RDA (NSW) Ryde Centre

About RDA NSW Ryde Centre

Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) NSW is a non-profit organisation which enables children and adults with disabilities to enjoy and achieve physical, social, psychological and educational progress through participation in therapeutic horse riding programs and horse related activities.

The Centre is located only 19 km from Martin Place and is run entirely by volunteers. We rely on the generosity of individuals, grants, community groups, local businesses and fundraising by our fantastic volunteers, to raise the funds required for day to day running expenses for our centre. This includes activities and programs for our disabled riders and paying for horse related expenses such as vet, farrier and feed bills.

Our history:

Ryde RDA has a proud history. We commenced in 1983 in the grounds of the Royal Rehabilitation Centre at Putney. In 2007 we needed to relocate and closed until 2011 when we relocated to our current address – 118-120 Culloden Road, Marsfield Park.

Today we run therapy classes on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Therapy classes provide:

Physical benefits – improved balance, strengthened muscles, improved coordination, decreased spasticity, increased range of motion of joints, reduction of abnormal movement patterns, improved respiration and circulation;
Psychological benefits – improved self-confidence, development of patience, sense of normality;
Social benefits – friendship, increased experiences, enjoyment;
Educational benefits – sequencing, patterning and motor planning, improved eye/hand coordination, visual/spatial perception;

In addition to our therapy classes, some of our riders have competed at State Level in the RDA Mounted Games and State and National Dressage competitions. Australian Paralympian Jan Pike, started riding at the Ryde Centre and went on to represent Australia in 2 Paralympics - Athens 2004 (1 Silver, 1 Bronze) and Beijing 2008.

At present we have around 50 riders a week coming to the centre for therapeutic riding - we are still expanding!

Why Support RDA (NSW) Ryde Centre?

You can experience and witness the life changing joy and benefits the horses at Ryde Centre bring to our riders.

There are many ways to support our centre:-

Volunteer – Help with the horses – feeding, cleaning yards, grooming and tacking up or assisting in lessons with our riders.
Volunteer – Centre support – grounds work, weeding, painting, mowing, cleaning, maintenance.
Volunteer – Admin – Fundraising, applying for grants, marketing and publicity as well as day to day administration.
Donation – donate money, products and services to RDA Ryde. All donations $2.00 and over are tax deductable

How you can Support RDA (NSW) Ryde Centre:

It costs approximately $5000 per annum to care for each of our horses. Every amount, small and large, helps. Funds are also needed for running and maintenance costs.

Sponsor a horse (full or part)
Become a ‘Friend of Ryde Centre’
Provide Scholarship for a rider (Semester or year)
Donation (money or products)
Volunteer

If you or your organisation would be interested in supporting the Ryde Centre of RDA (NSW), please contact us.