Westmorland RDA

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Westmorland RDA

This is the page of Westmorland Riding for the Disabled Group. No 5587 836 Charity No. 1114850). We operate from bases near Kendal in Cumbria.

We are a local charity providing therapy, achievement and enjoyment for children and adults with disabilities, through horse riding. Riding for the Disabled Westmorland Group (Westmorland RDA) is a registered charity (Company Reg. (Kendal was formerly in the old county of Westmorland, hence the name of our group.) Our trained coaches and volunteer helpers offer a safe and happy environment for our

activities. All our costs are met through fund-raising activities and donations from kind individuals and organisations. The Westmorland group offers riding sessions for children, and carriage driving sessions for people of all ages. The Carriage Driving group meets on Thursday mornings at the County Show Field, Crooklands, Kendal, throughout the year (with a break over the colder months). The riding group meets at Willowsway Stud and Rehabilitation centre, on Mondays from 12:45pm to 3:30pm during school term-time.

19/06/2026

On Tuesday we had fun with beanbags: picking them up from one place and putting them down in another, balancing them on heads and holding them with arms outstretched. We learned how to run up stirrups and how to remove a bridle. And we stayed dry!

12/06/2026

This year Jannice Mitchell, the gracious President of Westmorland Group from 2008 to 2020, celebrated her 90th birthday.
Jan had been involved with horses most of her life. Her experience and knowledge were invaluable to us, as were her fairness, kindness and sense of fun.
At a small gathering of her old friends in the group, Jan was presented with cards and flowers to mark the occasion.
Although she retired some years ago, Jan remains an Honorary Life Member of Westmorland Group.
Happy birthday Jan. Thank you for all you have done for us ❤️

09/06/2026

We were excited to be introduced to our new RDA-approved ponies, Alfie and Simba at today's ride, although their entry into the arena was greeted by a downpour! Poor Alfie took shelter in his stable for a while and joined us a little later. Mary put us through our paces and riders, and ponies, acquitted themselves well.
Annette, brandishing a clipboard, quizzed the riders on the points of the horse and names of the tack in preparation for end of term awards. It was done with great humour, so informative and fun.

06/06/2026

Last weekend, we were pleased to be included in the educational marquee at Countryfest 2026 at the Westmorland Show Ground. Once we were all set up, we had a steady stream of families stopping by. The children were able to make pony badges, learnt about pony care, played horsey hoopla or pin the tail on the pony, while the parents were able to find out more about Riding for the Disabled. We met some interesting families, including one family whose relative had successfully ridden dressage at the Paralympic Games in Germany.

One of our volunteers had entered the Baking Competition and won a first prize and two second prizes. Congratulations Fiona! Needless to say, the cakes didn't last long!

04/06/2026

On Tuesday it was an action-packed afternoon at Larkrigg.
The rain mostly held off, and riders and ponies were on good form. The riders worked hard under Mary’s instructions, with some managing to stand up in their saddles for long periods without complaining - until they got down from their ponies and realised their legs were aching.
There were walking races and exercises involving riding with hands in the air, behind backs, out in front and on top of heads. Several riders also made good progress with steering.
Some of our riders divided their time between riding and grooming Sunny, who, as always, ejoyed the attention ❤️

After the riding sessions the helpers stayed behind for a chat and some cake with Pauline and Rebecca from the RDA regional team and to applaud Hazel, who has won the North Region individual RDA volunteer of the year award. Well done, Hazel! You’ll need to keep that silver cup well polished over the next 12 months!

20/05/2026

Three seasons in one Tuesday afternoon for us today! Our first riders remained dry while they guided their ponies around blocks and in and out of poles, finishing with a game of Grandmother's Footsteps.
We saw it coming and it arrived as the second riders were mounting. Bucketing down with hail in the mix! Abandonment was inevitable.
All clear for our third ride, where good steering was on display. The riders ran up their stirrups and thanked their ponies. And then the sun came out!

13/05/2026

Well, we almost managed to avoid the rain, in spite of grey clouds looming up. The riders on the 2 o'clock ride did get rather wet, but they're hardy types and they rode on heroically and everyone demonstrated some excellent riding skills. Everyone had fun negotiating the obstacles and having races. At the end of the afternoon it looked as if Shirley was practising for the Highland games, but it turned out she was just putting a pole back where it belonged. Which was a relief to all the people around her!

06/05/2026

Another enjoyable Tuesday afternoon at Larkrigg. Eager riders and obliging ponies and plenty of instructions from our coaches that kept our young riders on their toes - though with feet firmly in the stirrups! And a tough workout, too, for the helpers because of the very dry sand. No complaints, though - dry weather Tuesdays are what we all want.

30/04/2026

We had a very enjoyable riding afternoon this Tuesday. Lovely spring sunshine and some excellent riding. There were impressive examples of riding with arms out wide or with hands on helmets and weaving in and out of obstacles. All our riders did really well and had a lot of fun. Fingers crossed for another sunny day next week.🤞🤞

25/04/2026

Sunshine returned for this week's ride. We had fun with bean bags, walking races, trotting and grooming a very hairy little pony. Stickers were proudly worn for good riding and horsecare.
Our volunteer, Adele, brought along her medal for participating in the charity Swimathon and smashing the challenge.

Address

Kendal
LA77NH

Website

http://westmorlandrda.org.uk/

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