Reproduced from our Your View Column in the Evening Gazette on 15 June 2022

 

SUMMER IS COMING

 

Hello everyone. I hope that you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee with your friends and families.  Although the weather wasn’t very kind here, I think summer is now on its way at last.  Our ponies have a real spring in their step and are enjoying the lush, green grass.  It’s growing so well that we’ll soon be taking hay off some of our fields which we’ll use to feed them in the winter.

 

We welcome three new ponies to Team Unicorn: a gentle black giant named Pedro, a pretty grey cob called Ruby and another coloured cob called Mavis.  They’re going to be great assets and will enable us to increase the number of lessons on offer each week. 

 

Delivering our lessons and other activities depends on having plenty of volunteers to help us.  It was National Volunteers Week last week and I want to say a huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for their ongoing support and dedication. We really appreciate their help and commitment to the Centre, we couldn't do it without their support. And if you would like to join our band of amazing volunteers, please give us a call. 

 

Many of you will have heard about our patron Nicola Wilson’s horrendous riding accident at Badminton recently.  She has now been moved to a local spinal rehabilitation centre nearer home where she’ll stay for several months.  We’re all hoping that she’ll make a full recovery and look forward to seeing her again at the Centre sometime soon. One of her friends is bravely running the Great North Run to support Nicola in aid of the Centre and the British Evening Support Trust. Please donate generously here if you can: Penny Spicer is fundraising for RDA Unicorn Centre (justgiving.com)  Fundraising is so important to us – perhaps you would like to arrange an event or even run the Great North Run for us?

 

As you know, we have a wonderful team of Supported Volunteers and their Support Assistants who work tirelessly at the Centre. We are continually amazed at their progress and their commitment to the Centre: “it’s like going to work” one young lady said recently.  As part of their Healthy Living Asdan programme, they’ve been busy growing lots of vegetables from seed in raised beds in the back yard.  They’ve also planted fruit trees in tubs under planted with flowers in front of the Centre building, which makes it look so welcoming for all our visitors.

 

By the way, we’re still looking for someone to lend us a cherry picker and driver for half a day to fit some bulbs in our light standards in the car park and outdoor arena? If you can help, please call us on 01642 576222.

 

Thank you for everything you do for us.   Jackie.