"I first got interested in RDA because I had a profoundly disabled cousin (in the 1960s they were kept hidden away). I and some friends were persuaded to go carol singing on our ponies to raise money for an experiment at Winford Orthopaedic Hospital near Bristol where a physio was convinced there were benefits from using ponies for therapy.  This was considered sufficiently unusual that we ended up with our photo on the front of Horse and Hound!  This was all before RDA was even thought of. 

 

In the mid 70s, whilst I was working in London, I discovered there was an RDA group at Knightsbridge Barracks.  By this time RDA had been going for a few years and there was a bit of framework to what we were doing.  The bonus to this group was that we got to have a free ride as the ponies had to be collected from stables in Bayswater and ridden across Hyde Park.  One week when there was a hiccup and no ponies, one of the guardsmen volunteers got permission from his Commanding Officer for us to have a conducted tour round the stables and other facilities at the barracks.  The tack room was incredible.  Another memory was muck disposal.  Everything got swept or barrowed to a spot where heavy doors were lifted up and you just tipped into a skip underneath.  The loose boxes for the drum horses were massive and had extra reinforcement.  

 

When I arrived up here (North Yorkshire) in 1980 I was at a loose end, being unemployed, and met Josie Kelly, the chair of the Gt Ayton & District RDA group. I got swept up by Josie and the rest is history! I strongly believe in all the possibilities and opportunities that RDA provides and often find myself thinking Josie would be pleased with what we have achieved, most especially that it gave our riders a good reason to get up in the morning and that our riding sessions are not weather dependent.   

 

I dare say there are many things that will make Josie bang the clouds around but we have learned a lot, progressed and hopefully will continue to make progress. I still miss teaching Kiltonthorpe enormously but am realistic enough to realise I gave up when it was fun and safe rather than when I wasn't coping!  Although I am unable to do what I once did, I am still happy to lend a hand at events such as last Sunday (Pony Rides to Santa and Christmas Fair event) so remind Denise to keep asking!"

 

Thank you Anna, for all that you do for the Unicorn Centre, and for RDA over the years.

 

Photo shows Anna with her certificate, L to R: Jackie Rubin, Trustee; Denise Sisk, Unicorn Centre Volunteer Co-ordinator; Sue Gaffney Trustee and Pat White, Chair of Trustees (dressed up as Elves for our Pony Rides to Santa!)