

It really goes without saying that all our volunteers are special to us as without you we couldn’t function and all of the trustees would like to thank each and every one of our volunteers for all of their hard work and continued support.

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Pony health & welfare

The health and welfare of our ponies is extremely important and as part of their routine care they are regularly checked by the vet. Thanks to Ewan and Evie from Alnorthumbria Equine who came along to Kirkley for our ponies health check and dentals.

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Adopt A Pony for a Year Scheme

Morpeth RDA is a registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with both developmental and physical disabilities.

We rely on donations and fundraising to provide the money to care for our wonderful ponies. By joining our Adopt A Pony for a Year Scheme all of your donation will help towards the cost of feed, hay, farrier and vets bills.

We currently have 11 ponies. They range in size from Gilly, our smallest pony who suits our very young riders, up to Thomas and Bluebell, our biggest horses, who are used for our older and more experienced riders. In between we have beautiful Baz, Caramac, Chief, Flag, Gypsy, Harry, Orio and Patsy.

All of our ponies are carefully chosen for their temperament and ability to work with disabled children and adults – they are all truly amazing!

As part of your adoption you will receive a photo of your chosen pony and you’ll be able to visit them throughout the year (please contact us to arrange a mutually convenient time).

Completed forms should be emailed to morpethrdavolunteers@gmail.com or handed in at the RDA office

Please choose from the following ponies: