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
Web: http://talltimbers.rdansw.org.au
Information
RDA
Mission Statement
Fundraising/Donations
Wish List
Volunteers
History
Favourite Links
Benefits of Riding
Newsletter - The Tall
Timbers' Times
Information
Riding for the Disabled (RDA) provides horse riding and associated activities
for people with disabilities. As
well as horse riding our Centre
offers carriage
driving and equestrian vaulting. Riders can
participate
at a
therapeutic, recreational
or competitive level.
RDA programs
cater for people with intellectual disabilities,
physical disabilities,
injuries resulting from accidents,
cerebral palsy,
spina bifida, muscular
dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, visual
and hearing
impairments, autism
and amputees.
RDA “Tall
Timbers” Centre is situated
on 27 acres in Box Hill, approximately
1 hours drive north-west of Sydney
in NSW. We operate six days a week
providing facilities for approximately 200 people with disabilities per annum
who come from hospitals, school, care centres and individually.
“Tall
Timbers” is staffed by 2 part-time paid
Coaches and
several volunteer Coaches, together with a
paid part-time
Administrator, a full-time Horse Manager and a part-time
Property Maintenance Person.
Volunteer helpers assist the riders and
lead horses as
well as assisting
with fundraising.
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RDA Mission Statement
RDANSW is a volunteer organisation
providing equine assisted activities for people with disabilities
to develop and enhance abilities.
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Fundraising/Donations
The costs of running and maintaining “Tall
Timbers” are financed from donations
and fundraising
activities and
a small
government grant. Donations
of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.
Fundraising
activities include catering, Chocolate
Drives, bulb drives, Ride-a-thon, raffles, trivia
nights, Book Fairs and special
events.
You can
also assist
us by helping us to care for one of
our team of horses. The cost of keeping a
horse is over $750 per annum. Thank
you to all our current horse care donors.
You could also
consider providing a bequest.
Please contact us if you can help in any
way
Thank you
Thank
you to DADHC, United Way, Protrust,
The Sunshine Foundation, The ING Foundation,Castle
Hill Country Club and the Fairbridge Foundation for their generous support. Also to the Rotary
Club of West Pennant Hills and Cherrybrook who financed our new horse yards
and Joan Edwards
who donated the funds for the shade cover.
Thank you also
to the Australian Government Water
Fund for our Community Water Grant and
the Department of Sport and Recreation
for their assistance in our development. Thank you to The Primary Club of Australia who generously assisted
with the cost of the arena extension.
We also received a grant from the
Department of Family and Community Services to purchase chairs which have now
been used on numerous occasions.
Thank
you also to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and
Centrelink for their financial assistance during the Equine Influenza Outbreak.
Thank
you to our horse sponsors for 2008 – Bendigo Bank Galston,
Value Plus Animal Health
Care Products, Rotary club of Granville,
Inner Wheel Club of North Sydney, Natalie Fulton, Denise Corbett, Margaret Greig and the late
Nanna Jeannie.
Thank
you to the staff at Unilever who assisted
us with a working bee and donated
some gardening equipment, trivia night prizes and
ice creams for the riders’ Christmas Party.
Thank
you to DATS Environmental Services
for their kind donation of the use
of a Skip Bin to clean up the Centre.
A special thank
you to Year 7 at
Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta who raised
over $8117 for our Centre by holding a
Walk-a-thon. The school has supported Tall
Timbers Centre for the past six years which is much appreciated.
Thank
you also to those donors who wish to
remain anonymous. We very much appreciate all the
assistance
we are given.
Wish
List
Thank you to everyone
who responded to our wish list. Every
little bit helps us to provide our service and reduce expenses.
Farm vehicle – “gator”
or similar to assist
with feed run, grading arena and property maintenance
Portable PA System
Fly masks, cob and
full size ready for summer
Rubber matting for mounting ramp
Stationary,
stamps, copy paper,
white board markers
etc
Connections
for machinery and
materials
to improve the surface of our front carpark and
driveway.
Mouseproof metal
cupboards for rug storage
Horse
stuff, garlic, hoof oil.
Wormers
Manure rakes
Saddlery gift cards
to assist with purchase of helmets and
saddles
Sponsors for
horses
Sponsors for
vehicles (F100, Jackaroo etc)
Angle grinder
Volunteers –
extra hands
for our program, garden and
property maintenance, and
fundraising
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Volunteers
The volunteers at RDA “Tall Timbers” Centre have
an important
and responsible job; without them
the Centre would not function. They are an
integral part
of the smooth running of the riding program. The roles that
helpers play are
many and
varied, and
age, race
or disability is no bar for someone who wishes to help. Horse and
medical knowledge are not essential. Two, and
sometimes three volunteers are
needed to either lead or act as sidewalkers
during the riding lesson. For this reason the program
relies heavily upon many volunteers each
day of the week.
Volunteers are
also needed to assist with administration, fundraising
and promotion. They assist
at events such as the Castle
Hill Show Catering, Model Railways
Exhibitions, Windsor Polo Matches and special
events.
If they wish volunteers can also
go on to train to become Coach’s Aides or RDA Coaches.
Pictured right: Kirsty Hardman receives the
Volunteer of the Year Award for 2007.
Well done and thank you Kirsty!
Pictured below: Karen
O’Neill who received a Volunteer
Recognition from Alan Cadman’s
Office for the electorate of
Mitchell. Congratulations Karen.
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History of “Tall Timbers”
The "Tall Timbers" Centre was
founded in 1972 by Mrs Pearl Batchelor, OAM, and
was operated
at her riding school in West Pennant Hills.
The first group of children to start
riding were from Northcott Society and Crowle Home.
In 1976, due to
impending development, 5 acres with a cottage
(which was occupied by the first Coach/Horse Manager), with horse yards,
was purchased
in Kellyville in North West Sydney.
Shortly after arriving in Kellyville, "Tall Timbers" began
leasing the 25 acres backing
on to the property, from the Government.
Over the years a
further 10 acres was purchased
and an
amenities block, indoor arena and stable
block were added to the already
existing yards and outdoor arena. This made a total of 15 acres
owned by RDA NSW and 25 acres
leased.
At the end of 1999,
once again
"Tall Timbers" moved and again this was
due to the major development taking place
in Kellyville. This time it was to Box Hill where it is hoped that RDA will be able
to settle for many, many years
and that
suburbia will not once again
push the Centre further out! The Centre
is owned by RDA NSW and maintained by “Tall
Timbers”.
The improved
facilities were officially opened on 26th April 2008 by Sonya Phillips,
Mayor of Baulkham Hills Shire Council.
During the years that
"Tall Timbers" has been operating
riders have attended
from schools, hospitals,
institutions, and adult day-care Centres from Lidcombe, Manly,
St Ives, Chatswood, Wahroonga,
Merrylands, Holroyd,
North Rocks, Ryde, Carlingford, Whalan,
Riverstone, Westmead, Marsfield, Northmead,
Parramatta,
Concord, Blacktown, Baulkham
Hills, Windsor, Kellyville, Rooty Hill, Castle
Hill, Richmond and Greystanes.
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Favourite Links
www.rdansw.org.au
- Riding for the Disabled Association NSW
http://www.freewebs.com/rdakempseynsw
- Riding for the Disabled NSW Kempsey-Macleay Centre
http://www.epsomrda.org.uk/ - Riding for the Disabled,
Epsom, UK
www.govolunteer.com.au
- Go Volunteer
www.volunteersearch.gov.au
- Australian
Volunteer Search
www.frdi.net - Federation
of Riding for the Disabled International
www.cyberhorse.net.au
- Cyberhorse is an
Australian
Internet site devoted to horses
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Newsletter
Click
here to download our latest Newsletter as
a PDF file
The Tall Timbers' Times November 2008 edition
Last
revised November 2008
By Kerry Souter, Administrator
RDA “Tall
Timbers” Centre
