my RDA Volunteer Journey
A few months ago, my fellow bridge player suggested I look into volunteering. She knew I liked animals and so mentioned that the local Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) centre was eager to have more people volunteer for them.
After my application and references were all checked, I started at the centre. I didn’t arrive with much horse knowledge. At the beginning, my main skillset was learning which end was which and developing a respectable technique in advanced organic matter relocation (also known as scooping poo in the inside arena).
It turns out that’s actually a very important job.
And I’m quite good at it. Just saying!
From Poo Patrol to Side Walking
I started out as a complete novice, helping with the basics: mucking out, grooming, fetching hay, filling water buckets, cleaning riding helmets and saddles and generally making myself useful wherever needed. Fly spray any one?
The official job description might say something like:
Stable care and horse preparation
Supporting lesson setup
Assisting with equine welfare tasks
Side-walking during sessions for rider safety
But in reality, it feels more like stepping into a very calm, very muddy, very well-organised world where everyone quietly knows what needs doing and you just learn by doing it.
Now I’m starting to side-walk during sessions, indoors and outdoors, supporting riders as they experience time with the horses.
It’s simple work, once I figured out the system and work that really matters.
The Reality of Riding
Let’s me be super honest: it’s messy, smelly, physical work.
A few weeks ago, I knew nothing beyond “horse has a front and a back end.” Now I’m slowly learning how to move around them with more confidence and slightly less hesitation. I'm noticing how the horses, ponies and riders make their needs known.
It’s also one of the most rewarding things I’ve started doing in a long time.
There’s something very grounding about it. You can’t overthink it. You just show up, pay attention, and do what’s needed in the moment. I've grabbed ropes, toe caps, helped riders on and off horses.
Selfishly, this has been good for me in ways I didn’t fully expect.
It gets me out of the house. I love being at home but that can get lonely. So out I go. It gets me moving. I’m building strength in my core, back, shoulders, and hands without even thinking about it. When you are forking hay on top of the manure pile, I am getting stronger with each shovel of S**t I shovel!
My focus is improving too especially attention to distance and awareness of movement around me. And then there’s the horses themselves.
I’m still slightly in awe of them. A bit cautious, yes but also completely taken by how calm and gentle they are. I am still struggling to tell a few apart as they are very similar but I'll get there. Then there are the hugs, which are… unexpectedly wonderful even after a rinse and shampoo! Wet horse hugs galore!
I’m slowly learning to “speak horse.” I’m not fluent yet, but I’m definitely no longer a complete beginner.
What’s made the biggest difference, though, is the people.
Everyone at the centre has been incredibly welcoming. There’s a strong sense of teamwork, you’re never left guessing for long, things have their place and there’s always someone ready to show you how something is done properly (usually after you’ve tried it slightly incorrectly first). I am still figuring out how to tie some knots and I have put on the head rein on wrong more than a few times!
I am always very curious and asking questions, like why do you pull that pony's tail? What is that stuff you put on their hooves? What is that cream doing for the horse?
And yes there’s also cake and biscuits, this Saturday, I had a coconut biscuit which absolutely helps.
The Joy and importance of movement
On a more serious note, I spend a few hours each week volunteering with the RDA, supporting sessions that enable children and adults with disabilities to experience riding.
From grooming and preparing the horses to helping everything run smoothly on the ground, it all plays a part in making those sessions possible.
It’s practical work but it contributes to something much bigger: access, confidence, movement, and joy. I have seen first hand how much confidence riders can get, how the riding helps with the physical mechanics and how the riders always leave happy and satisfied after a session.
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