PRIZEGIVING 2014



  

Prizewinners


Congratulations to all the prize winners on Saturday!   Our vet, Alastair ,very kindly presented these to everyone, and it was great to see such a good turnout.



Trophy winners



COFFEE MORNING

A big thankyou to everyone who came to the coffee morning and made it a successful day.  We raised £1336.68 including the raffle tickets, which is a great result.  We'd also like to thank all those who made this possible by contributing baking and other goods to sell.

PONY UPDATE

 

Max is the latest addition to the stable, seen here with Katie when he was being tried out. He is about 13.1 hh. seven years old, and is being introduced gently to  RDA work here.  So far he seems to have taken everything in his stride, so with some more training over the winter we hope he will be ready to start full time in the spring.  Ellie has gone back to Elinor so we are back to our usual number of 8 ponies.



GOOD START TO OCTOBER!

 

Last week we got a cheque for £141 from Forfar Golf Club, presented by Judith who used to teach at the Centre, and another from the Rotary Club of Forfar for £250.  Thanks to both Groups for this.

OCTOBER PERFORMANCE

Riders of the Storm are going to be back with us at the Centre on 31st October, with a peformance called "The Professor's Revenge". Doors open at 6.30, and if you would like to buy tickets, go to their website, www.ridersofthestorm.co.uk.  One of our previous ponies, Banjo, may make an appearance!

RDA SEPTEMBER SHOW

 

Joanne's show went ahead yesterday and some of the RDA ponies were competing too, getting rosettes for their riders.  The weather helped to make it a good day for everyone who came, although the turnout was not as good as last time.  It raised a total of £445.18 - very useful! 

JOHNSTON CARMICHAEL DONATION

Elinor accepting a donation of £521.55 from our treasurer Lynne and the staff of Johnston Carmichael.  Thanks to all concerned in raising this!

LADBROKE'S DONATION

Ladbrokes of Forfar presented us with a wonderful cheque for  £2000 .  Their fund-raising efforts included a Ben Nevis climb, raffle and in-shop activities.  Thanks to all those who took part!

HORSE AND PONY NEWS

We now have Ellie with us, very kindly leant by Elinor, as Tucker is having a break for a while to see if he settles in better in a few months' time.  Katie is looking after him and riding him out for the moment.
Ellie is 16 years old, Friesian x Oldenburg, and is already taking part in some classes.

AUGUST NEWS

AUGUST NEWS

The ponies have all had a good summer holiday and will be ready to return to work when classes start again next week.

Joanne’s show this year is on September 21st.   There will be all the usual classes, and refreshments available as well.  Further details can be obtained from Joanne.

We are very fortunate to have been left a  legacy from Aprilla Gilfrin, a friend of our President, Jean Thomson.  Aprilla met Erin, one of our horses,  when Aprilla came to stay with Jean for a holiday, and she used to sponsor Erin  every year.  The directors will use the income from the legacy to help with running costs.

 

MORE NEWS



Some of the crew of HMS Montrose who presented us with a wonderful cheque for £1000

 One of our riders, Olwyn, carrying the Queen's baton in Dundee.

June news

 

The cheque being presented

 

 

We were very lucky to get a cheque for the enormous sum of £1460 from Beth Greig, which was raised by the Two Fat Laddies huge cookery demo in Arbroath - a lovely surprise!

 

The Handy Pony Competition has been going on during June, with everyone taking part and doing well.  We have also managed to get outside more too thanks to the weather.



DONATIONS-LATEST

We have been very lucky recently to receive several donations, one of £500 from an anonymous donor, another of £1500 from the Captain and crew of DSV Well enhancer, and a third of £200 from ASDA, who came on Saturday for a presentation photo. Also, thanks to Clare for the money she is raising by sky-diving for us.   It really makes a difference!  

 

DATES FOR 2014

Spring:         Close 12 noon Saturday 5th April
                     Open 9am Monday 14th April

Summer:     Close 12 noon Friday 18th July
                    Open 9am Monday 18th August

Autumn:     Close 12 noon Saturday 4th October
                   Open 9am Monday 13th October

Coffee morning:  Saturday 29th November 2014
Prize Giving:       Saturday 6th December 2014

LATEST NEWS FROM ANGUS RDA

NEWS UPDATE:
We were delighted to be able to buy this new treeless saddle with the help of the Angus Council Community Grants scheme; these saddles are really good for most of our riders.
Welcome to our new pony Stromer!
Stromer,is a black gelding bought this year, who has a super temperament, and has settled in very quickly.  He is just under 14hh and was born in 2004
Following their wonderful fundraisng effort for us last year some of the men from HMS Montrose came to visit the centre, where our chairman Forbes Inglis was presented with their cheque for £1000.
December  2012 News
A good end to the year with a very successful coffee morning making £2146 with the raffle and all the stalls – thanks to all those who brought baking and other things, and who guessed names and weights in the competitions! Angus RDA Prizewinner
The prize giving was held on December 1st  and was  very well attended.  Fiona  Donald presented the prizes to everyone; Arnie and Findlay are spending their retirement with her.
Autumn 2012
Joanne's show, on the 23rd September, raised the great sum of £1207.62 for the centre which is wonderful.  We have also been presented with a cheque for £1000 by Fiona Stewart of the Scottish Coloured Horse Show, which is to go towards the new parking area (on the way in to the centre).
Parkside vet group with a cheque for the amount they raised for us last month - a really welcome present!
Two of our helpers, Gary and Claire, recently did a sponsored abseil in aid of the group, and raised £1150 which was fantastic - thanks to both!
The group took a stall at the Mountains Animal Sanctuary Open Day, and raised £210.16 which was a really good effort.
Summer 2012
Graeme Dey, MSP, visiting the centre on 21st August with some of the riders, ponies, and Elinor Phillips
The group  had a visit from Captain Jonathon Lett and some of the crew of HMS Montrose recently, and they will be sending us a cheque for £1000, which is a fantastic contribution.  Thanks to all involved!
On Thursday 7th June a training day for proficiency test examiners was held in the morning, with Pauline Corker, the Grampian and Highland Regional Instructor. In the afternoon, Pauline assessed ponies and the helpers (shown above) for showjumping levels one and two, and the group was delighted to be passed for this. We are the first group in the region to qualify to offer show jumping.
Recently we had a visit from Forfar Academy who very kindly presented us with a cheque for £450, which will help with the vetting costs etc of  new ponies. We have another 2 new ponies, to replace Merry and Ricky.  Merry went lame, and has been retired to Mountains Animal Sanctuary.  Ricky didn't really settle, and was difficult to lead, although good to ride, especially with the more advanced riders.  It was decided to sell him on to a home where he would be ridden more actively, and would not have to be led in hand as much. The new ponies are Coco, a Welsh Section D mare, and Blackjack, a good sturdy type, rather like Trusty who used to be at the centre.  They are at present being introduced to the school and the equipment used in it.
A training day for volunteers was held on 25th February, when Catriona Goulding came with her painted horse and showed how the muscles work to support the horse - particularly interesting for those working with disabled riders. We were delighted to welcome some new helpers as well.