An enthusiastic group of five lucky riders enjoyed the first Buckenham House Group RDA holiday at Clwyd Special Riding Centre in Wales.  This was the first time that the group had tried such an ambitious plan to take riders with disabilities, along with an army of ten dedicated helpers and carers, on a residential holiday but it certainly proved to be a great success.  The riders enjoyed long, relaxing hacks in the stunning (hilly!) Welsh countryside, as well as lessons in flatwork and jumping.  

Group secretary Lucy Kelly was thrilled to spend the week riding George, a talented 14.2hh Welsh Section D who is normally reserved for Paralympic riders: “It was fantastic to have the chance to ride such a talented horse,” explained Lucy.  “He just seemed to know what I was asking him to do straight away.”  

Clwyd Special Riding Centre is a purpose-built facility, which offers riding, driving and vaulting for people with all types of disabilities from total beginners to Paralympic athletes.  



Hacking on the Centre tracks, Lucy, George & Gilly leading the way.

For thirty years, the Buckenham House Group of the Riding for the Disabled has provided riding lessons to adults and children of all abilities from across South Norfolk. Groups ride twice a week (Wednesday evenings and Friday mornings) at Middle Harling Riding School in East Harling.  The group relies on the generosity of volunteers and helpers to fundraise and assist with lessons.  

If you are interested in becoming involved, please visit www.buckenhamhouserda.org.uk for further information.
Sue kept a diary of events;

Clwyd Special Riding Centre Holiday - a diary of events, July 2008.

Day 1 - Thursday 10th July
The long journey from Norfolk ended by negotiating the twists and turns of rollercoaster style country lanes. We arrived at last, but no need to jump out of the car as the gates of Clwyd opened slowly, by themselves, onto the huge yard. The group had travelled split between several cars and it was great to be able to park directly in front of the residential block, which also made for easy unloading. The block is divided into two halves – one the mirror image of the other, all on one level. Each side has 2 singles, 2 twins and 1 triple bedroom, a shared bathroom, but also a large shower room designed for easy access for wheelchair users. There was a lot of excitement and happy faces as we explored the rooms which are all lovely and bright, have a sink and mirror, an individual wardrobe for each person and drawers under the beds almost big enough to hide a pony in.


Ty Gwyliau.

The holiday started officially at 3:15 pm, with a safety briefing by Centre Manager Tess in the residential block common room. We were all ready and waiting for her, and it was great having a little kitchenette right there for making teas and coffees to accompany the lovely homemade Welcome cake which was waiting for us.

Then it was boots and hats on for the riders, and at last what we’d all been eager for - the Assessment ride. This took place in the indoor school, which is a little longer, taller, and perhaps a third wider than the one we are used to, so it felt enormous. The horses and ponies were lead in across the all-sand floor and tied at rings spaced around the arena walls. Tess was there to introduce the horses and make sure the riders got on all right with them, and explained that they were effectively ‘ours’ for the rest of the stay, so we were responsible for handling and caring for them from then on. At this point Lynne got very excited over her new toy – the hydraulic mounting block which is built in to the gallery.


Laura mounting Milo from the hydraulic block assisted by Lynne, Coralie and Mary.  Martin, who does most of the work is hiding behind Laura in this photo.

I’m sure Pru wouldn’t mind us installing one at Middle Harling!  Part of the procedure with the hydraulic lift was using a standard mounting block opposite it, to create an alley to lead the horses into. This gives somewhere for the catcher to stand, and means the horses can’t swing away from the rider – an excellent idea.
The horses and tack all looked in beautiful condition and the riders were keen to get aboard:
Peggy on ‘Blackie’ a 12.2hh black Welsh Section B
Laura on ‘Milo’ a13.2hh grey Connemara
Peter on ‘Ben’ a15.1hh piebald cob
Caradoc on ‘Big Charlie’ a16.2hh chestnut draught cross
Lucy on ‘Basil’ a 15.2hh grey thoroughbred hunter-type

We were able to use a whole hour to assess the horses both on and off lead. Peggy tried using bar reins for the first time and she, Peter and Caradoc were happy with their mounts. Lucy asked for a change and Laura voiced concerns, but she wanted to try Milo again the following day.
After un-tacking, and a quick brush down, we turned the horses out into the paddock behind the residential block – nice and easy to find in the morning plus the bonus of being able to watch them grazing from the comfort of the common room.
Tack cleaning at end of each day is one of the Centre’s requirements. Whilst that might sound like hard work it was easy and quick to do with such a well set-up tack room. There is a large rack in the middle of the room, which is big enough for four saddles, plus a sink with cleaning cloths and lots of saddle soap bars easy to find.


The whole team cleaning tack

Before dinner Lynne set out on a walk, accompanied by a group of riders and leaders, to check out the all-weather track. This track loops around the Centre’s grounds and follows most of its perimeter. It’s covered in rubber chips, wide enough for driving a car or exercise trap down, with lots of up and down hills. This looked quite challenging and a bit of a novelty, since the most the riders have to do at Middle Harling is practice ducking as they ride through the door into the indoor school. The track includes a water splash, sensory area, and a picnic area (complete with corral and fresh water supply for the horses, picnic benches, a built-in mounting block and a portaloo).


Laura, Milo, Coralie & Lynne enjoying the water splash.

We’d all worked up an appetite from the walk and returned to the main kitchen and dining area which is alongside the indoor arena and is well equipped for self-catering. Our volunteer chefs for the trip Mary, Joy and Debbie, produced wonderful food in generous portion sizes from day one. It was great fun sitting and eating together around one huge table. Stuffed full by the end of the meal we discovered Peggy didn’t like trifle and Coralie had only got back in time for dinner by getting rescued from the hillside footpaths by a 3-toothed farmer in his tractor.

Day 2 – Friday 11th July.
No need to catch the horses this morning as it had been done already by the Centre staff, ready for a visit by the farriers. We were able to watch a whole team of them at work, as they’d come to do all the Centre’s horses before lunchtime. Lots of camera opportunities of sparks flying and smoking hooves as they worked from the forge glowing in the back of the van.


Coralie, Sue & Peggy fascinated by the farriers at work.

Once the horses were ready, the riders did their own grooming and tacking up, with the leaders’ assistance (where requested). On to the mornings lesson, which was flatwork in the indoor arena. Peter, Caradoc, Peggy and Laura were first, then they went for a tea break while Lucy tried out her new horse George, a 14.2hh bay Welsh Section D.


Lucy & George

After lunch we were off to ride the Centre’s all-weather track, including the water splash, and got back to dismount in the outdoor arena just as the drizzle started. Lucy and Caradoc decided they’d like to do more, so they rode back out to do an extra loop of the track. They caught us up in the tack room where Caradoc told everyone, very happily, that Big Charlie had got Kate’s jeans wet when they’d gone through the water splash, twice.

With plenty of time to relax before dinner I headed for the shower. We had been told about a problem with one of the water heaters, which an engineer was already booked to come and fix. But, as there seemed to be a problem with the remaining water heater, I reported it to the office. A lady there came straight over to change the timer for us, asked if we were alright for everything else, and said there would be a deduction off the bill for the inconvenience of only having hot water in one side of the building, which was really nice of them.


Caradoc at the pub.

Dinner was one of my all time favourites – spaghetti bolognaise. After eating a Snowdon sized portion we all went to the local pub The Cross Keys, which is less than five minutes walk from the Centre’s gates. There was a warm welcome from the landlord, especially after he found out we were staying at the riding centre. We’d hoped to book a meal there on the last night of the holiday and, although he’s normally shut on Monday nights, he was prepared to work out a set menu and open up just for us. On a warning from Lynne that the pub’s food portions are huge (so eating a whole three courses might cause us to explode), we decided to book for Sunday instead, and took away a copy of the menu to pre-order.

Coralie, Kate, Mary, Peter and Caradoc stayed on for another round, and we heard in the morning that Peter had threatened to push them all in the pond on the way back, and they’d finished the evening with a late night game of Twister in the common room. Coralie had great fun winding us all up at breakfast about Mary being banned from the pub for dancing on the tables.

Day 3 – Saturday 12th July
Our first day of catching the horses. They all pretended to be rocks so we could catch them easily, except Big Charlie who decided he wanted to play ‘one step ahead of you’ when Caradoc approached with headcollar at the ready.

The morning was spent on jumping lessons in the indoor arena, with the riders split by ability to allow for the later lesson to include faster work over higher jumps.



Peter, Ben & Martin showing excellent jumping style.
The chefs had outdone themselves again with a full roast chicken dinner at lunch time, and we were all stuffed and ready for an afternoon of relaxation. After all that running around in the morning we decided to split into three groups and trotted off in different directions: Llangollen to go on the horse drawn canal boat, the local National Trust garden, and shopping in Chester. But whilst the Chester group reported the shopping was excellent, they also came back with photos of Coralie trying on a wolfshead helmet at a Roman re-enactment event!


Horse dawn barges at Langollen.


Laura & Peggy at Erddig House.

Coralie in the wolfshead helmet with Kate, Caradoc, Peter & 2 stray Romans.
Lynne was quizmaster for a pub quiz in the dining room that evening. Despite the really impossible sports questions, and Lynne’s complete refusal to sing the music round clues, there were a lot of good guesses and giggles all round. The teams were nose to nose at the finishing line, but the quiz was finally won by the ‘Alcoholics’ with guest girl ‘Martina’, whose bad maths almost lost them the prize.

Later that evening rumours of a lock-out from the residential block inspired Coralie to gather a rescue team mounted on hobby horses. Racing down from the dining area, and fully prepared to use them to tap on windows whilst neighing to raise the alarm, they found that the front door wasn’t locked after all.


Day 4 - Sunday 13th July
After the nights adventures we had a relaxed start and a late breakfast. The long trek planned on our itinerary had a delayed start, as we needed a staff escort whilst riding off the premises and they were involved in a lesson in the outdoor arena. All the more time for tea and cake! We started off at 12:30, with a ride out along the Centre’s track, across part of a field, then down the bridleway that runs along an old railway route. The sun came out for us, but unfortunately encouraged the flies out too which bothered a couple of the horses. The path was shady and the riders had fun ducking under some low hanging branches – their training for RDA Countryside Challenge courses paying off.



After a good ride out we retraced our route and carried on uphill to the picnic area. With the horses untacked and watered, we sat down to a lovely picnic lunch transported there by the mums by car. Chrissie and Gilly arrived to find out what we’d been up to and check out the picnic facilities.

We took the long loop of the track back towards the Centre after lunch and couldn’t resist another go through the water splash before finally turning for home.

All the riders got very involved in a full tack clean in preparation for the competition the following day. But there was still time to chill out and relax before we were all off to our meal at The Cross Keys. At the end of a delicious meal the barman asked if anyone would like to join in the pub quiz just starting in the main bar. I’m not sure if it was the practice the night before, or the fact that the RDA team had twice as many people in it as the other teams, but our RDA team won the quiz!



Day 5 – Monday 14th July
An early start for the last riding day as Lynne had devised a 4-part competition and we had to finish riding by 12 o’clock. Gilly and Chrissie were judging, and the atmosphere was tense in the indoor arena as all the riders and leaders got involved in polishing their horses ready for Tack and Turnout. This was followed by a dressage round, jumping, and finally gymkhana games.

By the end of all those hours in the saddle the riders were thoroughly worn out, but still smiling. The smiles were even wider after speeches and rosettes, with special rosettes for the mums’ sterling chef work, Laura for bravery on the ups and downs of the track, and Coralie as master entertainer.


Our final afternoon in Wales was spent on a second three-car outing, this time all to the same place – the waterfalls at Betws-y-Coed, where we all had fun scrambling over the rocks and paddling in the cold mountain river water under the hot sun.



A small, but important, warning to anyone planning a holiday at Clwyd Special Riding Centre – you will find that the waistband of your trousers will start shrinking the moment you arrive and you almost certainly won’t want to come home!


Joy learnt a lot;

How to sum up what was experienced in five very busy days in Wales?

I learned a lot, not just about horses and their care but also that there are adults who won't eat onions!!!!  And that to 'pike' something is to 'half inch' it!!

I learned not to believe everything I'm told, though I thought I had learned that before.

I also learned that if you have a choice of several cheerfully coloured chopping boards there will be, somewhere, a guide as to which should be used for what!!  

Importantly I found confirmation that every helper, organiser and parent gave their time freely without complaint, everyone pitching in to make the holiday run smoothly and happily.


But most importantly I was bowled over by the spirit and endurance of the riders themselves.

I enjoyed getting to know you all a bit better and would like to say a humongus thankyou to everyone who made this Holiday possible.

Thankyou.

Peggy has a special ‘thank you’ for centre manager, Tess;


Thank you for picking Blackie for me to ride, I absolutely loved him to bits!



Martin has composed a holiday song, sing this to the tune of Cliff Richards ‘Summer Holiday’. (With sincere apologies to Cliff).

I think this will have to be the holiday theme song and everyone should learn it so we can sing it while we hack around the Welsh hills!

We're all going on an RDA holiday
That Lynne's been planning for a month or two
Fun and laughter on an RDA holiday
No more worries for me and you
For a week or two


We're going where the valleys are beautiful
We're going where the sky is blue
We've hacked around the pathways
Now it's time for a barbeque



We're all going on an RDA holiday
We've been tacking up a pony or two
Fun and laughter on an RDA holiday
Lots more riding for me and you
For a week or two

Everybody should go on an RDA holiday
Doing things they always wanted to do
So we're all going on an RDA holiday
To make our dreams come true
For me and you.



Mary and Peter had a fabulous time, despite Peters sore ankle;

Peter says he had the best holiday ever, horse riding in Wales.

BIG thanks to Lynne, the RDA and all the volunteer helpers for making it all possible.

Peter loved the hacks up and down the hills and going through the water. The on-route picnic was also a welcome break!.
Peter enjoyed the challenge of being able to go into the field every morning and catch his horse Ben.

Thanks to Martin for your patience and support helping Peter tack up, clean the tack and groom Ben

Peter found it very interesting to see the Farriers at work, and I think he learned a lot from watching them.

Peter especially liked the Bar-B-Q and dinners. The trips to the pub provided a lot of giggles. He even loved to hear the chickens wake him up at 6am every morning!!


In fact there was nothing Peter didn't enjoy about the holiday, even though he had a sore ankle he wouldn't give up riding. All in all a very successful holiday which really boosted Peter's confidence, Thank You.

As a volunteer I would like to Thank the staff at the stables for all their help, which made the trip a relaxed and fun holiday for us too. (But I did feel like sleeping for a few days after!!)

Mary and Peter Gorman.

Lucy enjoyed a holiday romance, right under her husband’s nose!

Holiday at Clywd Special Riding Centre – Lucy Kelly

Five days of riding beautiful well mannered horses in stunning countryside – truly my idea of a dream holiday.


I was privileged to be allocated George as my horse for the week; a 14.2 hh Welsh Section D with paralympic dressage experience and an incredible powerful trot. Thankfully although he was a very talented horse and obviously enjoyed having the camera pointed at him (Martin has an excellent video of George’s nose) he did not have a celebrity temperament and was a true gentleman at all times. I fell completely in love with him.

Once we had got used to each other, George gave me some perfect transitions, even up into canter on my weak side, what a boost to my confidence.


It was an educational experience having a horse to look after over the holiday. Getting up early while on holiday could have been a struggle but when you opened the curtains to see your horse grazing in the field outside, somehow that made it easier. The horses seemed to have arranged a system so that at least one of them was always on sentry duty watching the accommodation to see that those holiday visitors were behaving themselves.

Although tack cleaning might not have been very popular I’m sure we all enjoyed the bonding involved in catching and grooming our horse each day. Thankfully George wasn’t the cheeky one who tried wandering off down the field on the first morning.  Bringing in my horse did give me the chance to finally work out how to tie a quick release knot one handed, an achievement I am quite proud of.

We are very lucky to have the woods to ride in at Middle Harling but hacking in Norfolk couldn’t have prepared us for the Welsh hills that really put our balance to the test. But it was worth the effort for the splendid views. Being able to stop for a picnic turned a hack into a very special occasion.

Thank you Lynne and everyone else who was involved in arranging our wonderful holiday, it was an unforgettable experience.

It’s a good job Martin came to Wales with us or he might have been a bit worried when I came back full of my holiday romance with Gorgeous George.



Laura had a very educational time;

My Riding holiday experience
By Laura Gosman

I found the riding holiday a whole new experience for me, it was riding but in a totally different place with new challenges to face and new horses to meet. It took a lot of mental and physical strength on my part to get through it as I found riding a new horse very difficult after being used to Hally for so long.

I think however, nearer the end of the holiday, with a lot of help from Coralie, Lynne and Joy I was able to feel a bit more relaxed on Milo as well as facing my fears of riding downhill, doing some very bouncy trotting and coping with Milo doing his giraffe impression and throwing his head around, (something I haven’t really had to deal with in riding for a long time)

I have to say that the best part of the riding holiday for me was really when I was off the horse and just getting to know everyone, really for the first time outside of our usual Wednesday riding sessions. It was really nice to see how, as the riding holiday went on people began to really come out of themselves and really show a whole new side to their personalities. I also loved seeing the welsh countryside even if it did involve us going on magical mystery tours of the area and discovering weird place names of one sort of another such as Coderpoth and Pant-y-stain.

Overall I would have to say that this riding holiday has really shown me what I am capable of as a person, has taught me that you have to challenge yourself in life to feel the benefits, as well as the fact that I have some really great people as part of my riding group and what a wonderfully great character I have in Hally as a horse.  

Coralie, of course, has her own unique insight into the experience;


CARRY ON TREKKING

I think I got the wrong end of the stick about a trekking holiday in Wales, visions of long peaceful layins, lots of shopping and maybe even a Spa treatment or two had crossed my mind, golly did I get it wrong and I am glad I did as it turned out to be the funniest few days ever.

A holiday I will never forget, I learnt such a lot (6 dwarves have beards in Snow White) and I also got seriously corrupted and learnt all about the pleasures of alcohol.
 
I also learnt the following:

1.Lynne Kemp does not sleep past 5.30 am.

2.Do not under any circumstances ask Caradoc for a cup of tea at 7am as he will appear in someone else’s room at 3am asking if it is time for tea. (Sorry Martin and Lucy).

3.When tacking up always allow at least two hours and it helps if the snaffle bit goes inside the mouth of the fidgety pony.

4.Sing very loudly when in the bath, do not open the door that leads to Martin and Lucys bedroom via the bathroom, although it must be said Martin has lovely legs as Mary found out.

5.The rocking horse in the dinning room was not designed for adults to practice 'Around the world' or vaulting.

6 When going to watch the farrier wear full make up, straighten hair, wax your legs and look your best. Take a video camera, digital camera and any other camera .Try and slip him your phone number at every chance you get. He was hot stuff.

7.Mary is a wild one and will lead you astray in the local pub - ditto Chrissie, Gilly, Kate and Debbie

8.Grey ponies that have been turned out are not the best colour for Tack and Turnout competitions.

9.If Peter passes you a plate at mealtimes pass it on as quick as you can without catching your neighbours eye.

10.Chrissie tries to cheat at Twister and Peter is Uno champ 2008. Martin makes a fab honorary female on quiz nights.

So thanks everyone, I had a fab time and really hope that one day we can do it all again.

P.S. Always switch your mobile phone off as it is a bit humiliating when it starts to vibrate at 4am. (Sorry Sue).
 
Chrissie joined us on the Sunday and here are her thoughts on the 2nd half of the holiday;

Gilly and I arrived at Llanfynydd on Sunday lunchtime in bright sunshine and were informed that the Buckenham House Gang had all gone out for a picnic ride.  

We were pointed in the right general direction and feeling rather peckish we set out on foot to find them.  After walking for a while on wonderful all weather tracks with fantastic views of the Welsh hills (and the sheep) we came across a fenced corral where the horses were tied and a lovely picnic area with seats, tables, a loo, benches where the gang were sunning themselves and feeding on an amazing picnic prepared by the ‘food mums’.

Laura was very relaxed with her bare feet in a bucket of cold water, and Peter was having a little snooze in the sun.  Coralie set up a welcome cheer when she saw us arriving.

The holiday had obviously gone very well so far and the next couple of days went by in a flash with more rides, an outing to Betws-y-coed, a pub meal, victory in the pub quiz, a BBQ and competitions on the last day.

All in all it was a great experience and a fantastic set up with lovely staff, great accommodation and superb horses.  It was also a good chance to socialise with and really get to know our helpers, carers and riders.

And Finally…

I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who came on the holiday, a lot of people have thanked me for organising it, but it would have been a disaster if you all had not thrown yourselves into the experience with such enthusiasm.  

I have to admit that during the preparations for the holiday there were times when I began to question my sanity. I got this “brilliant” idea when I was on a training course at CRSC in Feb. Having seen first hand how perfect the facilities there are I was very enthusiastic about it and persuaded the committee to let me go ahead. Then came the planning and organisation and after that the worry about ‘what had I forgotten’ or ‘what happens if…’. So by the time we left home on the Thursday I was half excited and half dreading it.

But what an outstanding success it turned out to be.  Partly because the facilities are totally superb, the staff friendly and always helpful, and the horses are beautifully trained and have lovely manners.  But mostly it was down to you guys joining in with all my mad ideas without question and even throwing in a few mad ideas of your own. So thanks to you I had a brilliant holiday too.

I was particularly impressed with the riders enthusiasm and stamina throughout a week of hard exercise.  They each rode for 9½ hours in a 5 day period, where they would normally only ride for 1 hour a week.  This is very tiring, yet they still got out of bed ready to groom and ride each morning and found enough energy to clean the tack at the end of each day. And still had the enthusiasm to join in all the sightseeing trips and evenings at the pub. Well done guys, it had to be a big culture shock for you!  Hope I didn’t wear you out too much.

The hardest part of the holiday, apart from forcing myself to leave Clywd at the end of the week, has been choosing which of the 751 photos we took between us to put into this newsletter. I hope you like the ones I have chosen.
 
I also notice that no-one has mentioned ‘Bar Shandy’ in their stories – the first item unpacked from Coralie’s luggage was a bottle of vodka and this was the basis for Bar Shandy.  All the rooms at Ty Gwyliau are named after horses, Coralie, Kate and Sue shared the room called Shandy, which was quickly renamed Bar Shandy due to the quantity of alcohol present!

Cheers!
Lynne