Welcome to Cambs College RDA!

Hello and welcome to Cambridgeshire College Group of the Riding for the Disabled Association.

Cambs College RDA is a fun and friendly group which meets weekly to provide equestrian activities to young adults with disabilities in the Cambridge area. Founded in the late 1980s, the group is well-established at The College of West Anglia's Milton campus just north of Cambridge, and is run entirely by volunteers.

We need funds to provide these valuable activities to disabled people. Please consider donating to our group.

We hope you enjoy having a browse through our website and learning more about the group.

Please scroll down to find the latest news!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS, BIG AND SMALL

July 2026

At Cambs College RDA we have to raise all our funds ourselves, so we are extremely grateful to all our donors and supporters for making it possible for us to continue to give riding lessons to young adults.  Horses are expensive to buy and to keep (it is often said that they eat £50 notes!) so we want to send a huge THANK YOU to all our donors over the last year; we really could not do it without you.

Two of our Trustees recently attended a presentation evening to accept a very generous cheque towards the cost of a new horse from The City and University Masonic Lodge.  it was a very enjoyable evening where we were able to talk to representatives from other groups that the Lodge support, and we were honoured to have our picture taken with the Grand Master.

Kynaston Masonic Lodge made a substantial gift again, as did The Provincial Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire Charity for Care and Relief.  Both Kynaston and The City and University Lodges have supported us over several years. 

Newmarket Equine Hospital are also regular supporters, and our horses benefit from their services as well. 

We also have a small number of individuals who make regular donations, so A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR GENEROSITY.  

If you would like to help us there are many ways you can do so - we always need volunteers who are comfortable around horses and/or disabled people or who would like to help with admin or fundraising.  We have a Licensed 200 Club Lottery - tickets cost £12 a year for entry into 6 draws per year.  Prizes depend on the number of members but are currently £50 for 1st prize and £30 for 2nd.  We also have an annual raffle and sell crafts and cards to raise funds.  If you would like to help us in any way, the home page of the website has the necessary links. 

SUCCESS AT THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2026

Four of our riders completed at the National RDA Championships which are held each July at Hartpury University near Gloucester.  We were delighted by the results.  On Saturday, Sophia came 3rd and Lucy 4th respectively in their Countryside Challenge class.  Many congratulations to them both. 

On Sunday, Harvey came 2nd in his Dressage Class, with Chrissie placed 10th.  These were exceptional results as there were 19 people competing in the same category, so to achieve 10 place was a real achievement and Harvey's 2nd far exceeded our hopes - especially as he had to get up at 4 am that morning to be ready for an 8.30 start! Later in the morning, Harvey again came 2nd in the Countryside Challenge, with Chrissie placed 5th.  

           

            

Sunday was also a successful day for our independent rider, Chris Bradley as well.  Competing on his horse Harley Rebel, he came first in the Grade 7 canter Dressage, and first in the grade 7 Freestyle Dressage.

Many congratulations to them all, we are very proud of each of you.

We are also very proud of our wonderful skewbald cob, Drunkeen Boy who despite being listed as Drunken Boy showed his star quality throughout the weekend.  We just call him Boysie, and he is a real professional!

To qualify for the Championships, riders must come 1st or 2nd in their class and achieve a minimum score in the Regional Qualifying competition. The East Regional qualifying event was held at The College of West Anglia near Cambridge in May.  9 of our riders qualified but unfortunately only 4 could attend for various reasons.  In RDA competitions, riders compete against other disabled riders of a similar riding ability.  So in this case Lucy and Sophia were up against others who needed to have their horse led and have someone walking beside them while Harvey and Chrissie were completely in charge of their horse.  The Countryside Challenge is best described as an obstacle course where riders have to tackle such problems as stopping at an imaginary road junction, crossing a bridge, posting a letter and opening a gate, all in a safe environment. An additional problem for our riders was to stop Boysie trying to eat the plastic flowers!

At the National Championships, Riders may come from anywhere in the UK, including Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland.  Our group is small, and meets once a week during term time, while some others come from RDA centres that provide opportunities to interact with horses 6 days a week.

SUCCESS ON A HOT SUNNY MAY DAY

May 2026

We were delighted with the performance of our horses and riders at the RDA East Region annual show, held on a very hot day in May at the College of West Anglia.  At this event, all RDA groups in the region can compete in Dressage and/or the Countryside Challenge and those who achieve a certain score and are placed first or second in their class, qualify to compete at the National RDA Championships in July.  Classes are based on riding ability as well as nature of the disability.

So how did our Cambs College riders do?  Superbly!  Thirteen of our riders competed, some in both classes some in just one..  

In the Countryside Challenge, we had entries in 3 classes and had 6 qualifiers.  Fantastic! Sophia K and Lucy were first and second in their class (led with sidewalker).  Ron and Ryan came first and second in their led class, and Harvey and Chrissie were similarly placed in the Independent group.

In Dressage, Sophia W came second in the led class. In Led, Walk and Trot, Ryan came second, and Harvey and Chrissie did extremely well to come first and second in the Grade 7 Dressage.  And Chris Bradley, our independent rider on his own horse, but attached to our group, was first in Grade 7 canter.

In all, 10 of our riders qualified for the Championships.  Unfortunately only 4 will be able to attend because of other commitments, but their success at the Regional Qualifier is a real accolade.

We must also congratulate our wonderful reliable horses, and thank the helpers for their hard work in getting the horses to the right place at the right time with the right tack for the riders.  A fun day!

And, Boysie won the new Loriners' Trophy awarded to the Most Valuable RDA Pony which was presented by Christina Maria Grieve.

 

Thank you George Scott!

Aug 2025

Two of our volunteers were delighted to be invited to Newmarket to receive a donation from George Scott, one of the country’s leading racehorse trainers.  George has had a very successful year, and  most generously decided to make a donation to our Riding for the Disabled group. His welcome donation will help with our farriers and vets fees and the general care of our horses.

Earlier in the summer, our group was offered the chance to look round his stables, and were thrilled to be able to stroke most of the beautiful horses, to give them treats and to learn about their successes on the track.  It was a highlight of the year for the riders who were able to attend, and we would like to thank George and his secretary Alex, for that visit and for their very generous donation.

Christmas 2025 Raffle is GO!

Oct 2025

This year's popular Christmas raffle fund raising has now started.

The great prizes this year include a Dining Gift experience worth £90 and 4 Amazon Gift Vouchers worth £20.

Tickets are on sale from our volunteer and riders, and collected at our riding sessions.

Thank you to The Provincial Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire, Charity for Care and Relief

Sep 2025

Cambs College Riding for the Disabled group is extremely grateful to The Provincial Grand Lodge of Cambridgeshire, Charity for Care and Relief for their support and generous donation. This Masonic fund donated £1750 to cover the costs of a saddle and bridle, rugs and other equipment for our new horse, Gypsy.

Horses are expensive to purchase, but there are always a lot of on-costs such as pre-purchase vetting and transport, as well as equipping the horse properly, and it is these additional costs that the donation will cover.

Gypsy started work for us in September 2025, and is becoming a valuable member of the team. But we have had to squeeze her into second-hand rugs that are not quite big enough and she has been wearing a borrowed saddle. This grant allows us to buy a saddle especially for her, as well as the other equipment she needs.

We would like to thank all our friends in Masonic Lodges in Cambridgeshire who have supported us over the last few years, and a particular thank you to the Charity for Care and Relief.  Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue to offer weekly riding lessons to our small group of riders.

Gypsy on her Summer break with one of our volunteers

National Championship 2025

Jul 2025

Cambs college RDA was represented at the RDA National Championships, at Hartpury on 11th-13th July 2025, by four of our regular session riders with Boysie, and by one or our independent riders Chris with his own horse Harley Rebel. 

It was a very hot weekend but the organisers did a good job of managing this – the main arenas were not used during the heat of the day, and the vets did frequent walks round the stables making sure the horses were all okay. 

Everyone did really well; Sasha and Chris both just missed first places by narrow margins, while Chrissie and Harvey were both well placed in very big classes and Peter thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

It was also a learning experience for the volunteer team, managing without Gillian! Boysie did a grand job, and went straight off on his well-deserved holidays on our return.

Sasha and Boysie in action

 

Peter ready for his test

2025 Regional Championships

The East Region held their regional championships at the College of West Anglia in Milton on 18th May. Huge thanks to the regional team of volunteers for making it a successful day.  

There was a good turnout from our riders, and lots of rosettes were won. 

First prizes went to Lucy on Boysie, Ron on Larry, and Kodie on Boysie in their respective countryside challenge classes, and to Harvey on Boysie, Sophia on Bear (Teddy), and Sasha on Teddy in their various dressage classes. 

Everyone did really well, whatever the colour of rosette they ended up with! 

Several qualified to go to the National Championships at Hartpury College in July. Not all are able to get there but the group will be represented by four riders, Boysie, and a handful of volunteers.  

Rebecca’s Arts & Crafts entry won a rosette too.  

There were also wins for our independent riders, Gemma on Shelley and Chris on MBF Harley Rebel in their dressage classes. 

Most importantly, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, including all our volunteers who turned out on the day. It was also great to see some old friends visiting for the day.

 

We have a new horse!

Gypsy was purchased earlier in February to replace one of our super stars that needed to retire.

She is a mare!   Our first mare for a while, but she still matches the rest of the team by being a colured cob!  She is young but shows all the attributes for becoming a fantastic RDA horse and we hope she will settle in soon.  She does, however, need to build up some muscle before she starts being riden in our sessions.

Christmas fund raising has begun

It wouldn't be Christmas without our Elves (Kodie, Kate and Dave) making lots of gorgeous crafty items to sell to raise funds for a replacement horse for Larry - who needs to be retired from RDA to have some fun hacking years, before he really has to retire.

Christmas Raffle

For the second year running, we are also running a big raffle with 3 great prizes!

• John Lewis Experience Voucher worth £100
• Tea for Two at Carriages worth £72
• Christmas Hamper worth £50

200 Club Lottery

In 2025 we will be running the lottery again.  Annual tickets cost £12.  There are 6 draws in a year.  A winner and runner up in each draw receiving £50 and £30 respectively. 

If you are interested in buying anything, please get in touch.  Unfortunately we are unable to sell items online.

Welcome to a new face

At the end of last term we were all excited to welcome the newest member to the team: Ollie.

"Oliver", known as Ollie, joined our group in the summer and has been getting along well.  He is only 5 years old but has a wonderful temperament and is very gentle.  At 16.1hh he is on the big side for some of our smaller riders, but as long as we can get the riders on, they enjoy riding him!  Ollie arrived from Ireland earlier this year, and then spent some time on a yard in Pembrokeshire before we bought him.  He's lovely to hack out as well as being a good boy in the arena for our RDA lessons.

 

 

An Introduction from our new Chairman - Pippa Corney

I joined the Cambs College RDA group just after the Covid lockdown. I had borrowed one of the RDA horses, Larry, during lockdown to teach my husband to ride. After that I became a volunteer. When Tomoko had to leave the group and return home to Japan, I took on the horse welfare job that Tomoko previously held within the group. When Gillian announced she would like to step down I agreed to become the vice chairman to try and learn the job. I am now the chair but luckily for me we have a very good team of volunteers I can rely on and Gillian is on hand for advice whenever I need it. I have loved being a volunteer and it has taught me so much about disability and how well that works with horses. For me the horse bit was quite easy as I have had horses all my life. I am now about to take my final assessment to becoming a coach too. 

I look forward to the future with such a great team of people to work with and helping our riders enjoy their sessions on our fabulous horses.

Regional and National Championships 2024

Regional Championship

This was held at COWA in Milton again this year.  7 of our riders qualified for the National Championships in July.  It was a lovely day with lots of other groups from around the region competing.  There was a very popular cake stand and of lots of crafts to buy made by our talented Lawrences!

National Championship, Hartpury

In the end only 4 or our riders were able to get to Hartpury, plus 3 of our independent riders that are attached to our group, and our independent vaulter.  

Lily was the only vaulter from England competing with all the others from Scotland - so we were pleased that we enabled her to complete.

Boysie and 5 volunteers made up the team with the riders along with the horses and helpers for the independent riders.  

All 4 riders were placed in their classes.  Lucy and Carley were 2nd and 3rd in the Countryside Challenge while Sasha was 4th and Ciara 6th in their respective Dressage classes.

Our independent riders also did well.   Gemma was 4th in her class and she was very happy to improve her dressage score considerably from last time.   Dylan and Chris were both 2nd in their Dressage classes and first in their Freestyle Dressage classes.   Dylan also kept the trophy for best turned out junior - especially impressing with a white pony to turn out!

                          

More Competitions

Chris went straight from Hartpury to Sparsholt for the Virtus Dressage Championships where the GB team won gold and Chris got individual silver.