Unbelievable. Incredible. Powerful.

These words are how Dom’s specialist teacher, Kelly, describes Riding for the Disabled. Dom comes with Kelly each week as part of his school curriculum.

“It is unbelievable that he gets to ride a horse.”

“It is an incredible service.”

“The most powerful thing is how he talks more. He has more connectiveness. He will share his thoughts more. He will talk about riding.”

Kelly says that Dom’s Coaches – Jillian and Naomi – have provided encouragement and guidance for Dom.

Our Coaches support each and every rider and create riding sessions tailored to each individual’s needs and outcomes. Our Coaches focus on strengths and ability and listen to the life goals of our riders.

For riders like Dom, Coaches are critical to setting them up to succeed, challenging them to step outside their comfort zone and all whilst keeping them safe.

Here’s what Kelly had to say about the positive effects from therapeutic horse riding for Dom.

“There have been countless benefits for Dom from being a part of the RDA programme. I have watched him become more confident, braver, and more engaged with the programme each week. Dom and I look forward to Thursdays and can’t wait for what activities will be there each week. Dom has developed relationships with Mr T – his horse – and the fabulous coaches and volunteers, deepening his connection to the wider community. We couldn’t speak more highly of our experiences at RDA and would recommend it to anyone!”

As his specialist teacher, Kelly had been looking for opportunities outside of school that would enable Dom to connect to his community and would enable this connection to continue when he left primary school and moved on to his intermediate and high school.

Kelly says that RDA was able to offer a wonderful experience that deepened Dom’s skills.

His riding sessions are designed to meet his goals for his individual education plan (IEP). His IEP aligns to the school curriculum and Dom’s goals; and for Dom there is a focus on his communication skills and his ability to read stories.

Kelly continues.

“I am so impressed with the whole process. Goals are developed and reviewed regularly. Dom is invested in achieving his goals. He likes the challenge. The skills he learns while riding are transferable in that they then transfer to school and to his community. He learns responsibility and leadership from working with his horse and ride team. He learns self-management because he needs to wait with a helmet, ready to start his ride. And there is even more – he has more self-belief, he now has an important role in the classroom and he has gained in self-management skills. He can do more for himself. He has grown and he is better at managing change. As he improves at school, he meets more of his life goals.

The volunteers always encourage him to be independent and to do things for himself.

He is learning left and right. He is finding letters. There might be an activity like labelling the parts of the horse. So then he is reading and writing. These are all key educational outcomes. He also likes a competition or a race. He likes to ride outside the arena – he can ride down the driveway and to the field.

The whole thing is wonderful because he has a sense of excitement and joy.”

Let’s end this story with a quote from Dom in his own words. This is what he likes about RDA!

“The riding up the lane and over the hill is best. I like to throw the frisbees and do racing.”

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