Stories of triumph from riders of all abilities
FAQs for riding at Cambridge RDA
Do I have to live in Cambridge?
Most of our riders come from Cambridge but we have riders that come from the wider Waikato region as well.
How old do I need to be?
We have no age restrictions for riders, as long as we have a Doctors clearance.
What is the maximum weight for a rider?
We have a maximum weight limit of 80kgs for balanced riders and on a case by case basis for therapy, or unbalanced riders.
This is important for our horses welfare and longevity in the programme.
Which horse will I ride?
We have a team of trained RDA horses. We do our best to match each rider with a horse that suits their personality, ability and needs. A special bond often develops between horse and rider.
What are the classes like?
Riders are split into group classes based on ability, personality or age and the horses availability. We have no more than six riders per class. Most classes run for 40 minutes depending on the type of class, although some riders are only able to ride for a short time, especially when they first begin to ride.
Who are the coaches?
Olivia Huggins – Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Katrina Roberts – Fridays
What clothing do I need?
Covered-in shoes with a small heel. Riding boots are ideal but not compulsory.
Long pants to protect legs.
No dangly jewellery.
We have riding helmets in a variety of sizes and provide hair nets.
We also have a range of jodhpurs and jodhpur boots to borrow.
When do the classes run?
Riding sessions are every weekday morning during the school terms from Tuesday to Friday.
How do I enrol as a rider?
Contact us and we will e-mail or post the relevant information and forms to you.
We encourage you to come and view one or two of our riding sessions to see what we do and we can discuss options with you.
Discover inspiring tales of riders breaking barriers and achieving goals of all sizes
Emily
Hi. I am Emily Sanson and I am 28 years old. I am flatting in Te Awamutu with two girls with disabilities who I went to school with. I do Te Awamutu Special Olympics swimming and love it lots. I put our club newsletters together and also ask my club mates to do a profile on themselves for the newsletters. I have a maltese dog. She is 13 years old and her name is Lilly.
I started horse riding in Otorohanga when I was 8 and have also ridden at Kihikihi before coming to Cambridge RDA. I ride Dusty. She is a dusty brown colour. I enjoy RDA because I love horses. I like horse riding because we help get our horses ready for the day and learn more about our horse. I also like how we get to learn to trot. My favourite memory at RDA was in 2018, I received the runner-up for most improved rider. I was excited and I'm very proud of how far I've come at Cambridge RDA with my confidence and horse riding.
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Will Pett
William started riding first in Balclutha and as a young boy used to sit on the stile between the house and paddock sharing a carrot with the neighbours horses.
The family then moved north 17 years ago when William started riding with Cambridge RDA. His youngest brother, Chris has been a volunteer for the last 6 years and his mother, Belinda, recently also joined as a volunteer with RDA.
Now aged 24, Will lives at home with his family and is part of the Enabling Good Lives trial Project through the Waikato.
Will has benefitted physically and developmentally through his horse riding and also loves swimming to keep fit. He swims 1.5km several times a week and has now started training at the gym.
Will is in the middle of 5 children and has a very supportive family who have always pushed him to his limits even though, outside of home, he is limited to his wheelchair. He's usually game to give most things a go and doesn't let his physical impairment get in his way.
Will is normally accompanied by his father, Adrian, to riding and after many years of being involved with the group the Pett's have become notorious for bending the rules regarding RDA games!
William and his family have seen many changes over the years and have ridden in all types of weather on many different horses with his favourite being Rolly.
Will's Dad says "The shelter of a covered arena is a great facility now for Cambridge RDA as it allows for regular riding sessions. We credit all the hard-working volunteers through the years for the success of this RDA group and the presence and connection it facilitates in the community."
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Courtney
Courtney is almost 21 and has been riding at RDA since she was about 5 years old, about the same time her family moved to Cambridge.
It has helped with her balance (due to poor vision), and she has gained confidence in interacting with others, her listening and comprehension skills have improved as well as her confidence to ride in other situations such as our RDA farm rides.
Courtney also enjoys interacting with the horses and has a lot of fun at RDA. She's always up for a challenge and has ridden many different horses over her years at RDA right from our smallest horse at that time, Sam, to now riding one of our biggest.
She has competed in many RDA competitions including travelling to Napier to compete in the Napier RDA Dressage Competition.
Courtney has progressed well at RDA and can ride a trot dressage test beautifully. She has a lot of confidence, as long as she's on the horse. Courtney is not at all keen to practice emergency dismounts when we have our practices as she says 'falling off is dangerous' - and we're all about safety at RDA. I do see her point there!
Courtney also started cycling on a specially made trike about 10yrs ago and started with the Cambridge school squad 2yrs ago, initially at the velodrome on her trike and then on a loaded tandem. She now rides in the school squad on a tandem at Velodrome and road, and with the Te Awamutu Club at the Velodrome.
Her club partner is an ex Olympic cyclist. Courtney loves speed and loves the track cycling! It is the only time her competitive streak comes out. Unfortunately she is not quite blind enough for parafed.
She now also does synchronised swimming as well.
Last year Courtney was awarded the Jennings Cup for Courage at Cambridge Senior Awards night.
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Ethan
Ethan is 6 years old, he started riding in 2020.
Ethan has been riding Lacey and they are getting on really well.
When asked what he thinks RDA has helped him with; Ethan said he feels more confident every time he rides and can now stand up in his stirrups!
Ethan says his favourite memory is the first time he got to ride Lacey and he now loves riding her on farm rides in the sunshine!
Isabelle
Isabelle is 3 years old.
She has been riding for a year and she and Bella make a very cute Duo.
Isabelle's mum has seen a lot of improvement in her stamina and core strength while riding and thinks that it has transferred to all other physical skills in day-to-day tasks too. We asked Isabelle what she enjoys about RDA and she said "Playing games like throwing the ball in the bucket on Bella and trotting in the arena" and her favourite memory is the first time she ever trotted!
Courtney
Courtney is almost 21 and has been riding at RDA since she was about 5 years old, about the same time her family moved to Cambridge.
It has helped with her balance (due to poor vision), and she has gained confidence in interacting with others, her listening and comprehension skills have improved as well as her confidence to ride in other situations such as our RDA farm rides.
Courtney also enjoys interacting with the horses and has a lot of fun at RDA. She's always up for a challenge and has ridden many different horses over her years at RDA right from our smallest horse at that time, Sam, to now riding one of our biggest.
She has competed in many RDA competitions including travelling to Napier to compete in the Napier RDA Dressage Competition.
Courtney has progressed well at RDA and can ride a trot dressage test beautifully. She has a lot of confidence, as long as she's on the horse. Courtney is not at all keen to practice emergency dismounts when we have our practices as she says 'falling off is dangerous' - and we're all about safety at RDA. I do see her point there!
Courtney also started cycling on a specially made trike about 10yrs ago and started with the Cambridge school squad 2yrs ago, initially at the velodrome on her trike and then on a loaded tandem. She now rides in the school squad on a tandem at Velodrome and road, and with the Te Awamutu Club at the Velodrome.
Her club partner is an ex Olympic cyclist. Courtney loves speed and loves the track cycling! It is the only time her competitive streak comes out. Unfortunately she is not quite blind enough for parafed.
She now also does synchronised swimming as well.
Last year Courtney was awarded the Jennings Cup for Courage at Cambridge Senior Awards night.
Emily
"Hi, I am Emily Sanson and I am 28 years old. I am flatting in Te Awamutu with two girls with disabilities who I went to school with. I do Te Awamutu Special Olympics swimming and love it lots. I put our club newsletters together and also ask my club mates to do a profile on themselves for the newsletters. I have a maltese dog. She is 13 years old and her name is Lilly.
I started horse riding in Otorohanga when I was 8 and have also ridden at Kihikihi before coming to Cambridge RDA. I ride Dusty. She is a dusty brown colour. I enjoy RDA because I love horses. I like horse riding because we help get our horses ready for the day and learn more about our horse. I also like how we get to learn to trot. My favourite memory at RDA was in 2018, I received the runner-up for most improved rider. I was excited and I'm very proud of how far I've come at Cambridge RDA with my confidence and horse riding."
Will Pett
William started riding first in Balclutha and as a young boy used to sit on the stile between the house and paddock sharing a carrot with the neighbours horses.
The family then moved north 17 years ago when William started riding with Cambridge RDA. His youngest brother, Chris has been a volunteer for the last 6 years and his mother, Belinda, recently also joined as a volunteer with RDA.
Now aged 24, Will lives at home with his family and is part of the Enabling Good Lives trial Project through the Waikato.
Will has benefitted physically and developmentally through his horse riding and also loves swimming to keep fit. He swims 1.5km several times a week and has now started training at the gym.
Will is in the middle of 5 children and has a very supportive family who have always pushed him to his limits even though, outside of home, he is limited to his wheelchair. He's usually game to give most things a go and doesn't let his physical impairment get in his way.
Will is normally accompanied by his father, Adrian, to riding and after many years of being involved with the group the Pett's have become notorious for bending the rules regarding RDA games!
William and his family have seen many changes over the years and have ridden in all types of weather on many different horses with his favourite being Rolly.
Will's Dad says "The shelter of a covered arena is a great facility now for Cambridge RDA as it allows for regular riding sessions. We credit all the hard-working volunteers through the years for the success of this RDA group and the presence and connection it facilitates in the community."
