RDA now offers many different disciplines in which riders can compete if they wish from dressage, countryside challenge, showjumping, showing, vaulting and carriage driving. There is also an Arts and Crafts competition held every year for budding artists.
Competing is great fun! Our group at the present competes predominately in dressage which involves riding a set of shapes in either walk, walk and trot or for more advanced riders, walk, trot and canter. This year for the first time some of our riders will compete in Countryside Challenge, which involves riding shapes around a course of obstacles and is great fun. We are hoping in the future to include showjumping in our activities.
Riders of all ages and abilities are encouraged to have a go if they want to and a Regional Qualifying competition is held each Spring enabling riders to compete at the yearly National Championships in Hartpury. This is great fun and a real team effort and we are very fortunate to have had some of our riders qualify each year for a number of years.
If you are really serious about competing you can have an assessment to grade you depending on your disability, enabling you to compete against similarly disabled riders. This is done at a National assessment day arranged through RDA head office. Some of our riders have competed in some online dressage competitions. This is videoed and then uploaded to the competition website. It also gives some of our riders a first taste of competing without leaving the yard. We have had some great results and scores. We will hopefully doing a few more in the following months to keep us busy and in practice for next years competitions. All the photos are on our Gallery and News pages.
Katie and Charlotte at the Countryside Challenge Regional Qualifiers 2019.
Claire Wilson competing on Smokey Joe at the RDA National Championships 2019