Articles by Katy

 As announced in May, the RDA UK Board has commissioned a governance review and is committed to involving our members, volunteers, and participants in this process. We need your valuable input to ensure that RDA UK operates effectively in supporting all our Groups throughout the UK and that our governance continues to evolve and be updated in line with good practice so that we all meet the expectations of the Charity Commission, OSCR The Scottish Charity Regulator, and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. 

We would like to see as many of you as possible at one of seven roadshow events we are hosting in September and October.

It will be an opportunity for all of us (members, participants, volunteers) throughout the RDA to meet our new Chief Executive, Michael Bishop, and Trustees of RDA UK.  There will also be opportunities at these events for you to have your say on the future of RDA.

We are hosting five face-to-face events, and two online events, as follows:

• Wednesday 25th September – Parade Ring Marquee, Hamilton Park Racecourse, Scotland ML3 0DW – 5.30-7.30pm
• Monday 7th October – Castleview Room, The Pavillion, Stormont, Stormont Estate, Upper Newtonards Road, BT4 3TA – 5.30-7.30pm
• Wednesday 9th October – Online (links to follow) – 6.00-8.00pm
• Thursday 10th October – The Celtic Manor Resort, Chepstow Road, Newport, NP18 1HQ – 5.30-7.30pm
• Tuesday 22nd October – Valentines Room, Aintree Racecourse, Ormskirk Road, Formby, L9 5AS  – 5.30-7.30pm
• Saturday 26th October – Online (links to follow) – 6.00-8.00pm
• Monday 28th October – Porter Room, The Wesley Conference Hotel, London NW1 2EZ – 5.30-7.30pm

All roadshow events are now available to book online here – Our Governance: How We Work Together Tickets | Eventbrite. If you need technical support in using the online booking system, please contact [email protected]

We hope to see a wide representation of participants, coaches, volunteers and local Trustees, from groups all over the country, as well as national, regional and county officers. Please share this widely within your Groups.

Representatives from the Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE) who have been listening in recent months to our volunteers about RDA and the work our volunteers do within the federation, will be at these roadshows.   In preparation for the roadshows and to further gather your views on how we work together, we will publish a consultation document in August.  This has been prepared by CCE, reflecting what they have learned about RDA through their engagement with us and reviewing some of our documentation. We encourage all our members to respond to this document which will be circulated widely, with the roadshow events providing a chance to discuss its content.

The “Our Governance – How We Work Together” roadshows will provide an opportunity to share your thoughts and feedback.  We hope to see you there.

For queries and further information please contact [email protected]

National Training Centre, CV35 7AX, 10 – 12pm

Thursday 5th and 12th September

The National Training Centre will be holding two volunteer training days for those in the area. Both days will cover the same content and will cover all volunteer modules: 

• 10:00 – 11:00am: Preparing the horse and Arena 
• 11:30 – 1:00pm: Leading and Sidewalking 
• 1:30 – 3:00pm: Mounting and Dismounting 

The session will be limited to 20 attendees. To reserve your spot please email Debs on [email protected] stating which date you would like to attend. 

A HUGE well done to Daisy, an independent rider for Garsington RDA, and her pony Alfie who went to the British Dressage Para Championships at Hartpury last week.  They were an incredible 3rd in the G7 class. But they also did the Virtus Competition. Virtus is the brand name of the International Federation for athletes with intellectual impairment and is a founding member of the International Paralympic Committee. Daisy and Alfie won their Virtus class. Brilliant results.

In a few short weeks will be the kick off of the Paris 2024 Paralympic games, with the opening ceremony taking place on Wednesday the 28th of August.  

We’re super excited to watch and marvel at the para-equestrian athletes, especially those with a connection to RDA. We can’t wait to cheer on Mari Durward-Akhurst, Natasha Baker, Georgia Wilson and Sophie Wells from Team GB, and also to cheer on Austen Burns from Team Canada, who rides with Omagh RDA in Northern Ireland. 

Click here to read all about the athletes and horses of Team GB, and click here to read all about Team Canada. 

Here are the key dates for your diary, to catch all the action. 

• 28 August – Opening Ceremony 
• 3–4 September – Individual tests and medal ceremonies  
• 6 September –Team tests and medal ceremony  
• 7 September – Freestyle tests and medal ceremonies 
• 8 September – Closing Ceremony 

For more information on the Paralympics, visit the British Equestrian Paris Hub here, for detail on the tests and the competition format.