I first became involved with North Shore RDA in 2015 when I responded to a Facebook Post looking for a Treasurer. I had ridden when I was younger (in the UK) and had seen RDA delivered through a riding school environment back then, but in no way would I describe myself as ‘horsey’ at all! Since then I have been on the Committee at the Group and served 7 years as President, stepping back at our 2024 AGM to Vice President.

Whilst not directly involved as a Volunteer ‘on the ground’, I visit the Barn frequently and see first-hand what our work does to truly change lives for the better, enabling our riders to integrate into their school and home lives in a more meaningful way.

As a result of being Group President I have also been on the Board of our associated Charitable Trust, which owns our land and buildings at Aubrey Road. This has enabled me to help convince the Trustees to invest in improvements to our facilities over the years, including the creation of our Volunteers Car Park, the Sensory Trail and, more recently, the major spend on our Covered Arena.

More recently, I have been co-opted onto the National Board of NZRDA which gives me yet another perspective on the work that happens at over 45 RDA Groups across the country.

RDA in New Zealand is something which is now very much ‘in my blood’. When I joined almost 10 years ago I was simply looking for a volunteer role where I could add some value, but the value I get back in return whenever I see our great team helping our riders achieve more on each ride is true pay back for the time I give.

I’d encourage anyone who has some spare time and is looking for an organisation to volunteer at to take a good look at RDA – they won’t regret it!