Taupo District Riding for Development

05/06/2026

Well winter has arrived, it has been an indoor week this week. The students miss going around the garden exploring.

This gorgeous student has really struggled with confidence but has really gained her independence and confidence and now rides happily backwards and is even confident enough to throw a ball thru the hoop sitting backwards. So rewarding to see the students develop like this.

We introduced a new horse to our team. SKY . Caitlin has been doing lots of ground work and practicing all our games. Sky has been amazing and is now a huge part of our team, we are so lucky to have her. Thanks Louise Dunn and Adlou Farms.

We decided to give one of our longest riders a surprise and brought in her favorite pony from a year ago who we retired.
Think Barney was happy to see her and get spoilt with peppermints. We know she was extremely happy to take him for a walk.

Hope everyone has a great week.
Thanks Karen, Caitlin and the Team at RFD.

01/05/2026

Do you have a special unicorn in your paddock 13.2hh up to 15.2hh that you know would rather be getting groomed, fed and go for a quiet walk a couple of times a week?
We are always looking for amazing ponies or small hacks to join us. We are happy to offer full retirement or just until they are ready to totally retire. Lease or purchase (not a big budget)
This pony (below) is 27yo he wasn't ready to retire so we now have him, he waits at the gate as we drive in waiting for his turn.

Ore Horses / Ponies
Only walk 2 x 40m sessions per day
Only do 2 days per week
Fed & supplemented daily
Regular farrier barefoot or shod
Regular vet visits with annual health bloods dentist etc.
35 acres with wonderful garden walks.
Ponies are carefully managed by competent professional staff.

Please contact me if you have a special friend in the paddock you think could bring joy to some amazing children.
Have an amazing weekend.

Cheers
Karen, Caitlin & the team.

24/04/2026

Week 1 of Term 2 was absolutely amazing!
Thank you to the amazing new volunteers that have joined us and to the amazing existing ones.
We have had incredible support from schools and welcome some new schools on board.

Must say winter arrived very quickly, waking up to big frosts already.

The horses couldn't wait to come in to have a nice warm breakfast before the first session starts.
Summer covers have been replaced by lovely warm rugs, (I think we all pulled out our winter clothes as well).
Looks like we are going to be very busy clipping soon.

We are currently working on a new crossing / path area out to the sensory garden, and Infront of the covered yards making it a much easier path for the horses and volunteers.
Big Thank You to Taupo Trenching for all the landscaping work they do for us.

Don't forget if you have a spare morning and want to be involved with helping our young ones give me a call.
Sponsoring a "Pony" is also another way you can help if you don't have time.
Enjoy the long weekend......

Karen, Caitlin & the team.

20/04/2026

Big Thank You to Force Mechanical on Palmer Mill Road.

Our tow behind arena rake has been getting a lot of use lately trying to keep the arena looking great, so when I went to harrow the arena & had a major break Force Mechanical sent the guys out straight away.

Force Engineering / Mechanical also keep our work vehicles & my private vehicles running smoothly.

Force Engineering & Mechanical Palmer Mill Road Wairakei Taupo

15/04/2026

Nearly the end of the school holidays! Hope everyone has made it safety thru the recent storms.
Thanks to the awful weather I haven't got thru the list of outside jobs I wanted done.
Term 2 sees us will nearly 50 students which means I am really needing help! 3 hrs one morning a week is all it takes.
Sadly, I have had to turn some away and now have a long waiting list which is rather sad as horse riding is such great therapy for the kids.
Please consider coming and volunteering, awesome team, awesome morning teas provided, end of term BBQ and "horse Perks" if you have your own horse.

Pic 2 is of one of our incredible students who was 2 when he started unable to walk, limited communication. Now he walks in, gives the best hugs and smiles. Sadly he has moved to another town but we wish him well & mum will be bringing him back for regalar visits.
Moments like this are so rewarding, come and share in moments like this.

Pony Sponsorship is also required as we have 13 ponies in work so sponsoring a pony is going to help us a lot. Not much more than a coffee a week.!
Please get in touch if you can help in any way, it will be very much appreciated.

Call Karen on 027 2682958

Cheers Karen, Caitlin and the amazing team at RFD.

26/03/2026

Next week is the last week of term, ponies all go out for 2 weeks holiday. Our wonderful Volunteers get to enjoy the end of term BBQ .
Back into it week one of the new term.

Caitlin & I are off to look at a couple of possible new ponies over the holidays hopefully to add in. It's really hard to find the perfect pony, so we are extremely grateful when our wonderful equine friends contact us to offer their treasured ponies.
Some of our ponies that have been loaned to us are very successful competition ponies enjoying a quieter life, and some are just amazing in ponies that we are lucky to purchase.
Fingers crossed we can find our newest addition.

Sometimes it's working with the students to make it work by thinking outside the square.
The lovely student on Bracken (Pic 2) you will see has no helmet on. The student has a medical condition so with parental permission & Dr we have done a waiver for her. This makes the whole experience much more enjoyable and stress free. She is also sensitive to noises so she rides in special ear muffs.
The green belt is a must in this situation and the side walkers never move away without 2 people holding her.
The improvement and communication from this young lady is incredible. From non verbal to actually communicating, with us.

RFD is about making a change in these young peoples lives. The many successes makes it so rewarding.

Off to find the ponies "Winter Covers" with this rain and drop in temperature we will be looking for the clippers again!

Hope you all have a great week.

Karen, Caitlin and our amazing team at RFD

19/03/2026

Dont forget to support Maddi. If your looking at selling or purchasing a new home.

Thanks Maddi

Excited to announce that if you list and sell your property with me, then $500 goes directly to helping Riding For Development.

This charity works with individuals facing disabilities, mental health challenges, and social or emotional difficulties. Their goal is to help build confidence, independence, and essential life skills through meaningful interactions with horses.

📞021 0883 4462
✉️ [email protected]

19/03/2026

Another super week. Our student numbers are now over 40, this is great but need more volunteers to help with the sessions.
I know I keep asking but I don't want to turn students away, I would love to increase numbers even more if I could.

Huge thank you to Dave who has sorted some smaller paddocks for me. This summer has been great for those wanting grass, but all our ponies are in amazing condition and definitely don't need more food!

We are always introducing new games to challenge the students along with the ball throwing favorites. Horse back tennis, 10 pin bowling and fishing / egg & spoon races are always a favourite. I think some of the Volunteers are more competitive than the students. (always cheeting going on.)

The ponies are all loosing their summer coats and are growing winter ones we will be busy clipping and finding winter covers.

We look forward to hearing from anyone wanting to come and join up as a volunteer.

Cheers
Karen, Caitlin and the team.

16/03/2026

What a great weekend we had. Team RFD was well represented at the Local Contact Energy Ribbon Day on Sunday.
We took a couple of Volunteers and their children along and also a couple of our ponies. Lots of smiles and happy faces. Lots of ribbons as well.

Do you want to be a part of our team.? Lots of great perks as well and great company. Amazing facilities for you to use for your own horse, regular BBQ get togethers. Support with competitions. ?????
Our Enrolments have got to the point where we are really needing volunteers. With 40+ students coming each week while this is amazing our priority is safety! I don't want to turn students away so if anyone could give up one morning a week, 9am till 12 that would be amazing. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.

If you cant help out volunteering we are also looking for sponsors for our wonderful ponies. Works out nearly the same as a couple of coffees a week this would help us greatly towards the upkeep of a pony.

Let us know if you would like to call in and discuss how you can help us.

Cheers
Karen, Caitlin and all the amazing team at RFD

04/03/2026

Another great week. Tho Autum has really poked its nose in started digging out some warmer covers.....

We achieved some amazing things with a couple of new students last week. It is so rewarding to not only see the students faces when they get on the ponies but the love in the parents / caregivers eyes when they see what their children can achieve! Sometimes the first few rides are "trying" but once they understand it's incredible.
We are now working with the Womens Refuge and Awhina Society Trust. This is such an amazing organization and we are working closely with the children and Mums. Some Mums are going to be helping us with sessions. Huge thank you to them for dropping off Donuts for us all, they are greatly appreciated.

July 2025 we saw an add for a funny looking Appaloosa Cross pony. something about him made us fall in love with him. We knew when we purchased him we needed a plan & stick to it.
We decided Term 1 2026 he would be in the programme with students...... WELL We did it... Lots of hard work from everyone here to ensure he fits in safely with the programme.
Welcome to the Team RFD RUSTY.
Rusty is heading to the local Contact Energy Open Ribbon day with Caitlin for more experience along with Bracken & one of our other ponies.
Watch this space our little super star *

Heard this lovely Quote:

MY THERAPY HAS 4 LEGS !! How true is this.

Thanks to all our wonderful Volunteers.

Karen, Caitlin and the Team at RFD.