Agstaff and Rural Co; Team Effort To Assist Riding for Disabled

Agstaff were excited to share some Christmas cheer with a very deserving cause last Thursday. It all began a couple of years ago when Riding for Disabled chief coach, Maxine Hooper, entered the Agstaff office looking to hire someone to move hay from a property on Maronan Road to Riding for Disabled Ashburton. Maxine was greeted by Agstaff consultant Andrew MacDonald, who is involved with several Ashburton community groups, and received a welcome donation of Agstaff time and resources.

“I felt that this was something that Agstaff could do to give back to the community. Therapeutic riding helps so many people but is not government funded. Riding for Disabled relies heavily on the support of the community and we were happy to help,” explained Andrew.

Rural Co also got on board by donating the use of their large trailer. This was well received by Andrew (ably assisted by his guide dog Carla), Graham Taylor, Lyall Iles and Neil McArthur, enabling them to complete their Christmas delivery of a year’s worth of hay for the horses to the Leeston Street address.

With 55 groups operating across New Zealand Riding for Disabled provides opportunities for anyone with a disability to enjoy safe, healthy, stimulating, therapeutic horse riding and horse-related activities. These Groups combined provide a valuable service to over 3,000 Riders each year, including Recreational Riding, Therapeutic Riding, ‘Equine-assisted’ or ‘Equine-facilitated’ Psychotherapy and Hippotherapy (which literally means treatment with the horse. Over 80,000 rides are undertaken each year across the country.

If you would like more information about volunteering for Riding for Disabled, please visit http://www.rda.org.nz/volunteers.htm