Riding for the Disabled 50th Anniversary

Mrs Cripwell hosted a wonderful tea party at Government House to celebrate their anniversary.

RDA Guernsey has been operating since 1974, offering adults and children the opportunity to experience this therapeutic and enjoyable exercise with assistance from a small army of volunteers who have kept this charity going for 50 years. They are self-funding, relying entirely on donations and their own fund-raising initiatives.

Mrs Cripwell is a keen horse-rider herself and understands the physical and emotional benefits of horse-riding and as patron of the charity, she invited a number of volunteers and service users to a party in the garden at Government House, with refreshments and cake and games for the children.

The sun may have refused to shine that day but nothing could dampen the spirits of those who attended this wonderful event. The eternally smiling staff served buckets of tea and mountains of cake to a tremendously fun bunch of (mostly) ladies who came dressed to combat the breeze and to enjoy the afternoon. The guest list included volunteers from the present day, right back to those who helped 40 years ago when the charity was still quite new and some of the teachers from schools who use the facility brought along some of the children for an afternoon of pony balloons and cake.  

Paula Brooks and Heidi Ephgrave from the RDA had also put together a fantastic display of old pictures from over the last 50 years which the guests enjoyed looking through and we even spotted a few taken at Government House over 20 years ago. 

The RDA is in desperate need of volunteers, so if you like horses and have a little time to spare for this wonderful, deserving charity, go and have a look at their website and get yourself involved rda guernsey. It doesn't need to be every week but the bigger their bank of volunteers, the better their chances of continuing for another 50 years.