A View from Here
For those of you who never met me, I’m the South African bloke who in spite of being terrified of flying, made it out twice to your beautiful islands to come learn from you, after I hit a dead-end here at home.
Of course the first visit would never have happened without the initial invite from Guy Ockenden (he of the dubious sense of humour), and the kind hospitality of Colleen Trappitt, her family, and Roslein Wilkes. For pretty much every moment I spent at the various yards during my first visit, I was in awe and must have looked somewhat like a tourist, taking photos over everything.
It was hard not to, though: for the most, everything seemed to run like clockwork, and the facilities were incredible – I’d never even heard of a sensory trail before, never mind had the opportunity to take a walk along one. Mention also has to be made of how fortunate you are with your volunteers, who always came across as completely professional and utterly devoted to the work they were carrying out, no matter whether it was as a leader, side-walker, or even mucking out a stable.
But possibly what impressed the most, and what ultimately brought me out on such a long journey, was the willingness the NZRDA showed in helping out a complete stranger from another country. The help was there initially in email form, and when I arrived in New Zealand I was pretty much flooded with various instructional manuals and books, and was fortunate to be able to work with various coaches, to put this theory I had learned into practice.
And this information wasn’t just in printed form: more often than not I would be working, get into a conversation with one of the coaches, and then discover their own personal tips they used to overcome certain difficulties – whether with tack, the horses or the pupils. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge sitting with many of your coaches, and I believe it would be a pretty phenomenal manual if recorded.
Do I think it’s all roses at NZRDA? No, not at all. I’m certain that individual egos come into play from time-to-time, and people forget the real reason they are there. This seems to pretty much happen everywhere. And you clearly have the correct procedures to deal with it, else the NZRDA would have long since fragmented and lost its direction. What I see is an organisation that by all means should continue to go from strength to strength, to continue doing such awesome good work for so many people who need it. And with my own personal project finally looking as if it is coming to fruition, I’m going to be proud going forward myself, being able to say that it all started with the NZRDA and an invitation to share a flat white and a cheese scone.
