The Tall Timbers’ Times

Volume 30 No.2 August, 2017

RIDING FOR THE DISABLED ASSOCIATION (NSW) “TALL TIMBERS” CENTRE, BOX HILL

“SNIPPETS” Happy Birthday to our Horse Team, did you know this year the average age of our current program horse team is 22 years old?! They are all looking very good for their age as we will see in our DVD for their annual Horses Birthday Celebration event! Our AGM was held with two new members joining the Committee. Welcome to Sarah and Robyn and also the retirement of John Norris who was presented with an RM Williams belt as a token of appreciation for his service on the Committee. We also heard about the connection Deb Swinton of Tallowood School has with RDA which started many years ago with learning to ride with Mrs B and donating a horse to Ryde RDA many, many years ago. Now her connection continues as Deputy Principal of Tallowood School which has been part of the Tall Timbers’ Riding program since 2006. The Centre has been busy with State activities and events, attending the RDA(NSW) Annual General Meeting, Administration Workshop and Awards Dinner where we were presented with two State Winners. Alan Gollan was presented with the State Encouragement Award. Allan has been recognised for the instigation of our relationships of Blacktown Workers Club who have provided a ClubGRANT again in 2017. Thank you to Allan and Thank you to the Members & Directors of Blacktown Workers Club. Chocolate was also recognised for her RDA work and was presented with the Shush Memorial Award. Chocolate is a star that we are so grateful to her owners and carers for having as part our program and we are thankful she has been recognised with the very special Shush Award.

We also attended the Sydney Royal Easter Show with three riders in the Mounted Games Championships and Hannibal and Buddy in the Horse of the Year Competition. Our riders rode their games well amongst

tough competition from the other Centres. Hannibal and Buddy were ridden by Riley in the Horse of the Year with Hannibal being announced as the winner of the Horse of the Year!!! Congratulations to all Riders and Horses in the event and Thank you to the organisers and volunteers of the event and of course the RAS for hosting us. We held a Regional Dressage Day with riders from Tall Timbers and Richmond participating. It was a lovely sunny day and we were able to set up the arena on the outdoor arena again. All the riders had a great day with some first times and personal bests amongst the riders. Check out Mackenzie’s story about her first ever dressage competition. Thanks to Richmond Centre for attending and of course all the volunteers behind the scenes and on the day that helped make the day so great!

We were given the opportunity to represent RDA(NSW) when The Today Extra Show came to visit. We had three riders and their families involved in the interviews and filming as well as our Coaches and Jan Pike, one of the RDA(NSW) Directors attend. It was a lovely story about Chocolate and the benefits of horses just like her and how we as an organisation effect change on our participants’ lives and families. Our Fundraising efforts continue to support the operation of the centre with Model Railways, Bunnings, Bingo, Collectors Plant Fair, Ride-a-thon events and for the first time Cookie Dough all making Semester 1 a busy time for our various fundraising co-ordinators. It is great to see everyone having an opportunity to participate in a variety of different fundraisers. We were also out and about at Riverstone Parade again.

We are looking forward to being involved in the Orange Blossom Festival in August and our Trivia Night is being planned for October, check out the Upcoming Events in this edition for all the things you can get involved with at the Centre. Our Coaching Team have been getting familiar with the new Mounted Games events in preparation for the Regional Mounted Games, which is the qualification event for the RDA(NSW) State Mounted Games Championships at the 2018 Sydney Royal Easter Show, the event will be held in September. Our Tall Timbers team are always looking for ways to expand and provide more services but we are challenged by volunteer availability after school and on Saturdays as well as the capability and workload of our horses. At this time of year we celebrate RDA through Awareness Week so it’s a great time to spread the word about what we do and encourage friends and colleagues to get involved. Thank you to everyone who has provided support and assistance throughout the beginning of 2017. We are looking forward to the possibilities that Semester 2 will bring. Nicole King

NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT What a whirlwind Semester 1 has been, everyone settled in quickly to the RDA routine and many fundraising and promotional activities have been successfully completed. We had added catering for the three day Plant Fair at Hawkesbury Racecourse this year. Thank you to everyone who assisted in whatever way with all of our events. With the guidance and planning from our wonderful coaches and volunteers, our riding, life skills and carriage driving programs have again been successful, with many happy stories to tell and smiles from all the participants. Presentation week was a busy time with our coaches and volunteers also being so proud of “their” rider’s achievements and there were smiles all round. We had a change of pace for Volunteer Week this year celebrating with a party atmosphere each day to thank all our wonderful volunteers that give so much of their time and expertise to assist others. We hope that everyone and the horses have enjoyed a cosy winter break from the normal routine and are recharged ready for the warmer weather and next semester. As well as looking forward to our “new” participants and ongoing team work for Semester 2, the calendar is filling up quickly with RDA horse events such as State Dressage Championships and Regional Mounted Games qualifier, Supporters Day, fundraisers and

community activities. We are mindful of dates and preparation time so as to try and not overload people and the Centre with events. Looking forward to a happy Semester 2.

Karen O’Neill

WHAT DOES IT COST?

Did you know that it costs approximately $250,000 per annum to run Tall Timbers Centre? That equates to about $1400 per participant. We only charge a nominal fee of $175 which includes an insurance payment of $82 which goes to RDANSW. The shortfall is made up from constant fundraising, donations and interest from investment. We couldn’t run our programs without the help of many dedicated volunteers and the continued assistance of Service Clubs, donors, Foundations and the supporters of our fundraising activities.

Please call the office to make a donation or let us know of other ways you may be able to assist.

TALL TIMBERS’ AGM SPEAKER

Thank you to Deb Swinton, Deputy Principal of Tallowood School who was the Guest Speaker at our AGM on Wednesday evening. Everyone really enjoyed hearing about Deb’s long history with our Centre and about the benefits of our program to the students from her school over the years. Thank you also to our auditors Brad Druitt and Phillip McCarthy of McCarthy Salkeld Chartered Accountants who attended the AGM and presented the Financial Statements. Congratulations and thank you to our incoming Committee for 2017. It was great to see so many members in attendance. Thank you all for your continued support.

Please forward The Tall Timbers’ Times on to your friends, family and colleagues.

RDA NSW STATE AWARDS The RDA(NSW) Awards Dinner was held in May. Tall Timbers Centre came away with a few winners. Congratulations to Alan Gollan who was named winner of the RDA(NSW) Volunteer Encouragement Award – well deserved. “Chocolate” won the Shush Memorial Award for outstanding pony at a State level. Abigail won a prize in the drawing competition and Tall Timbers Centre won the photo competition. Congratulations to all the other nominations and winners at this annual event.

RIDE-A-THON RESULTS Thank you to everyone who supported the Semester 1 Ride-a-thon. We hope the riders enjoyed the various activities. $1624 was raised to assist Tall Timbers.

TODAY EXTRA FILMING RDA(NSW) was featured on Today Extra. The segment was filmed at Tall Timbers and it was really nice to showcase Chocolate, our Shush Memorial Award winner while representing RDA(NSW) for the segment. Thank you to Channel 9 Today Extra for supporting RDA(NSW).

We have been given the link to our segment. Feel free to share.

"TODAY take a look at Tall Timbers, the organisation helping kids with disabilities overcome life's obstacles." https://www.9now.com.au/…/20…/clip-cj499iqup00690hrw0sipnvl6

TALL TIMBERS’ WISH LIST Thank you to everyone who responded to our wish list. Every little bit helps us to provide our service.

Seed raising mix Mineral Lick for our horses Vegetable oil and salt for the horses Washing powder/liquid for horse rugs Copy paper (white and coloured) Plastic sleeves Postage stamps Paper towel Aeroguard Prizes for Trivia and raffles Bagless vacuum cleaner Pressure cleaner Outdoor paint – bright colours Volunteers – extra hands for the Senses & Fun Program, property maintenance and fundraising Horses 14hh – 15hh (contact us for a horse form) Bright outdoor paint for an exciting Senses & Fun Project. Ideal colours would be frog green and ladybird red! Laptop computer

Christmas Treasure Trove Raffle 2017 $2 per ticket

Tickets available from the Tall Timbers’ office . Please support this raffle by purchasing tickets or selling some on our behalf. 1

st Prize Toyota Yaris 5dr manual on road

or $16,000 cash 2

nd Prize $1000 worth of jewellery

from Kurt Seifert Jewellers 3

rd Prize Netbook/Tablet

Run in conjunction with Rotary Club of Holroyd Drawn Monday 15

th January at Merrylands Bowling Club

SYDNEY ROYAL SHOW By Nicole King, RDA TT Staff Coach The 2017 Sydney Royal Easter Show again hosted an opportunity for RDA(NSW) riders to experience this great event with the RDA(NSW) State Mounted Games Championships and Horse of the Year Event. This year there were horses and riders competing from Tall Timbers Centre (Box Hill), Richmond Centre, Wagga Wagga Centre, Kempsey-Macleay Centre and Manning Great Lakes Centre. The event is put on with generous assistance of the RAS and the many RDA(NSW) Volunteers who are involved in the preplanning and running of the event on the day. Thank you to the organisers and congratulations to all the Riders and Centres involved in the event particularly Richmond Centre for being awarded Best Presented Team and Kempsey-Macleay Centre for taking home the Champion Rider Trophy. The Tall Timbers Centre had three riders competing in the Mounted Games Led and Walk Events which included Flag, Bending Barrel and Keyhole Events. Jessica and Caleb were competing for the first time with Maddison riding for the second year. Riders rode really well with our horses Buddy and Hannibal doing their jobs perfectly.

In the Horse of the Year event, the horse is judged on their acceptance of the activities as they are ridden through an obstacle course. Riley rode both Hannibal and Buddy in the event and while it was Riley’s first outside competition, both horses have won this competition before. This year, despite some close competition from Ochre from Wagga Wagga Centre who placed second, Buddy was awarded third place and Hannibal was announced as the 2017 Sydney Royal RDA(NSW) Horse of the Year Winner. We are so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our riders and horses and to do so at such an event is the highlight of the year.

RIVERSTONE PARADE

By Pip Lovely, Vice President 7.30 on a Saturday morning is not my best time of day but on 13th May President Karen and I arrived at Tall Timbers to pick up all the gear needed to decorate the Triton for the Riverstone Fair. We packed everything in the back and in quite thick fog slowly travelled to the Riverstone marshalling area where all the parade entrants assemble. We spent the next hour or so working out how we could fit our three A-frame horses onto the back of the truck (as Fred, our fibreglass horse would not fit). After much fiddling and discussion we had them up and ready to be judged … sadly we did not get a placing and we both felt that we were ripped off!!! At about 10.30 the parade got underway and we slowly circumnavigated the Riverstone shop area with lots of waving at everyone and having them call out to us on how much the RDA is a worthwhile organisation. There were a lot of people watching and enjoying the floats and bands as they passed by. There were school children, both little and big, marching (well walking in a haphazard way!!), from Riverstone School, Norwest College and a couple of other schools plus walkers from both Christian and Hindu groups and dancing academies. The police had a convoy of old police vehicles and there were quite a few vintage cars in the parade. To start off the parade, 4 riders dressed in the authentic 1st World war cavalry gear with flags, sabres and rifles, representing both the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) forces, proudly rode to the delight of the crowd. Our tour of Riverstone finished at about 11.30 and after a walk around the stalls we returned back to put all our gear away at about 2pm. But what a great fun morning we had had!!!

HORSE DIARY Hi Everyone!

Can you believe we're half way through the year already?! We've had an awesome semester of riding & we are so proud of how much our riders achieved. It was sad to say goodbye to them but I'm sure we'll see them again. It's been a busy few months which started with the Easter Show. I was glad I didn’t have to get up as early as Hannibal & Buddy did that day; they left before the sun came up & didn't get home until it was dark! They were really tired but we were all so excited to hear how it went. We made them tell us all about it while we were waiting for dinner (which was late AGAIN!!!) They couldn't stop beaming about how awesome their riders were that day, Caleb, Maddison & Jessica in the mounted games & Riley in the Horse of the Year; well done everyone! Did you all see me on TV? Well probably not because I was only in one background shot & they chopped my head off! Channel 9 came to film a segment for Today Extra & they decided to just film Chocolate. How rude! She already thinks she rules the world, I mean don’t even think about asking her to share her food! Chocolate’s riders had the camera wrapped around their little fingers & didn’t fail to impress – I can see Logie awards in their futures! Seriously though, it was great to show Australia what we do because every RDA centre, RDA horse & RDA volunteer is invaluable & the world needs to know! Tall Timbers once again hosted the Regional dressage day & what great day it was! The weather was amazing & the riders really put on a show for us. There were riders from Richmond centre & an associate rider as well as riders from Tall Timbers competing. Pancho, Hannibal, Buddy & Bailey were representing TT & they all couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had. Some of the riders were competing in their first ever dressage competition & they were awesome! Well done to everyone who competed, even though I didn’t get to join in this time it’s always great to see the riders all dressed up, smiling & having fun. We welcomed some new neighbours; Coco & Karoo have come to see if they like it here. Karoo is a bit shy & I know he thinks I’m a bit loud but I’m sure once he gets

to know me he’ll see I just like to speak my affection out loud... Coco, on the other hand, is a bit weird! He doesn’t mind me being vocal but instead of being ridden he prefers to have people run around after him! Each to their own I suppose but having some contraption on wheels tied to you really isn’t my thing! Anyway, I hope they like it here, you should all say hi to them if you see them. Hey, guess what? My birthday is coming up! Apparently you are all having a party for me but I’m not invited? How does that work? How can a restaurant not allow the guest of honour to come to their own party? Well, I hope you all enjoy my party; can someone at least bring me back a piece of cake? Pretty please? Luv Pepper xoxo

CLUBGRANT THANK YOU BLACKTOWN WORKERS CLUB By Kerry Souter, Administrator Thank you to Blacktown Workers Club. Tall Timbers Centre received a $10,000 ClubGRANT from Blacktown Workers Club to assist with the running costs and maintenance of the vehicles used to run the Centre. The ClubGRANT scheme is a shared State Government-Club Industry program, funded by a 2.25% gaming machine tax rebate provided by the State Government to those registered clubs with gaming machine profits in excess of $1 million per annum. Alan and Marlene Gollan represented Tall Timbers at the Cheque Presentation held at Blacktown Workers Club. Alan was pleased to get the opportunity to thank the members and Directors in front of an audience of over 800 people. They also enjoyed a lovely dinner and a great show. RDA(NSW) Tall Timbers Centre is most appreciative of the continued support of Blacktown Workers Club.

TRIVIA NIGHT Saturday 14

th October at the Galston Club

Great prizes, lots of fun!

Make up a table of 8 or join another.

$15 per person.

Doors open at 6pm. Bistro meals available to purchase.

Trivia starts at 7.30.

No BYO food. Drinks and nibbles available to purchase.

SENSES AND FUN PROGRAM WARRAH By Warrah staff - Anoma, Bijli and Ingrid

Our clients eagerly waited to start RDA again for this term. During the break, Lyndal always asked, “When do we go to RDA again?” they were thrilled when they saw Michelle, the other volunteers, and all their favourite horses. Alex and Damien could not wait to get back to it; Alex knew exactly what he needed to do once he got there. He is keen to set up and get everything ready once he gets there. Sandy was new to the Senses and Fun program and she has enjoyed every minute of it. She was keen to get involved and do what was needed, making obstacle courses and leading horses through it. She loves to be around the horses. Everybody loves the gardening program as well as walking through the sensory gardens, looking for objects and seeing the seedlings they planted grow each week. Lyndal was exhausted after all her hard work but was always so proud of herself and being able to help out. She knows all the names of the horses and named a toy frog, “Roger”. We would like to thank Michelle and all the volunteers that come to help us each week. They are always so welcoming and always make sure everyone feels included. Many thanks.

VOLUNTEER WEEK AT TALL TIMBERS National Volunteer Week is a thank you to all volunteers who give their time across all voluntary sector groups. National Volunteer Week was celebrated from 8

th – 14

th

May at Tall Timbers Centre with cake each day to thank our dedicated volunteers.

RDA (NSW) AWARENESS WEEK

31ST

JULY TO 6TH

AUGUST

A great time to spread the word. Tell your friends, family and colleagues about Riding for the Disabled. There are many ways to support RDA(NSW) Tall Timbers Centre: volunteering with the riding or life skills program, donating funds or items from the wish list, holding a fundraiser, sponsoring a horse, supporting events, gardening & maintenance.

TALL TIMBERS CARRIAGE DRIVING AT ROSSMORE

By Janet Muspratt TT Carriage Driving Whip and Coordinator

We have had a chequered start to the year with several driving days having to be cancelled due to heatwave conditions and then wet grounds. However we finally got driving started in May and things are now going along well. Our first get together was a morning tea at Joy and Michelle Harris’ place to announce the results of the 2016 State Carriage Driving Competition and present the awards. Our four drivers were up against four drivers from the Raymond Terrace/Lower Hunter Centres (Stroud Annexe), in most of the events and some very good competition resulted. In the end, our drivers triumphed, with Linda Ongley awarded Champion Driver overall, and Katrina Webb being the Reserve Champion. Our other two drivers were not to be outdone however, with Felix Dawes having two wins in the strong Preliminary classes, and Michelle Harris gaining several good placings including two seconds, in the equally strong Open classes. Well done everyone! Our first driving session was in May and saw Linda and Michelle driving Nicholas, with me as Whip, through the Square Bending Course, one of the 2017 Competition events. Debbie Lyshak and Lynne Buckingham were the time keepers, with Alan Ongley, Joy Harris and Tiffany Cornall doing the ground helper tasks. Tiffany also had the camera clicking. Both drivers had a number of runs through the course and Nicholas soon got to know it. Typically, he started to do the course ‘his way’, cutting corners whenever possible, and both Michelle and Linda had to work hard to keep him on track and avoid knocking any of the nine cones involved. In early June Katrina Webb and Felix Dawes had their turn driving the Square Bending and Nicholas again made them work to keep him on course, so as not to knock the cones with the vehicle. Whilst he is basically a very amiable and obedient pony, it is good that he is not a ‘press button’ type, as his drivers always have to be alert to his little tricks, and have effective rein control if they want to get a good result. Our helpers that day were Lynne Buckingham, Debbie Lyshak and daughters Kiah and Brianna, Tiffany Cornall, Joy Harris, Peter Webb and Eleanor Dawes. To encourage more Centres to enter their drivers, the 2017 CD Competition events have been selected to be relatively easy to set up, and not require a large open

driving area. The events this year will be the usual photo classes (On Parade and In Action), square bending, precision cones and a flag race. Each of the sporting events has two divisions – ‘Preliminary’ for drivers who may require rein assistance, and ‘Open’ for drivers generally not requiring any assistance.

KRISTEL By Karina, Kristel’s Mum When Monday morning rolls around, that can only mean one thing in our house – RDA day! Kristel doesn’t need to be woken as she is up, dressed and raring to go. Having spent three years volunteering at RDA, it was time to ‘get back on the horse’ and challenge herself in a different way. Kristel was first introduced to RDA in country Victoria at Myrtleford, but moving back to the city meant other things took priority. Finding a love of riding again has been the one constant in our weekly activities. Kristel had a rough patch with mental health for the last year couple of years. Being at one with her horse ‘Buddy’ seems to having a calming effect and sets the stage for a great week. As a family, we are delighted with her progress and can see she enjoys her time at RDA and hope to see a horse or two in her next painting, as Art is her other love.

PETER Peter is 50 years old and he has been attending horse riding with RDA for over 20 years. Peter is a happy person and seems to be well liked by RDA staff and other riders because of his pleasant personality. Peter attends every Monday and he really looks forward to going throughout the week. Peter attends during the first six months of the year and he would like to attend all year but understands this is not possible. Peter enjoys RDA and would dress up for the special occasion and tries to look his best for all the staff at RDA. Peter lives in a group home with three other participants and by going to RDA he gets a break from his normal routine. It makes him feel more confident and he feels worthy and important. He likes to get the appreciation and motivation as he performs the various activities.

MACKENZIE’S FIRST DRESSAGE DAY By Tanya, Mackenzie’s Mum Mackenzie has been riding with RDA for five years. She started her riding journey as a timid, highly anxious and very weak little girl. Blind and developmentally delayed, it was a rehabilitation and therapeutic program that, over the past years, has shown progressive improvements in her physical and cognitive development. She has loved her weekly riding lessons with her dedicated volunteers Kirsty, Jen, Bec and Julie with many high-5s shared for good work and lots of singing to get through the lessons! It was such an honour to be invited along to the RDA Dressage Competition on 25

th June 2017. A year earlier

when it was suggested we aim for it, it was difficult to comprehend that she would obtain the skills required to participate. She had practiced her dressage routine many times leading up to the big day, responding to the cues required. But Mackenzie was feeling very nervous on the day of her ride. She looked so smart in her jodhpurs and coat, with her piggy tails and beautiful posture, saddled up and ready to ride on Pancho. As soon as she started walking outside a smile came across her face and her nerves melted away. It was a glorious winter’s day and all the participants and supporters sat quietly and cheered on the other riders.

We were all so proud of Mackenzie. She went through the entire course with all the skills necessary to walk, halt, and control Pancho and did an amazing job. It was a team effort with Kirsty, Jen, Julie and I running on the outskirts of the arena calling out the letters for her to locate the right corners and turns. Without any vision, Mackenzie relied on our voices and echolocation to complete the course. Mackenzie scored extremely well and came out with first place for her champion efforts as a Beginner rider in her first dressage competition. She really enjoyed the atmosphere, chatting to other riders and their families, and we all had a lovely day. It ran so smoothly and the all the riders were celebrated for their efforts on the day with a ribbon and score sheet. The food stall and sausage sizzle was a highlight for Mackenzie and we look forward to participating in this wonderful event again in the future. Thank you to RDA and our amazing volunteers that have worked tirelessly to support Mackenzie to grow as a rider and all the work you do to provide access to an activity for our children with additional needs. We are so grateful.

BANJO By Diana, Banjo’s Mum Banjo loves his session at RDA Tall Timbers on his horse Chocolate. John and Kim have really connected with Banjo and have worked out his funny sense of humour and how to make the session so much fun. Riding is his favourite physical therapy and he gets so excited when we arrive. Banjo was born at 24 weeks gestation and after a rocky 150 day stay in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit we finally got to take him home. Banjo was diagnosed with Dystonic Cerebral Palsy when he turned one as he had not met any of his developmental milestones despite having clear MRI scans. Since then we have searched for the best therapy to support him and help increase his head control and core strength. Horse riding has provided this for Banjo and allows him to have fun at the same time. Banjo loves being around animals and they can really calm his dystonic movements down and allow him to relax. We are so thankful for the RDA team as its having such a positive impact on Banjo’s life and his physical strength. It been amazing to watch him progress as he started basically laying on the horse and he is now able to be positioned in a sitting position and hold his head up. Thank you to the team, we look forward to our next session.

I think Chocolate is a champion horse as she knows all the games off by heart and helps guide me to the right answer. I never get an answer wrong when Chocolate is helping me. Chocolate goes nice and slow and helps keep me in position with my teacher’s full support. Chocolate is patient especially when my body is not doing what it’s told and she has to stop and wait for me to be ready again. Chocolate is so soft and her fur tickles my nose. I love riding Chocolate and sometimes I nearly fall asleep while I’m on her as I love the rhythm and the movement. Banjo

GOLDMAN SACHS COMMUNITY TEAMWORKS By Kerry Souter, Administrator Through Community TeamWorks, the people of Goldman Sachs contribute their ideas and expertise to drive tangible progress in communities where they work and live. At least one day a year, people from Goldman Sachs office work in partnership with local non-profit organisations around the world to help make a meaningful difference. On Friday 21

st July, a team of fifteen Goldman Sachs

employees assisted Tall Timbers Centre with a working bee to clean and tidy the property ready for the new Semester. Cobwebs were removed, paths were swept, paddocks weeded, dead wood cleared away, the railing was scrubbed, edges snipped and grass mown. They only stopped for a yummy lunch or a well-deserved tea break. Thank you to Goldman Sachs for this great initiative and also for donating a new mower to Tall Timbers. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

RIDING HORSES (Acrostic Poem)

By: Harry, Saman, Charlie, Nour, Jayna, Lucas William Stimson Public School

Ride-a-thon was fun. Driving our school bus every Wednesday to Tall Timbers. A variety of activities were performed.

Riding horses is enjoyable. I like instructing my horse. Directing horses to where we are going. I am always excited. Need to get my helmet and boots. Going out into the paddock is great.

Helpers guide the horses and walk beside us. Our horses’ names are – Cheyanne, Kitty, Jack, Buddy, Chocolate and Indi. Rider of the Week Award for a lesson well done! Super, special staff and horses. Exercising with horses is exciting and pleasant. So looking forward to going again!

UP COMING EVENTS

SUPPORTERS’ DAY Saturday 29

th July 10am - 12

Supporters of Tall Timbers Centre are invited to join us for morning tea. You can meet our team, watch a practical demonstration and see how your generous support has helped our Centre.

AWARENESS WEEK 31

st July to 6

th August

A time to promote the wonderful work of Riding for the Disabled Association.

HORSES’ BIRTHDAY LUNCH Billy’s Bistro at the Vineyard Hotel 11.30am on Tuesday 1

st August

Gather a group of friends together to have a great lunch and celebrate the Horses’ birthday while raising money for RDA Tall Timbers. $35 per person for a set menu (purchase your drinks).Individual or group bookings welcome. Lucky door prizes, raffle & guessing competition. Bookings and payment necessary. 96791246 or talltimbers@rdansw.org.au

HORSES’ BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER Help our horses celebrate their birthday by giving a

donation to help with the cost of feed and treats.

Donations can be deposited into the RDA NSW Tall

Timbers Account. BSB 032569 Account 155695

(Westpac). Please let us know by email so that we can

supply a receipt for your donation.

STATE DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND GYMKHANA GALA 11

th – 13th August

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTRE

Email: dressage@rdansw.org.au for more info

ORANGE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL Sunday 27

th August 10am – 7pm

We are holding an information stand at the Orange

Blossom Festival at Bella Vista Farm. Helpers needed to

man the stall.

REGIONAL MOUNTED GAMES DAY 24th September 9am – 2pm

TALL TIMBERS CENTRE

This is a qualifier for the RDA(NSW) Mounted Games

and will be held at Tall Timbers Centre. Come along and

support the riders. A canteen will be available.

TRIVIA NIGHT

Saturday 14th

October at the Galston Club

Great prizes, lots of fun! Make up a table of 8 or join

another. $15 per person. Doors open at 6pm. Bistro

meals available to purchase. Trivia starts at 7.30.

No BYO food. Drinks and nibbles available to purchase.

RIDE-A-THON 14th

– 21st

October

Semester Two Ride-a-thon will be held during class.

BUNNINGS ROUSE HILL BBQ Saturday 21

st October

We’d love to have your assistance at these BBQ

allocations. Thank you once again to Bunnings Rouse

Hill for their continued support.

WORLD POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS The Eleventh FIP World Polo Championship will be held

from 21-29 October at the Sydney Polo Club at

Richmond. RDA(NSW) volunteers can be involved.

Further information to come.

SATURDAY RIDERS’ PRESENTATION Saturday 2

nd December 10am – 12 noon

This presentation of awards and party is for all Saturday

morning riders this year. It is supported by the Lions

Club of Kuringai.

VOLUNTEER LUNCH FRIDAY 8

TH December 11am – 2.30pm

Once again our volunteers are invited to a luncheon to

thank them for their hard work throughout the year. Put

this date in your diary for a friendly get together.

THE TALL TIMBERS’ TIMES DISTRIBUTION The Tall Timbers’ Times is available on our website or via

email. Hard copies are available from the Centre.

GENERAL INFORMATION RDA Tall Timbers’ Programs are operated in line with the NSW Disability Service Standards. RDA Tall Timbers is committed to protecting the privacy of its volunteers and clientele and implements the National Privacy Act 2012. Our policies and procedures are available at the office for your perusal and input. At any time suggestions, compliments or complaints can be placed in our suggestion box. You can also complain to the NSW Ombudsman if you feel you have been treated unfairly.

RIDING FOR THE DISABLED ASSOCIATION (NSW) TALL TIMBERS CENTRE 125 OLD PITT TOWN ROAD

BOX HILL. NSW. 2765

PHONE (02) 9679 1246 FAX (02) 9679 0638 EMAIL: talltimbers@rdansw.org.au Website: http://talltimbers.rdansw.org.au Facebook: http://facebook.com/RDATallTimbers

NDIS RDA(NSW) TALL TIMBERS CENTRE

IS A REGISTERED NDIS SERVICE PROVIDER FOR

PARTICIPATE COMMUNITY

AND DEVELOP LIFE SKILLS

If you have these categories in your plan and would like our Centre to claim your RDA Fee from NDIS please contact the

office on 96791246

“Tall Timbers” Centre 125 Old Pitt Town Road BOX HILL NSW 2765

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING AT RDA TALL TIMBERS CENTRE

Here are some of the goals that volunteering can help you achieve

o A great way to learn or develop skills. o A means of building self-esteem or confidence.

o A pathway to enhancing work experience.

o To gain improved health and be active.

o A way to meet new people or broaden your social set.

o To make a difference in someone's life.

o A way of 'giving back'.

o An opportunity to support a cause you feel strongly about.

o Feeling needed and valued is satisfying in itself.

o To make a difference within your own community.