Three RDA Volunteers Celebrate Coaching Success

Three volunteers from the Riding for the Disabled’s South East Region have recently been successful in passing the prestigious RDA Coach exam allowing them to assess and instruct RDA participants beyond their own Group. Gail Dennis, Sophie Honnywill and Sheila Grace, all from Kent groups are RDA volunteers from various walks of life, who have juggled home and work to put in the hours necessary to teach, study, develop case studies and a bulging log book in order to get the experience and acumen necessary for the exam.

In congratulating the three, Lindsay Correa, South East Regional Chair also praised the Coaches saying “It’s a real credit to the senior RDA coaches that they can get volunteers from with such varied levels of experience to the same level of knowledge to pass the exam”.

The quality of coaching at RDA is second to none, combining equestrian knowledge with an in-depth understanding of a wide range of disabilities. All three have followed the RDA’s tailored programme of training and assessment to achieve this coaching success covering a wide range of topics from Safeguarding and Teaching Theory to Volunteer Management and Medical Knowledge. Indeed, such is the depth of the medical acumen that they have now had to acquire, they are in a position to assess a potential rider, who they’ve never met and decide on whether they are a suitable candidate for riding and what level of support they should require to meet the needs of their individual situation. Ultimately this may mean consulting an RDA physiotherapist to make the final recommendation.

As RDA in Kent celebrate their achievement, they also illustrate the many varied backgrounds that RDA volunteers hail from and prove that expertise in horses or medical knowledge is not a requirement to progression in RDA Coaching. Sophie was a project manager and now runs a charity while Sheila had an extensive portfolio of experience in medical research and diagnostics.

GAIL DENNIS, CORNILO RDA, DOVER, KENT

Cornilo RDA is a small group based just outside Dover. It works mainly with local schools with children with both learning and physical disabilities and a few adults for whom riding is rehabilitation and in one case a relief from Alzheimers.

Gail joined in 2009 and later that year became a Group coach. “Wanting to improve my coaching skills I took the UKCC level 2 in 2014 and now the RDAC” says Gail. “Seeing the benefits of horses and riding still continues to amaze me and keeps me wanting to expand my knowledge so that I can help as many as I can”.

SOPHIE HONNYWILL, BRADBOURNE RDA, DOVER KENT

Sophie Honnywill started volunteering at Bradbourne RDA in 2005 and became a Group Coach in 2007. She was also a Trustee of the Bradbourne RDA Group for several years.

“I always enjoyed attending the RDA training days, meeting with members of other groups, and gaining new ideas about coaching and running a group” says Sophie. “It was suggested back in 2013 that I should take the RDAC exam but it took until this year for me to commit to completing my logbook. My decision to finally take the exam was due to the encouragement given by other RDACs and our Regional Coach”.

Sophie is now involved in a new project, Rainbow Pony Rides, giving disadvantaged and seriously ill children the chance to ride and spend time with a pony. She is also in the process of developing a new equestrian centre with plans for applying for the Accessibility Mark accreditation.

SHEILA GRACE, BRADBOURNE RDA, KENT

Sheila Grace has taught and coached in various ways throughout her working life and she love learning new skills with horses and people. When she retired, she had the golden opportunity to put everything together and immediately volunteered at Bradbourne RDA Group.

“Horses are strong, generous and wonderful animals that make people happy and allow them to achieve” she says. “I have had great encouragement and followed the stepping stones to RDAC. It was hard work but I learnt so much and met some fantastic coaches and RDA personnel. Every rider and horse is different – I’m still learning!”

THE RDA COACHING PATHWAY

As part of the development of a nationwide RDA Coaching Pathway, the RDAC exam is making way for a modular, continuous assessment approach in order to encourage a greater number of talented volunteers and individuals to expand their coaching horizons. However, the skills and scope of the RDAC will still be incorporated.