Group member of RDA Division Registered Charity No. 1141360 (Please note our charity used to be known as Abingdon Group RDA with charity number 1074161, this charity ceased to exist in 2014 when it was replaced with the current incorporated form of RDA Abingdon Ltd (with the charity number 1141360). (A Group Member of the Riding for the Disabled Association incorporating Carriage Driving, Registered Company No 5010395, Registered Charity No, 244108)
Registered Charity No. 1141360 (Please note our charity used to be known as Abingdon Group RDA with charity number 1074161, this charity ceased to exist in 2014 when it was replaced with the current incorporated form of RDA Abingdon Ltd (with the charity number 1141360). (A Group Member of the Riding for the Disabled Association incorporating Carriage Driving, Registered Company No 5010395, Registered Charity No, 244108) 
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June 11th 2017 - Rooster’s Picnic Ride.  Anita organised a superb picnic ride from her home on the downs.  We did a large circle which included part of the Ridgeway.  The weather was just perfect, warm with a nice cooling wind.  Apparently we walked and rode nearly 6 miles and ended up back in the yard happy and tired.  Sharon and Sue M  did us proud with an amazing picnic.  Very many thanks to everyone (especially to Anita, Piers, Sandra, Denise G, Sharon and Sue M) for their hard work and dawn start to make this a really wonderful day.  May 2017 Gillie and Sarah Barlow should have a “we were brave badge”!  They performed a Wing Walk in aid of our much anticipated new indoor school.  It’s not too late to donate to their Just Giving page.  View the video and dig deep! Sarah also held a wonderful Food Fair in Ardington that was very well supported.Thank you both for your bravery, support and hard work. May 2017  We held a plant sale with side stalls and refreshments.  It was such a pity about the weather which affected turnout but we still managed to make a healthy sum of just over £1100.  Many thanks to Sarah Wilkinson for her amazing hard work and also to all others who helped and donated plants/prizes etc.  Fun with “Pin the tail on Mr. Brown” and “Lucky Dip”……  May 2017 We are very grateful to the Faringdon Rotary Club who presented a cheque for £4,500 to two of our Saturday morning riders by club President Sarah Benson. Sarah chose Abingdon RDA as her charity for the year, and the money was raised from their annual Duck Race at Millets Farm along with other fund raising activities. May 2017 - The Wednesday evening class starred in a Meridian TV News report.  See the full footage here.  Some excellent riding impressed the team who came to interview and record the lesson.  Alice - the instructor provided a wonderful lesson despite the distractions and the riders all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. June 2017 - 9 of our riders qualified for the National Championships, on 5 different ponies, so they will heading for Hartpury.  Very many thanks to all the instructors, volunteers and staff who made this day such a huge success for our group.  The ponies were wonderful and the riders excelled.    We are off……… Sandy hitched a lift home Roxie wants to stay Summer holidays 2018 - Pony for the Day Many thanks to all coaches and volunteers who organised 4 wonderful sessions of Pony for the Day.  Much fun was had by all and there were some excellent ideas including making pony treats and understanding your pony’s expressions.  Some good leading techniques kept them all.   There was some good riding and fun gymkhana games.   We are very grateful to the Duke and his team for  allowing this wonderful fund-raising event on an  annual basis.  This year, we were worried that  numbers of riders were down but we had some  amazing riders who raised record amounts of  sponsorship money  - total was magnificent sum of  over £4000.  Gift Aid adds a nice tidy sum too!  We  were so lucky with the weather and the response from  riders (some of whom came from far afield) was so  rewarding.  Thank you to all who helped make this a  day for many to remember. Blenheim Palace Sponsored Ride September 8th 2018 Fun Day - very many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this a wonderful day to remember (especially Rachel and Donald).There were so many achievements - Freya had her first canter, not exactly planned, but wow, didn’t she do well!  Lots of rosettes were worn with pride. You all did brilliantly!A big thank you to the BBQ & food team for a delicious spread. A lovely sunny day and we are out for a ride!   BBC South Today 7 September at 18:08 ·  The horses that are changing lives, but they can't be ridden indoors in winter because the arena is too small. See the video on our Facebook page.  5th July - Kingfisher Picnic ride.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  We had a wonderful ride around the fields followed by a picnic of our usual extremely high standard which was enjoyed by all. Well done to all those who competed at the National Finals - we are proud of you all!Thank you also to all those who put in such hard work coaching the riders, training the horses, preparing the horses and for your support and hard work on location.  Saturday Aug 19th - Sue Taylor and Gwenfair  got up very early to set up a car boot stall at Burford.  Unfortunately we parked in the shade and the day was colder than we expected.  As you can see, Gwen spent a lot of time hugging the polypads which warmed up as the sun rose.  We are on a learning curve and it was fun, but it wasn’t a huge financial success.  There are easier ways of fund raising as we found out. Fun Day September 2017 What a super day we all had!  Expertly organised and it didn’t rain until we had all finished!  All the riders should be proud of themselves for some great achievements - even though it was just a Fun Day! May thanks to all those who helped to make it such a success.  Jan 14th 2018  - Ann Barlows’ 80th birthday surprise party.  How we kept it a secret, we’ll never know but Ann thought that she was off to a food fair with her daughters and looked what happened!We had a super party to thank Ann for all that she has done for the group and to wish her a big Happy Birthday. Feb 2018 - QUIZ night We held a Quiz night in Southmoor Village Hall (preceded by our AGM).  This was a highly successful, enjoyable evening and we raised approximately £1000 towards much-needed funds.  Rachel and Donald put together the questions (& answers) which were expertly delivered.  The Fund Raising Team organised refreshments, a bar and a raffle and even had time to add a lovely touch - a flower arrangement on each table.  The hall was packed with supporters, so a huge thank you to all the organisers and supporters. What distance can a cow smell?????  Now I know the answer, so am armed with the fact to impress my friends. May 12th 2018  Congratulations to Kate and Christian Towers who tied the knot on a beautiful day.  What a poor excuse - they couldn’t come to our plant sale! Here is wishing them both every happiness. 14th April 2018 A Black Tie Dinner and Dance was held at Kingston House.This was a super evening with a very enjoyable meal and we raised an impressive > £13,000 towards our new indoor school.  Many thanks to the organisers and our hosts.  Plant Sale and Mini FeteMay 12th 2018Thank you to everyone who supported this event.  At the last count, we raised £740 with more to come.A huge thank you to Sarah Wilkinson who collected, grew etc. all the plants and to all those who baked cakes and donated items for the tables, and helped out.  Thanks also to all those who attended and parted with their money.  Whoever arranged the weather did extremely well! May 20th 2018 Southern Region Qualifier  An amazing 11 riders qualified for National finals.  Well done to everyone who rode, to all the volunteers, staff and coaches who put in many additional hours to make this day such an enjoyable success. Check into our Facebook page to see many photos.  Good luck for the National Finals in July! July 11th 2018The Wednesday group arranged the weather again for yet another fabulous picnic ride.  After an extra long ride, we were rewarded with our usual amazing spread.  We have to congratulate the children for their patience whilst the adults kept coming back for seconds and thirds!I think that this was the best behaved group of children that we have ever shared our picnic with. 14-15th July 18 National Finals   Huge congratulations to all our riders who rode so well and achieved so much.  Credit must also go to the instructors, staff and volunteers who give up so much of their time.  We mustn’t forget to give credit to our wonderful ponies who keep on giving their best. Thank you to all those who supported our sponsored ride at Blenheim and very many thanks to the Duke for allowing us to hold this annual event.  We raised just over £2000 after expenses.  Despite the wind everyone seemed to enjoy the event (including the RDA group who did the short ride). Congratulations to Chloe Thomas who raised the most money - she will hold the 2018 cup.
Pony for the Day Tuesday May 31st These five girls and their wonderful helpers, had a fantastic "pony for the day" day. The day started mucking out 3 boxes, followed by a grooming session. Then a ride round the handy pony course. Time to relax and have lunch before fun and games with gymkhana. They then all gave a mini lecture from the gallery on something that they had learned during the course of the day. Rosettes all round and then home. Thank you so much to all those that make these days possible. They will be running during the summer holidays so look out for the lists if you would like to join in.
During last week of June 2016 we played host to 2 groups of Brownies.  The first to arrive were Long Wittenham Brownies on Monday and on Thursday we were also delighted to welcome the Southmoor and Kingston Bagpuize group.  Both groups gave us a very generous donation and we thank them very much for their support.
Fun Day September 2017 What a super day we all had!  Expertly organised and it didn’t rain until we had all finished!  All the riders should be proud of themselves for some great achievements - even though it was just a Fun Day! May thanks to all those who helped to make it such a success.

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