North Shore RDA

20/04/2024

16/04/2024

For the last week of term we turned Country & Western for Cowboy week. Here's the review 🤠

08/04/2024

Introducing one of our wee riders; Charlotte.
In the words of mum Jesse:- Charlotte absolutely loves going to hippotherapy at North Shore RDA in Silverdale. She always looks forward to seeing Lenny, the horse she usually rides, and has built a strong bond with the volunteers who work with her. Charlotte cannot sit independently so the support she has from the volunteers and her trust in them is invaluable - it has been wonderful to see that independence flourish! From a physical therapy point of view the rhythmic walk of the horse is a great way for her to work on trunk control, balance, and posture without even thinking about it as she is so happily stimulated and also calmed by the horse and the games played throughout the lovely grounds. For a child like Charlotte who spends most of her time in a wheelchair, she loves the feeling of being up high and "walking". Over time she has also worked on her speech, breathing and volume and is now able to get Lenny to "walk on" using her voice.

02/04/2024

It's cowboy/cowgirl week at the barn next week (from the 8th). Please join us and wear your favourite flannel shirt, bandana, cowboy hat and maybe even some cowboy boots if you have them. Yeehah!

01/04/2024

Goodbye to big Cruise as he enjoys his retirement home with one of our lovely volunteers, Rhonda.
Cruise came to us in 2018 when another of our lovely volunteers, Annette was a recipient of the Westfield Local Heroes award winning $10,000 which went towards the purchase of both Cruise and another pony Roxy. Cruise has worked tirelessly since then, but as he nears his 23rd birthday, we are excited for him to enter the next stage of his life at a much cruisier pace. Thanks to everyone involved in Cruise’s care over the years and in the future. Photo credit Emily Chalk Photographer

25/03/2024

A warm welcome to two more new horses - Mellow, a dapper black gypsy cob cross and Cruise, a little bay Welsh cross. Here they are being very successfully integrated into our programme 💛

18/03/2024

Introducing Charlie to all our NSRDA supporters. He has been described as being like a typical Labrador puppy as he just loves to play and craves human attention. Here he is being familiarised with some equipment with our volunteers and on one of his first sessions with a rider.

13/03/2024

An inspiring story and one that is repeated time and again in RDA Groups across the country.

"When I was a kid doctors told Mum and Dad that I wouldn't sit up on my own, I wouldn't crawl, but I got the strength and confidence to do that from riding. It was a great core workout which has helped me sit in a chair," said Stew.

Looking back at it now, Stew believes his experience at NZRDA was life-changing, “It gave me balance, confidence being around people and animals, along with an empathy for others," he said.

On March 16 2024, Stew is going to 'run' 100km around his neighbourhood to raise funds for NZRDA. Head to our website to find out more or to donate - https://bit.ly/StewRidesAgain

11/03/2024

Huge thanks to North and South Trust for helping us to fund a Hay Steamer for our horses. What is a hay steamer I hear you ask…? A hay steamer is used to reduce dust and bacteria which both naturally occur in hay and can cause respiratory problems and illness. The horses say it tastes much nicer too!

03/03/2024

Tom Webster capped-off our opening by parodying his sum-up on Grand Designs - this time describing the impact our new roof will have for our riders

03/03/2024

What a great celebration we had yesterday to mark the official opening of our new Arena Roof!
Hosted by Tom Webster of Grand Designs New Zealand, we welcomed over 100 guests to see a short riding demonstration under the new roof, hear from Tom about the achievement, and enjoy a burger courtesy of SmartShelters, our main contractor on the roof build, and an ice block courtesy of Nice Blocks made by Little Island.
We must thank our very generous funders New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT), Pub Charity Limited, Foundation North, North & South Trust and Lotteries Grants Board, as without their contributions the construction of the roof would not have been possible.
Our riders and volunteers can now look forward to a more enjoyable environment for our riding therapy and not bother whether it is raining or the sun is beating down in Summer!

26/02/2024

We would like to welcome Eeyore to our North Shore RDA herd. The epitome of a Thelwell pony, Eeyore is settling in well and earning lots of fans with his cute and cheeky ways.

09/02/2024

Get ready for the start of Term One in 2024!! Beginning on Monday the 12th of February with a lovely cool arena to enjoy and some new faces.

11/12/2023

NSRDA would like to thank all those who helped make our Christmas celebration week special. Particular mention to our fab coach Judith who makes every week fun and to the Lindsay Foundation for their donation of toys for rider gifts. The horses are now turned out and it's time for a holiday break.

04/12/2023

We are very pleased to now have a defibrillator installed on site and ready for use, should we ever need it. A huge thanks go to two very generous benefactors, Sue Cammell and Dave Grey, who has donated it in memory of his late wife, Christine.
Thanks also to Oceania medical who gave us a discounted price and included a few extras at no cost.

26/11/2023

We have thoroughly enjoyed having Massey University vet students; Maria & Henry with us as they get some practical work experience with our herd of horses to help meet their course requirements. They have been very keen to get involved in all aspects of RDA life, particularly with learning hands on skills to help keep our horses happy and healthy.

19/11/2023

We were excited and grateful to welcome a team of Year 10 students from Kristin School to North Shore RDA recently as part of their community service programme.
They got really stuck into some heavyweight jobs around the place, such as weeding our arena, spreading woodchips on one of our riding trails and the highlight of the day was the creation of two colourful murals on our water tanks.
Great work, team and many thanks!

14/11/2023

Congratulations to our newly qualified coach 🎉 See below as Judith is presented with her certificate by Pip Prebble from NZRDA and congratulated by Tim Lofts our president, during our well attended Regional Training Day.

06/11/2023

Halloween celebrations at North Shore RDA

17/10/2023

Our latest Newsletter had been published, read all about our new Arena roof cover, plus articles about our riders, volunteers and horses here.

Welcome Friends of North Shore RDA. ​Term three has had its mix of weather, and Mud, mud and more mud. Please read on about what else is happening at NSRDA and enjoy this update

16/10/2023

Introducing one of our young riders; 13 year old Angel. She has been riding with us for about a year.
Angel says "she loves coming to riding and looks forward to it as Judith (our fantastic coach) makes it fun with all the different activities".
We observe how appreciative Angel is as she always thanks the volunteers and her sweet natured horse, Indi
The physio notices that riding gives Angel the opportunity to use and strengthen her back muscles to sit up straight. It also increases her balance and confidence.

25/09/2023

Introducing Mike, our friendly farrier. Here he is doing his 6 weekly trims and re-shoeing for all our horses

14/08/2023

Please help bale us out!

With the endless wet weather we've been having, we are having to feed out a lot more hay and our stocks are getting very low. If you would like to help out and donate towards a bale to get us through the rest of winter - the horses and their tummies would appreciate it very much. Donate $25 for a bale of hay at https://givealittle.co.nz/donate/org/nsrda