Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2014 | Page 66

EQUESTRIAN

Fun day at Osborne

T

he Isle of Wight Driving for the
Disabled Association held its
Annual Fun Day at Osborne
House recently. Each week, from April
to September, the group enjoy the
surroundings of the stunning grounds of
Queen Victoria’s former home.
This enables Islanders living with
disabilities to experience the pleasure and
freedom of driving a pony and carriage.
The competition began with competitors
driving Murray, Troy, Fred, Baby and
Pocus, in a bid to win the Wight Crystal
Challenge Trophy.
Sheila Pugsley drove Murray and came
out joint winner. She said: “I am thrilled
to have won, particularly as this is my
first year taking part. As a child I always
felt I should be riding, so this is a very
special day.”
All those taking part were judged
by Jill Hawkes, who said: “I enjoyed it
immensely. It’s been a beautiful day
and the standard has been very very
good. The horses have been simply
brilliant and it’s fantastic what people are
achieving considering some of them are
very new to this.”
One of the main aims of the Association
is to give people a sense of freedom from
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their daily restrictions. Drivers can be
taught to whatever level they wish. Larger
carriages are fitted with ramps so that a
wheelchair user can be wheeled up into
the carriage and clamped safely into
position.
The IOWRDA is keen to add to its
team of volunteers all year round. They
provide back-up by helping to load
the wheelchairs. They also hold the
horses’ heads and support the shafts.
On longer rides, they follow on bikes.
Activities are split into five main areas;
driving, dressage, cone courses, training
and social fun days. All are open to
any member, regardless of ability.
Coffee mornings, quizzes and trips to
the mainland are also laid on where
volunteers can play a huge part.
If you have a suitable horse or pony,
broken to harness, all you have to do to
get involved is contact any member of
the committee. They can discuss with
you what needs to be done and arrange
for your animal to be ‘tested’ by the RDA.
For more details of that and if you want
to become a volunteer or participate go
to www.iowrda.org or call Sue Martin on
07788 100 687.