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Neston Air Cadets Support Riding for the Disabled

2375 (Neston) Squadron of the Air Training Cadets has been helping the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for some 15 years; this makes it our longest established charity and we believe that we are the only ATC squadron in Merseyside providing this help.

So what is RDA and how did it come about? The value of mounted exercises and riding for those with incurable diseases was known as far back as the Greeks 2500 years ago. Much more recently, it was practised by Dame Agnes Hunt, the founder of the first and nationally renowned orthopaedic hospital at Oswestry. She understood the importance of laughter and companionship in the recovery of health, and the value of horses and riding for her patients. This was developed further when Olive Sands took her own horses to a hospital near Oxford to give riding to soldiers disabled in the 1914-1918 war. Now the RDA has grown to over 700 groups helping 25,000 riders.

How riding helps disabled people: Riding as a new experience and stimulating challenge often brings the rewards of improved coordination and balance, a feeling of independence, a sense of achievement, greater confidence and a resulting happiness.

Newly found capabilities begin to take precedence over long-accepted disabilities. .New human relationships develop between the riders and helpers; not always easy particularly with some of the more severely physically or mentally disabled children (most of our riders are between 5 and 15 years old), but our cadets have proven to be especially successful in this. For the riders this can often be a first step from a sheltered life at home with parents and carers or from the professional environment of special school or hospital into the world outside. To sit up on a pony and gaze down on other people is quite a new experience for someone confined to a wheelchair.

Although helping at RDA may not seem the most exciting activity that we do in the ATC, it is certainly one of the most worthwhile and positive contributions that we can make.

If you are interested in becoming a cadet in the Air Training Corps, and take advantage of one of many activities that we can offer, 2375 (Neston) Squadron are holding their Recruitment Evening on Thursday, 24th May. We are located on Tanks Field, off Church Lane, Little Neston, CH64 9US. Doors open at 7.30pm, so come and see what we can offer you.

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