Forde Abbey's last rides of the year.

Now that the evenings are dark as the clocks have changed my RDA sessions at Forde Abbey,for the chard RDA group have finished for the summer.

We were very lucky as the last couple of riding sessions were able to go ahead as the weather stayed dry, in spite of the forecast saying that it might rain.

I had all four riders for one of the sessions,so again I had the girls for the first half hour, followed by the boys for the second half hour. We were working on balance and steering again, the helpers encouraged the riders to use their reins to steer the ponies around some cones which were placed along the long sides in the arena. Asking them to steer around these cones and getting the ponies to stop beside them ment they where not holding on to the front of the saddle, I made up an obstacle course using what was in the arena.

  They started one side of the arena and had to steer through the row of cones, next they had to turn and walk up the middle, through the ' tunnel ' ( poles on the ground) making sure they lent forwarded so as not to hit their head on the roof of the tunnel, next they had to steer around a 'roundabout ', then they had to collect a bean bag and carry it up to me. As we had no bucket the riders had to stop their ponies and place the bean bag on top of my head, this is one advantage to being small, everyone had a chuckle about this and some helpers even said it was good for the deportment, it wasn't easy attempting to keep the bean bag on the head, when it wasn't placed right on the top.(I think a photo was taken of this, which I bet will be placed in the chard RDA newsletter.)

 After this the riders had to trot down to the end. 

 The last session of the year, we only had two of the riders as the other two couldn't come, so the riders were able to have a longer session, we did more work on steering and stopping and walking on.

They both wanted to do another obstacle course, so this time, they started by steering through a row of cones then they had to collect a ring from one pole and place it on the next pole, then they had to stand between two buckets and take out a toy from one bucket swap it into the other hand,still making sure they were holding the reins and then place it in the other bucket, then they had to walk the pony around a 'roundabout', walk through a 'tunnel' and over a 'bridge' ( both made up of two poles on the ground.) then they had to trot down the long side.

    We also did some races, these were, bending up and back through the cones, taking a bean bag up to a bucket and placing it in there, walking up and trotting back. Walking up the the other end carrying a bean bag and with the bean bag in one hand put it around their back and into the other hand and bring it around to the front, then walk back.

While we were doing this the toys were naughty and got out of their bag and went around edge of the arena, so the riders and helpers had to go and hunt for them and see how many they could find.

 When they had got them all they brought them back, then counted them to see who had found the most.