Manawatu Riding For Disabled

28/10/2024

Over Labour Weekend, some of our riders competed in Special Olympics Te Whanganui a Tara tier two competition held at Hutt Valley RDA.

Carter Foot, Sarah Lawrence and Lydia Judd were apart of our team of five who travelled down to Hutt Valley and competed in the three events - dressage, working equitation and working trail. All of our riders did Manawatu Equestrian proud with everyone placing and Sarah, Lydia and Abi (MRDA volunteer) winning gold medals in their division.

The riders only had 15 minutes to get to know their horse before heading in to the competition ring so this was a massive achievement for these riders to be able to do in such a short time.

We are so incredibly proud of each and every one of them and thank you again to the Manawatu RDA horses who taught them, the support crew of the riders and Melanie Judd for managing the team so well.

16/10/2024

The lastest newsletter is now on the website. Despite having no lessons, we have been busy working with the ponies, running volunteer training, organising fun events and more! Read about it here 👇
https://manawaturda.com/pdf/NL_T3_24.pdf

15/10/2024

This is coming from the president but unfortunately because of Facebook protocols, it looks like a self congratulations.
A huge shout-out to Leah who conceived of and then built the set-up that has had so much positive feed-back last week. It is obviously an offering we need to repeat.
We only exist because of our volunteers, in various roles. Even those who have remunerated roles, that does not cover the hours they put in. Thank you to each and every one of you.
Also thanks to those who come and enjoy our wonderful facilities.
Any ideas for generating revenue to help pay our bills, please reach out to someone you know in the team or go to www.manawaturda.com/directory for other contact details.

Send a message to learn more

13/10/2024

Just popping on to say a huge ✨THANK YOU✨ to everyone who came along to our fundraising pony rides and obstacle days during the holidays. We hope you enjoyed your time playing and/or riding and we will definitely be doing more in the future.

10/10/2024

Some of the obstacles set up and ready to go for tomorrow!

There’s still spots available both days, use the booking system on Facebook to book.

Remember, only pay the arena fee of $20 to enjoy an exciting challenge for you and your horse. 🐴

23/09/2024

Our second exciting event is an obstacle day that we are hosting during the second week of the school holidays.

Held in our undercover arena, it’s a good chance to get out of the mud and come and have some fun with your horse. Try your hand at some new obstacles including a bridge, balls, tarps and more.

Unmounted combinations most welcome, just come along and have some fun!

This is bound to be popular so get your bookings in quick. Friday and Saturday time slots available to suit most.

23/09/2024

** Due to overwhelming demand, this is pre-bookings only. Both days are FULL. **

We have TWO very exciting events coming up in the school holidays.

The first event is pony rides 🦄

Not sure what to take the kids to during school holidays?

Manawatu RDA is once again offering pony rides at Manawatu Riding for the Disabled - 248 Awahuri Road Feilding.

Held in our undercover arena, the event will be on rain or shine. Helmets will also be provided to the riders. It will be a little bit different than last time with more ponies, two dates and two riding course options.

Cash or internet banking on the day is also welcome.

We look forward to seeing you there ☺️

The shorter course is about 5 mins on the pony, focusing on finding balance and going over some poles, around cones etc at one end of the arena. The longer course is about 10 mins on the pony and goes around the entire arena. It has a few more challenging activities so is suited to kids who are feeling confident.

17/09/2024

It's that time of year again! Mud glorious mud and shedding ponies. Luckily we have some wonderful volunteers who have been coming to our Pony Pamper days to give them a spruce up. There was a lot of brushing and a lot of hair - Brian had the right idea wearing non-stick clothing! Ngaba felt wonderful after his bath so of course he had to have a good roll 😁

12/09/2024

Knit and Natters have whipped up another lot of gorgeous winter woollies for us! Our riders are so grateful for these warm hats and gloves on a cold morning in the arena. Thank you Knit and Natters!

08/09/2024

Part 2 of the Equine Bodywork sessions was all about legs. Kay from Bodywork & Behaviour Equine Services came back to teach us how to stretch the ponies' leg muscles, and it wasn't just the ponies getting a workout! We were all practising our lunges and squats as Kay showed us how to position ourselves in a safe and stable stance to carry out the exercises.

Another productive session learning how to help our ponies. Thanks so much, Kay! 🙌

31/07/2024

We have another 50 bales of lovely hay to add to our shed thanks to Chris and Denise Satherley of Joyclas Farms 🙏 We are always so grateful for these donations!
Pictured are Chris (in the Manitou) with neighbour and helper Graham, and Peter Todd, one of our wonderful volunteers 🙌

23/07/2024

It's not every day we have a couple of Clydesdales pulling a cart in our arena! These beautiful boys belong to Kathy and Ian Cummings. Barney, 6 years old and 17hh, and Logan, 11 years old and 17.2hh were getting some experience in an indoor arena for an upcoming event Our president, Harvey, was lucky enough to have a ride in the cart!

21/07/2024

The latest newsletter is out! If it's not in your mailbox you can have a read here:
https://manawaturda.com/pdf/NL_T2_24.pdf

18/07/2024

We received a kind donation of 25 bales of hay from Ngaio Beausoleil, and were ably assisted with the loading by Maikara. That will fill another hole in the shed!
Thank you so much 🙌

17/07/2024

The winner of the sketch Raffle was ticket Red 24.
Thanks to all those who bought tickets!

16/07/2024

Kay Watkiss, from Bodywork & Behaviour Equine Services, does an amazing job keeping our ponies comfortable and in working order. We are extremely grateful to her as she gives her time to MRDA for free!

Once Kay has worked her magic, she will usually recommend exercises we can do for the pony to continue rehabbing and prevent further issues, which makes a big difference to their ability to do their job in a pain-free way.

Last weekend, Kay held a session to teach us how to do these exercises correctly. It was such a great opportunity to understand why horses may be sore, and what we can do to help them. We all learnt a lot and the ponies loved having their bodies stretched and released.

As we ran out of time to go through all the exercises, we will be continuing the workshop at a later date. Stay tuned for Part 2 - Leg day!

15/07/2024

The wonderful knitters at Knit n Knatter Manawatu supply us with beanies, hats, scarves, gloves and mittens to keep our riders toasty on those chilly mornings ❄️
There are some gorgeous pieces and the children appreciate their kindness 😊
Thank you Knit n Knatter!

12/07/2024

Reminder that we also have a raffle going for a gorgeous drawing of any photo that you provide which has kindly donated by one of our amazing volunteers.

Tickets are $5 and the raffle closes at 4pm on Tuesday. Ticket numbers remaining are numbers RED 1-45.

If you are wishing to purchase a ticket, message us the numbers you would like and the deposit the amount into the account details below:

Manawatu Riding for the Disabled
03-0626-0816423-000

(Use raffle for the code and your surname as a reference so we know it’s you!)

Thank you for your support and good luck!

11/07/2024

On behalf of everyone at RDA, we would like to thank everyone who came to our gear sale and to the pony rides we held today. It was the first time we have attempted to host such an event and it was great to see such a support from the community. With the combined efforts, we managed to raise over $450 which will be going towards the maintenance of our lovely equine team.

To Kylie, Sarah, Hilary, Fiona, Harvey, Jayne, Sarah, Mel, Lydia, Alice, Hirini and everyone else behind the scenes, thank you!! Without your endless support this day would have not been possible.

We will be holding another second-hand gear sale and pony ride day on a weekend day in December so watch this space!

10/07/2024

As part of our gear sale, we also have a raffle for a gorgeous drawing of any photo that you provide.

Tickets are $5 and the raffle closes at 4pm on Tuesday.

If you are wishing to purchase a ticket, come by the gear sale or pony rides today or alternatively, message for account details.

10/07/2024

A beautiful morning here at RDA ☀️

Very excited for our gear sale kicking off at 9.30am. Some very good bargains to be had!

Pony rides start at 2pm.

09/07/2024

Hi! Dusty would just like to remind you all that Thursday is just around the corner … ➡️

What’s happening on Thursday again? Our second-hand gear sale and pony rides, of course!

🛍️ The gear sale is from 9.30am - 12.30pm. We’ll have some good bargains such as a $2 bin, a $5 bin, a $10 bin plus a make-an-offer section.

🎠 Pony rides are from 2pm - 3.30pm and are only $2 per round.

Also a friendly reminder that parking is limited so please plan your visit accordingly. 🚗

We look forward to seeing you all there on Thursday!

05/07/2024

As you may know, some of our horses have gone through their fair share of vet visits the past two years. From Dusty having her left eye removed to Pepper’s pneumonia and asthma diagnosis and having to use an inhaler - we’ve really had our fair share of vet visits to make sure our amazing horses are well taken care of and have the best care possible.

However this all comes at a large cost and to keep our equine team in tip-top shape for our riders, we have started a Givealittle page and are seeking donations for a fund to help cover unexpected horse illness or injury costs as well as for replacement horses.

The link can be found below and every donation, no matter how small, makes a significant difference.

https://givealittle.co.nz/org/manawatu-riding-for-the-disabled-association-inc

04/07/2024

Your friendly reminder about our second-hand gear sale NEXT Thursday 11th July!

Also please note that the gear sale and pony rides are now seperate due to demand.

🛍️ Gear Sale: 9.30am - 12.30pm

🎠 Pony Rides: 2pm - 3.30pm ($2 a round)

- - - - - -

Pre-bookings are still open for those who wish to sell their own gear - only $10 a spot.

And remember, all proceeds from the day are going towards the winter maintenance of our lovely equine team. 🐴

Parking is limited so please carpool where possible.

We look forward to seeing you there. 🤠

26/06/2024

**Due to demand the gear sale will now be held from 9.30am - 12.30pm. Pony rides will be seperate from the gear sale and will now be from 2pm - 3.30pm**

Unsure of what to do on the first Thursday of the school holidays? Manawatu Riding for the Disabled are having a second hand gear sale and you’re invited!

Manawatu RDA will have loads of items up for sale from covers and halters to bridles and girths. There will also be pony rides on the day for only $2 a round.

Clean out your tack room and bring along your secondhand gear to sell and perhaps you’ll maybe even find a treasure or two to take home.

Second hand gear sites are only $10 and all proceeds from the day are going towards the winter maintenance of our lovely equine team.

Pre-bookings are welcome however sites can be paid for on the day if available.

Parking is limited so please carpool where possible.