Katie and I organise a Sunday morning Riding for the Disabled group at Great Bookham.   Gemma, our riding instructor, and our faithful volunteer team get up early on Sunday mornings  to assist our riders.Why would anyone want to climb out of bed early on a freezing Sunday morning?   Certainly for the joy of seeing the young riders progress; and to see their faces light up with delight in their abilities, and in their love for the horses; we get to witness small miracles each week; and, of course, we do it because we love it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3N_r-xgenk

We made this  video of our Christmas Ride;  Please do click on the link.    We are fundraising for the Horsley and Bookham RDA Group which costs a total of £1,500 for our twenty four group rides each month.  If you feel you would like to make a donation to help us that would be wonderful and hugely appreciated. 

We hope you enjoy our Christmas video and we all wish you a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS!  

Wth love from Maggie, Katie, Gemma, and our volunteer team at The Horsley and Bookham RDA Sunday Ride. 

Background information:  Horsley and Bookham RDA has been operating for over 30 years giving rides to children and adults with mental and physical disabilities in the mid Surrey area. Our riders include those suffering from Autism, Downs Syndrome, Spina bifida and dyspraxia. Some of our riders also have impaired sight and hearing.

 Horsley and Bookham RDA  run six rides a week including three for special needs schools and one for residents of a local adult residential centre.

All our riders say that their riding is the high spot of the week and, if proof is needed of the therapeutic effect of riding, we had one little boy a while ago who had never spoken before and whose first word was the name of his pony.

The RDA is a registered charity and we are completely dependant upon volunteers to operate our rides and to run our various fund raising projects.  We have approximately 70 active volunteers, some of whom have become qualified instructors and ride assistants.  Despite the generosity of this small army of volunteers who give their time for free, the charity have to fund raise more than £20,000 each year to keep the horses well cared for and to run the riding classes. 

We are always looking for sponsors and welcome any contribution which will help keep this wonderful community effort going.