News 

We are thrilled to annouce that Tom Webster has agreed to join North Shore Riding for the Disabled  as our Ambassador.  Tom is a UK-born, New Zealand architect and the host of Grand Designs New Zealand.  

North Shore RDA is very pleased to announce the successful signing of our first corporate sponsor, Kalmar Construction.  Kalmar have signed as a Gold Sponsor, providing financial sponsorship for the next 3 years.

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In these difficult times, we are finding grants harder to win as more organisations are competing, so our strategic goal is to find Corporate Sponsors to inject funding toward our operational expenses and allow us to provide financial certainty and grow our Rider programmes. 

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We are looking for more sponsors and if you are a community-based business and want to give back to your community, talk to our Vice President, Tim Lofts, about a sponsorship opportunity. You can email Tim at tim.lofts@northshorerda.org 

We are thrilled to welcome Michelle Russell to our team as Horse Manager and look forward to her positive impact on our horses and community.   Michelle has a wealth of experience, having managed horses and coached children and adults.

Thanks again go out to our wonderful Horse Manager Kate and our volunteers for arranging another fantastic family day for volunteer families.

We enjoyed a really good Term two, with our new sheltered Arena roof providing the opportunity for more riding sessions than previous years.  

But we haven't rested after completing that big project, we've got on with even more capital works. Read on to find out more

Christine Fallas was voted in as President at our AGM on 14th May. She has been a volunteer with NSRDA for five years and Vice President for two. Congratulations Christine!  Outgoing President, Tim Lofts steps into the Vice President Role.  

Christine shares her thoughts on the future - I will do my best to ensure that North Shore RDA continues to deliver an excellent service to our riders, and is a place our staff and volunteers love to work in. With a great committee, we will work towards achieving the goals set in our 5-year Strategic Plan to improve and grow our RDA group. I will continue to be at the barn every Tuesday as a volunteer and will remain on the Operations/Horse Committee and as a horse checker. Please come and ask me about any concerns or ideas you may have, I will try to come along to all our riding days from time to time and I hope to meet all the volunteers I have not yet met in the next few months.

Christine Fallas
President

During the holidays we held a Volunteer's Family day that was hugely popular.  Volunteers brought their kids, grand kids and great grand kids along, and Kate organised rides on our superstar ponies.  Thanks Kate and to all the Volunteers who participated.  

Click the image to see the kids in action

A warm welcome to three new horses - Charlie, described as being like a typical Labrador puppy, he loves to play and craves human attention.  Mellow, a dapper black gypsy cob cross and Cruise, a little bay Welsh cross. Here they are being very successfully integrated into our programme.  Click on the image to see them all

What a turn out we had for the Grand Opening of our new Arena Roof with over 120 people attending the event officiated by Tom Webster of Grand Designs NZ and of course our President Tim Lofts 😊  

Smart Shelters constructed the roof and were there to provide a fantastic burger lunch and drinks for all from their mobile kitchen.  Well done Jon Cottle and the team at Smart Shelters.

One of the highlights of the opening was the opportunity to demonstrate what we do, with a wonderful exhibition of riding by regular NSRDA riders and Coach Judith and volunteers.  The opening was followed by a full-on demonstration of the powerful sprinkler system installed in the arena to dampen dust and keep the area cool in the heat of summer.

A Big thank you again to our wonderful funders for their grants and donations, making our arena roof possible.  Read the full story ...

Our end of Term 3 newsletter has been published, read all about our new Arena roof cover, plus articles about our riders, volunteers and horses.

The Arrival of Spring at the end of Term three saw the team celebrating with our Spring Fling.  Click on the photo to watch some of the fun our riders and volunteers enjoyed.

Both Colleen Masters and Luisa Shanahan feature in a recent Channel Magazine article that shares the stories of volunteers who give up their precious time for the community groups they love so much.  Thank you Colleen and Luisa.   Click here to read the article.

Congratulations to Colleen Masters on receiving a special award to recognise her 25 years of outstanding commitment and service to North Shore RDA.  Colleen was also recognised at NZ RDA's recent national conference, for her fantastic committment to Riding for the Disabled.  You can read about Colleen's incredible journey with North Shore RDA here

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Colleen also featured in Hibiscus Coast Matters for her fantastic volunteering service achievement  Read the article here

At our recent AGM, Dr Rachel Batty was unanimously elected  as President.   We asked Rachel to talk about her background and experience. 

"I am a senior lecturer in sport development at Massey University and hold an undergraduate degree in community recreation (with a minor in therapeutic recreation) and a PhD in stakeholder management.  From a governance perspective, I have held board member roles for a number of National Sport Organisations and have served as Board Chair and Deputy Chair.  In my previous governance roles, I have held responsibility for strategic planning, brand management, internal policy development, sponsorship, and stakeholder management. I was an inaugural affiliate of the Sport New Zealand/Appoint Better Boards Women in Governance programme and am also a member of the recently established Aktive Women in Sport Governance Network.

We're sure you will agree that Rachel has the experience, skills and empathy with our mission to lead North Shore RDA.  Please make yourself known to her when you see her at the Barn.

Tim stepped down as President at our recent AGM.  Tim thoroughly enjoyed his role as President and seeing the results achieved since he first joined North Shore RDA in 2015 as Treasurer.  At the time he was appointed as President, he and the team worked to define our strategic goals for the next 5 years.  Wind forward 5 years and most of the major goals have been completed or are well in hand so he feel it’s the right time for a new President to step in and drive the next 5-year strategic plan.  

Tim doesn't intend to ease up his North Shore RDA workload though, he remains on the Governance committee and will drive Marketing and Fundraising for 2023.  In addition NZ RDA, have invited him to join the National Board. 

Congratulations Tim for a job well done! 

We are very happy to have found Kate Doyle as our new Horse Manager.  Kate has lived in NZ for almost 5 years, having moved here with her family:  husband Chris and her two sons aged 13 and 10, and they also have a 25 year old son and their first grandchild in the UK.  
Kate has worked with horses all her life and holds BHS stage 1, 2 and 3 in horse management and care. As she says, "horses are my passion and life."
She has worked in many aspects of the horse world, some of her most memorable years were at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, which is the UK's largest equine sanctuary, where she helped to look after over 1,200 horses ponies and donkeys.  She took part in rescuing, daily care, learning and working with Kelly Marks, working and running the visitor centers.   
Since being in NZ and not working with horses, she has busied herself fostering over 50 dogs and puppies for the Saving Hope Foundation. She has a dog called Ruby (a Saving Hope rescue) and 2 donkeys, Stanley and Ollie at home, both aged 20. 
In her spare time she will most likely be found up to her knees in donkey cuddles and kisses,  or going on adventures and exploring NZ with my family and Ruby. We love spending family time at the beach.
Please give her a huge NSRDA welcome as she settles-in to her new role!

There are a number of different organisations that you can apply to for financial assistance with paying for fees, apparel, or equipment needed for riding and participating in our programs.
Such funding may cover part, or all of the costs associated with term fees.
N.B.   As a participant or parent/caregiver of a participant, you will need to apply to these organisations individually.  For more information please read the attached document.

We are looking for a Horse Manager (up to 25 hours per week, during School Terms) to help our herd of 8-10 horses provide the best therapy riding programmes to our clients with disabilities.

To know more - see our recent Facebook post, you can download the Position Description here.

On Tuesday 7th February, Next Group installed a new Starlink satellite dish on the barn roof and we went online with our new Starlink internet service.  This provides us with reliable high speed internet and phone services that are just not possible with our existing copper line service.   

Our thanks to Next Group for generously providing our installation free of charge!

Our 2023 calendars are now available. Full of beautiful photos, they are only $25 (plus $5 postage if needed) and make great gifts. If you would like one, please let Philippa in the office know or email your order to info@northshorerda.org

Bank account for payment is 12-3087-0119656-00

Read about North Shore RDA in the October issue of Coastlife magazine where we made the front cover.  Thanks Coastlife!

Click here to read the article

It is with much sadness that we advise of the passing of Bruce Westbrooke.

Bruce has been a stalwart supporter of NSRDA for over 20 years. He served as a Trustee during the time when our land was acquired, the Trust set up and the barn constructed, acting as honorary lawyer during that time.

Since then, he has remained very interested in our Group and the progress we make, attending our Inc AGMs over the past few years and regularly making donations to the Trust for long-term projects. Bruce was also the long-term partner of Lynette Miller, our Treasurer, and our thoughts and condolences go out to her.

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All this month, Petstock stores across the country are raising funds for NZRDA. They are aiming to raise $25,000 from their customers and that will be match-funded by Petstock Assist to make a potential total of $50,000.   
Thanks for your support Petstock!  To find out more follow this link  https://www.petstock.co.nz/assist/nz-rda

NZ Riding for the Disabled is extremely pleased to announce our new Ambassador, Samantha Hayes.  

Samantha has been a big supporter of NZRDA over the years, with NZRDA being her charity of choice on her winning season of Dancing with the Stars 2018.  We're looking forward to working alongside Samantha to continue to reach more riders and change more lives.

NZ Riding for the Disabled marks its 60th anniversary of service to NZ communities this year.  At our national Conference in Wellington, this was celebrated by a special video address from HRH Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, patron of NZ Riding for the Disabled.  Presentation of awards was by Kiwi Paralympic double Gold Medallist Liam Malone and well-known local 3News Anchor Samantha Hayes.

We are very thankful to have received a donation from the Whangaparaoa Lions Club, as sadly they wind up their club. 

The club has been a long time supporter of North Shore RDA and we are immensely grateful for their support. 

To show our appreciation, we hosted a number of the club’s members for morning tea and a tour of our facilities.

National Volunteer Week runs from 19-25 June 2022 and honours the collective energies and mana of all our volunteers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

​More than one million people across the country volunteer for an organisation, contributing $4 billion to the economy.

At North Shore RDA we are celebrating our volunteers all week with special morning teas to thank them for all their efforts! 

Does your new year's resolution include helping others, giving back to the community or spending more time outside?

Maybe volunteering with North Shore Riding for the Disabled is for you!!  We are holding Volunteer training sessions for new and existing volunteers on the following dates:

Tuesday 31st Jan, Wednesday 1st Feb, Thursday 2nd Feb. 

Training will start at 10am sharp with a shared morning tea. The day’s program will conclude around 1pm

Please contact info@northshorerda.org to register your interest in attending.  See our website for more details about our Group and the role our volunteers play in delivering our programmes at www.northshorerda.org

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Volunteering at North Shore RDA is a great way to meet people, stay fit and make a real difference in the lives of others – if you’re interested in joining us, we would love to hear from you. Riding sessions for those with a disability are held at our facilities at 74 Aubrey Road, Stillwater each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (excluding school holidays).  We need volunteers to be involved in a wide range of activities such as helping to care for RDA horses, leading horses and supporting riders during lessons, assisting with grounds, maintenance, helping out with fundraising activities, and more.

After a nationwide hunt for New Zealand's coolest RDA horses, our very own Rocky won the national title, ready for the 2021 NZRDA Calendar. Keep your eyes open for our own North Shore 2021 Calendar, coming soon!

We are able to open again and welcome our riders back to re-make their friendships with their favourite horse and enjoy their riding once again. A big ‘Thank You!’ goes to Charlie, our Horse Manager, Miranda, our Coach, and all our wonderful volunteers who have helped maintain the health of our horses during the phases of lockdown and then worked tirelessly to get them fit again after weeks in the paddocks.

A lovely article published in our local East Coast Bays community magazine, Shorelines.
A shout out to our staff and volunteers who make this possible.

We are sad to announce that, due to COVID-19 we have made the decision to cease riding until further notice. Our overriding concern is one of safety for both our riders and our wonderful group of volunteers.

Great coverage of our year end Christmas event from Local Matters

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A big Shout Out and Thanks go to the team from BNZ Partners North Shore, based in Constellation Drive, who came and helped us out with a Working Bee just recently.

We have been very fortunate, to be awarded a $5,000 donation by local company InterMed, as part of their new initiative 'InterMed Giving Back'. Nominated by one of our great volunteers, Carol Cronje (who also works at InterMed), we became their first recipient.

Meet Charlie, our horse manager. She is responsible for looking after our herd - from feeding, grooming, general healthcare to training and riding. She’s our go-to-girl for anything horsey.

Our very own Annette Wilson won $10,000 Westfield Local Heroes grant. RDA will use the grant to buy a horse for the group, which Annette says is significant. “We will be able to source a horse with the perfect size, age, health and temperament to join our current herd.”

What a great Volunteer Awareness Week we're having at North Shore RDA! Our wonderful Graham Sandy received a Volunteers Award last evening from Hibiscus and Bays Local Board. Well done, Graham - and big thanks to all our great volunteers!