Hearing a child communicate with their horse using words, after years of silence, is one of the most rewarding experiences ever!

12th November 2009

Tony and I had a wonderful evening last night at St James’s Palace in London. We were invited by RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Princess Anne gave an impressive speech and I have to say that her dedication and genuine support as Patron for this charity shone through. Tony and I are also avid supporters of this charity and attend the Nationals at Hartpury each summer, although sadly we had to miss the event this year. It is always both a humbling and inspiring event and the level of sportsmanship is second to none. We met a wonderful lady at the celebration named Agnes who, it turns out, lives near us. We have been invited to go and meet her RDA driving ponies so will be heading out to Frome in the very near future.

RDA needs help to change the perception that many people have about its work. It has helped countless children and adults who suffer from a range of disabilities. Many of the riders came to RDA following car or riding accidents and I will always support its work as you never know what lies around the corner. If I am ever in a position where my health and wellbeing is affected through a terrible incident I know that RDA will enable me to maintain my love and passion for horses in a safe and caring environment.

I also met another wonderful lady yesterday who first came across my work when Tina and I attended the AGM at Bishop Burton some years ago. We had given a demonstration of body work and ground work exercises that are helpful for the RDA horses and ponies and she told me that she has used the work consistently since, with great results. The stories of the children she has helped are incredible. Children that could not speak, nor follow instructions, have been given new ways of expressing themselves, thanks to the patient ponies at her centre and the team of dedicated volunteers. Hearing a child relate to their steed using words, after years of silence and being able to ride their ponies to a mark, halt, then ask them to walk on again, when they had never been able to think through a sequence of actions before must be one of the most rewarding experiences ever. Adults and children alike are liberated from the constraints of often overwhelming mental and physical disabilities. That is what I call true horse power.

This entry was posted on 14. November 2009 at 17:50 and is filed under Sarah Fisher. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.